Patent Publication Number: US-8972839-B2

Title: Media presentations including related content

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to software. More specifically, media presentations including related content are described. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A media presentation may be some type of electronic output that is presented to a user. Media presentations may come in many formats, and may include one or more of text, video, audio, and still images. Types of media presentations may include, for example, films, television programs, electronic books or e-books (e.g., novels), audio, newspapers, and webpages. 
     Media presentations may be viewed or otherwise observed by users using electronic devices such as personal computers, e-book readers, and televisions. Devices used to view or observed media presentations may therefore include various output devices, such as displays (e.g., computer monitors) and speakers. 
     A user of a media presentation may encounter material in the media presentation with which he is unfamiliar. For example, an e-book may include references to obscure historical figures, archaic words or phrases, exotic locales, or difficult-to-understand concepts. The subject matter of a video presentation (or other type of media presentation) may likewise leave a user confused. 
     Thus, what is needed is a media presentation and viewer without the limitations of conventional techniques. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various examples are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an electronic library according to an example; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an electronic reader according to an example; 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart describing a process for parsing a media presentation and selecting portions of the media presentation based on predetermined criteria according to various examples; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart describing a process for presenting a media presentation including related content according to an example; and 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer system suitable for parsing media presentations and presenting media presentations including related content, in accordance with various examples. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various examples may be implemented in numerous ways, including as a system, a process, an apparatus, or a series of program instructions on a computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computer network where the program instructions are sent over optical or electronic communication links. In general, operations of disclosed processes may be performed in an arbitrary order, unless otherwise provided in the claims. 
     A detailed description of one or more examples is provided below along with accompanying figures. The detailed description is provided in connection with such examples, but is not limited to any particular example. The scope is limited only by the claims and numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents are encompassed. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the described techniques may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the examples has not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description. 
     According to various examples, a workspace and a content shelf may be presented to a user (e.g., viewer or reader) of a media presentation. The workspace and the content shelf may be areas of a display in which a media presentation and content related to the media presentation may be presented, respectively. The media presentation may be parsed (e.g., searched) to select portions of the media presentation. For example, if the media presentation is a text-based media presentation, a portion may be one or more words that are selected based on one or more predetermined criteria. The predetermined criteria may be used to select portions that include uncommon terms, proper names, quotes, or any subject matter in which a user may be interested. Once the portions have been selected, content related to the portions may be generated. Content is anything that may be presented to a user and may include, for example, text, still images, video, audio, and interactive devices. The content may include, for example, a definition of an uncommon word, a map of a place, or a picture of a historical figure. According to various examples, the content may be generated by an author or distributor of the media presentation, or may be retrieved from local or remote sources such as the Internet. 
     Electronic Library 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an electronic library  100  according to an example. The electronic library  100  may be used to organize and view electronic and other media to which a user has access. The electronic library  100  may also be used to purchase additional media. The electronic library may include one or more areas. An area is a portion of the electronic library  100  in which various tasks (e.g., viewing media, navigation) may be performed. As shown here, the electronic library  100  includes three areas: a workspace  102 , a side shelf  104 , and a bottom shelf  106 . 
     According to an example, the workspace  102  may be used as a main area of the electronic library  100 . The workspace  102  may display icons  108 , which may represent various electronic or traditional media. The media may be stored on a storage device in an electronic format, may otherwise be owned by a user of the electronic library  100 . Additionally, a user may select one of the icons  108 , and the workspace  102  may be used to view detail of the media represented by the icon (see  FIG. 2 ). For example, an icon representing a newspaper may display articles of that newspaper when selected. 
     The side shelf  104  may serve various purposes. As shown here, the side shelf  104  may be used to search the various media stored in the electronic library  100 , to access other media not in the electronic library  100 , or to view various organized lists of media either in or not in the electronic library  100 . The bottom shelf  106  may include navigational icons and/or representations  110  of the icons  108 . The representations  110  may be used to indicate that the media presentations shown in the representations  110  are currently active or otherwise enjoy some special status. 
     The electronic library  100  described above may perform various functions other than those described here. Additionally, other areas, for example other shelves or additional workspaces, may also be located within the electronic library  100 . 
     Electronic Reader 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an electronic reader  200  according to an example. The electronic reader  200  may be used to read books, periodicals, or other texts that may be stored in an electronic format. The electronic reader  200  may be a graphical display shown on a computer system such as a personal computer or a handheld reader (e.g., an electronic-book (e-book) reader). According to another example, when a user chooses an icon  108  of the electronic library  100  to select a media presentation, the media presentation may be displayed in the workspace  102 , and the electronic library  100  then becomes the electronic reader  200 . Although the electronic reader  200  displays a text-based media presentation, it is understood that other types of media presentations may be similarly displayed in readers similar to the electronic reader  200 . For example, video or audio media may also be displayed using similar readers or viewers. 
     The electronic reader  200 , like the electronic library  100 , includes one or more areas in which various tasks may be performed. As shown here, the electronic reader  200  includes a workspace  202 , a content shelf  204 , and a navigation shelf  206 . The workspace  202  may be used to present (e.g., display) a media presentation  208 . For example, a book is shown here. The workspace  202 , content shelf  204 , and navigation shelf  206  may be arranged in any fashion, may be any size, and may be accompanied by other areas according to various examples. 
     The navigation shelf  206  includes navigational elements, such as a back arrow  210   a , a forward arrow  210   b , a location indicator  212 , and a scroll bar  214 . The back arrow  210   a  may allow a user to return to an earlier part of the media presentation  208  (e.g., go to the previous page) or advance to a later part of the media presentation  208  (e.g., go to the next page). The scroll bar  214  may similarly allow a user to move throughout the media presentation  208 . The location indicator  212  may display the current location of the media presentation  208  that is being shown (or otherwise presented) in the workspace  202 . For example, the location indicator  212  displays “Page 11”, indicating that page 11 of the media presentation  208  is currently being presented. 
     Other navigational elements may also be used. For example, a page corner  216  may also allow a user to “turn the page” by selecting (e.g., using a mouse click) the page corner  216 . When a user turns a page, using the arrows  210 , the scroll bar  214 , or the page corner  216 , the action may be accompanied by an animation of the page being turned. 
     The content shelf  204  may be used to provide additional content to a reader of the media presentation shown in the workspace  202 . The content shelf  204  may display, for example, definitions, images, maps, and other content related to the media presentation. Other types of content may include interactive content. For example, an e-book of an arithmetic text may include an interactive calculator or times table. The content may be provided by an author of the media presentation or may be gathered by parsing the media presentation (e.g., by searching the media presentation) to determine content that may be useful or helpful for the reader. 
     The workspace  202  displays a media presentation  208 . The media presentation may be an electronic book (e-book), for example. The media presentation  208  includes text  218 , which further includes various highlighted terms  220 . The terms  220  may be highlighted by using techniques such as underlining, outlining, or displaying a colored area near the terms  220  (e.g., a yellow box over a term). The terms  220  may be a portion of the media presentation  208  that have been selected by parsing the media presentation based on predetermined criteria. For example, an author or distributor of the media presentation may manually select portions of the media presentation. As another example, a pre-existing book may be electronically (i.e., automatically) parsed to search for terms that are uncommon, or that are proper names (e.g., place names or personal names) using predetermined criteria as is explained regarding  FIG. 3 . 
     The content shelf  204  may include various content related to the highlighted terms  220 . For example, the terms  220   a  and  220   b  are uncommon words or terms. The media presentation  208  may be, for example, a novel that is quite old and includes archaic terms. The terms  220   a  and  220   b  may be such terms. A reader may not be familiar with the term  220   a , and a definition  222   a  for the term  220   a  may be displayed in the content shelf  204 . Likewise, a definition  222   b  for the term  220   b  may also be displayed in the content shelf  204 . 
     According to an example, the content in the content shelf  204  may include a visual cue to indicate the portion (e.g., the term  220 ) with which it is associated. For example, the definition  222   a  may include the term  220   a  that it is defining. Other visual cues such as color or numbers may also be used to establish the association. 
     Additionally, the media presentation  208  may include references to proper names, such as place names (as shown in the term  220   c ) or proper names (e.g., historical figures) as shown in the term  220   d . A map  222   c  of the place named in the term  220   c  may be displayed in the content shelf  204 . The map  222   c  may be interactive; a reader may be able to select the map (e.g., using a mouse click) to summon an interactive or larger map. Likewise, a biography (or image)  222   d  of the person named in the term  220   d  may be displayed in the content shelf  204 . According to an example, the biography  222   d  may be a capsule summary of the person&#39;s biography; a reader may select the biography  222   d  to read more about the referenced person. 
     The content (e.g., the definitions  222   a  and  222   b , the map  222   c , and the biography  222   d ) shown in the content shelf  204  may be culled from remote sources such as websites and displayed in a capsulated format such as is shown in  FIG. 2 . According to an example, when the media presentation  208 , or a portion of the media presentation  208  is loaded (e.g., by selecting the media presentation  208  using the electronic library  100 ), the media presentation  208  may be parsed to select the terms  220 . The content may then be displayed in the content shelf  204  by retrieving the content from remote or local sources such as online dictionaries, mapping services, or other content providers. Alternatively, the media presentation may be parsed in a more gradual manner. For example, when viewing an e-book, the media presentation  208  may be parsed every time a new page is display. When a user selects one of the navigation tools of the navigation shelf  206 , the newly displayed page may be parsed to select portions. Related content for the selected portions (e.g., the terms  220 ) may then have generated and displayed in the content shelf  204 . 
     According to another example, the media presentation may be parsed ahead of time, in order to reduce the amount of loading time while a reader is viewing the media presentation  208 . According to this example, a distributor of the media presentation  208  may search the media presentation  208  using predetermined criteria to select portions of the media presentation  208 . These portions may then be highlighted (as with the terms  220 ), and content related to the terms  220  may be selected to appear in the content shelf  204 . The content may be included with a package (e.g., a file or group of files) of the media presentation  208 , or may be remotely accessed (e.g., using the Internet). The parsing may either be performed manually (e.g., by an author or distributor), or electronically (e.g., by searching, as in  FIG. 3 ). 
     Parsing the Media Presentation 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart describing a process  300  for parsing a media presentation and selecting portions of the media presentation based on predetermined criteria according to various examples. The process  300  generally describes parsing a media presentation (e.g., an e-book) for portions that may be unfamiliar to a viewer or may otherwise be amenable to the attachment of additional related content. The process  300  describes an automatic (e.g., computer assisted) process for parsing a new or existing work to select portions that may interest a viewer or reader. Various predetermined criteria may be used when selecting the portions for which content is obtained. The operations  304 ,  308 , and  316  are examples of predetermined criteria that may be used to select portions of the media presentation. 
     In operation  302 , a portion of the media presentation is examined. The portion may be a term comprising one or more words. For example, when the media presentation is a book or other written work, the portion may be a single word or a group of two or more words when it is determined that the group of words is related. The portion may be a word, a name, or a phrase. 
     In operation  304 , it is determined whether the portion is a term (e.g., a word or phrase) that is uncommon. According to an example, this may be determined by comparing the term to a list of common words and phrases; if the term is absent from the list, it may be concluded that the term is uncommon. If the term is uncommon, in operation  306 , a definition for the term is obtained. The definition may come from a source such as a dictionary, or may be produced by a distributor or author of the media presentation. If the term is common, the process  300  proceeds to operation  308 . 
     In operation  308 , it is determined whether a term comprising the portion is capitalized. Capitalization may indicate that the term is a proper name such as a place name or a personal name. Additionally, the operation  308  may ignore the term if it comes at the beginning of a sentence (which would automatically be capitalized). Also, in languages other than English (e.g., German), words that are not proper names are capitalized. In these cases, another technique may be used to determine whether the portion includes a proper name. For example, the contents of the portion may be compared to a database of proper names. 
     In some examples, if the term of the portion is capitalized, in operation  310 , it is determined what type of proper name the portion describes. If the portion describes a place name, in operation  312 , a map is obtained for the portion. If the portion describes a personal name, in operation  314 , a biography or image is obtained for the portion. According to an example, if the term of the portion is capitalized, an image relating to the portion is obtained. 
     In other examples, if the term of the portion is not capitalized, in operation  316 , it is determined whether the portion includes a quotation. A quotation may be identified, for example, by observing quotation marks (“ ”) at the beginning and the end of the portion. If the portion includes a quotation, in operation  318 , a database of quotations may be searched, and related content to the quotation (e.g., who the author is, a biographical sketch of the author) may be provided. 
     If the portion is not a quotation, in operation  320 , it may be determined that the portion does not deserve to be highlighted. In operation  322 , it is determined whether there are any remaining portions of the media presentation to be examined. If there are remaining portions, the process  300  returns to the operation  302 . If there are no more remaining portions, the process  300  finishes. 
     In operation  324 , once content appropriate for the portion has been obtained, the content may be associated with the portion. The association may allow a reader or viewer to determine that the content is related to the portion. For example, the portion may be the term  220   a , and the content (e.g., the definition  222   a ) may include a visual cue that the two are related. The content may be associated with the portion to display the content in the content shelf when the media presentation is presented. 
     The process  300  is an example of a process that may be used to generate content (e.g., the definitions  222   a  and  222   b , the map  222   c , and the biography  222   d ) to display in a content shelf (e.g., the content shelf  204 ) of a viewer such as the electronic reader  200 . Other operations may be added to the process  300 , and some operations may be removed. For example, proper names may be found by comparing the portion to a database of proper names. Further, media presentations of a type other than a text-based media presentation may also be used. For example, the media presentation may be an image. The image may be analyzed using image recognition software to determine the subject of the image, and content related to the subject of the image may be retrieved. As another example, an audio presentation may also have related content. The audio presentation may include metadata indicating the subject matter of the presentation, which can then be used to search for the content. Alternatively, audio analysis software may be used to find appropriate related content. 
     Presentation of the Media Presentation Including Related Content 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart describing a process  400  for presenting a media presentation including related content according to an example. The process  400  generally describes presenting (e.g., displaying) a media presentation (e.g., an e-book) using an electronic device such as a personal computer or e-book reader. 
     In operation  402 , a workspace is presented. The workspace may be, for example, the workspace  202  of the electronic reader  200 . In operation  404 , a content shelf is presented. The content shelf may be, for example, the content shelf  204 , and may be presented adjacent to or near the workspace. The content shelf may also be presented in any other location. The content shelf may be used to present content related to the media presentation, such as the definitions  222   a  and  222   b , the map  222   c , and the biography  222   d . According to an example, the workspace and the content shelf may be presented by displaying (e.g., drawing) the workspace and content shelf on a display such as a monitor. 
     In operation  406 , a media presentation is presented in the workspace. The media presentation may be, for example, a text-based media presentation such as an e-book, an image, audio clip, or video clip. 
     In operation  408 , a portion of the media presentation is designated based on parsing the media presentation according to a predetermined criterion. The media presentation may be parsed, and the portion selected using, for example, the process  300  or one like it. The predetermined criterion may be one of the operations  304 ,  308 , or  316 , or another similar criterion. Designating the portion may include highlighting the portion. For example, the terms  220  may be designated by various techniques such as highlighting, outlining, or underlining. 
     In operation  410 , a content related to the portion of the media presentation is displayed in the content shelf. The portion may be determined by parsing the media presentation and selection the portion based on a predetermined criterion. The predetermined criterion may be one of the criteria discussed above regarding the process  300 . The related content may be generated by an author or distributor of the media presentation, or may be retrieved from a remote or local source. 
     An Exemplary Computer System 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer system suitable for parsing media presentations and presenting media presentations including related content, in accordance with various examples. In some examples, a computer system  500  may be used to implement computer programs, applications, methods, processes, or other software to perform the above-described techniques. The computer system  500  includes a bus  502  or other communication mechanism for communicating information, which interconnects subsystems and devices, such as a processor  504 , a system memory  506  (e.g., RAM), a storage device  508  (e.g., ROM), a disk drive  510  (e.g., magnetic or optical), a communication interface  512  (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), a display  514  (e.g., CRT or LCD), an input device  516  (e.g., keyboard), and a cursor control  518  (e.g., mouse or trackball). 
     According to some examples, the computer system  500  performs specific operations by processor  504  executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions stored in the system memory  506 . Such instructions may be read into the system memory  506  from another computer readable medium, such as the static storage device  508  or the disk drive  510 . In some examples, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the examples. 
     Although the foregoing examples have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, the examples are not limited to the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementing the examples. The disclosed examples are illustrative and not restrictive.