Patent Publication Number: US-2013246939-A9

Title: Calendar Application for Communication Devices

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of priority from Application Serial No. PCT/IB2010/055890. The &#39;890 application, which is entitled “A Calendar Application for Communication Devices,” was filed Dec. 16, 2010 and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to wireless communication devices, and more particularly to wireless communication devices configured to execute calendar applications. 
     BACKGROUND 
     There are many different calendar software applications currently available. Most run on Personal Computers (PCs) or similar computing device, although many also run on handheld wireless devices such as cellular telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and tablet computing devices. No matter the platform, however, most, if not all calendar software applications, share a common basic characteristic. Specifically, conventional calendar software applications generally allow users to view and/or interact with upcoming appointments and events. For the most part, they do not provide ways for users to interact with appointments and events that have already occurred in an elegant manner or in a way that compels user interaction. Nor do they provide a view of the actual outcomes of appointments, or how they are related in time to each other and to other events. 
     Additionally, conventional software applications do not currently present all of the events and appointments that effect a user, past or future, on a display for the user to read easily. For example, they do not generate or chronologically indicate combined events for messages or phone calls originated by, or received by, the user. Therefore, especially given the current lack of visual indications of chronological relationships between events and appointments, conventional calendar software applications do not meet all of the current needs of their intended users. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention provides a system and method for collecting, organizing, and displaying a user&#39;s scheduling information in chronological order. Particularly, the present invention comprises a computer program that executes on a central processing unit (CPU) or other similar controller. When executed, the program configures the CPU to display a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that visually provides the user&#39;s scheduling information to indicate to the user which events and/or activities have already occurred, and which have yet to occur. The program will cause the CPU to organize and display events as being user-originated, or not user originated (i.e., originated by some other party). Further, the program allows the user to easily manipulate the information associated with the events and/or activities, and to share events and/or activities with other users. 
     Accordingly, in one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for aggregating and displaying scheduling information on a communication device. The method comprises bisecting a display screen of a communication device using a timeline, displaying events originated by a user of the communication device on a first side of the timeline, displaying events associated with the user but originated by a remote party on a second side of the timeline opposite the first side, displaying activities associated with the user along the timeline, and displaying a current timeline indicator on the display screen to indicate which of the events and activities has already occurred, and which of the events and activities have yet to occur. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises establishing a communication link between the user&#39;s communications device and a remote communications device associated with a remote user, receiving a timeline associated with the remote party via the communication link, and displaying the remote party&#39;s timeline on the display screen of the user&#39;s communications device. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises subscribing to receive one or more timelines associated with each of one or more corresponding other parties, indicating each of the timelines associated with one or more other parties on the display screen, and selecting the remote party&#39;s timeline from among the plurality of timelines on the display screen. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises adding one or more activities displayed along the remote party&#39;s timeline to the user&#39;s timeline responsive to the user dragging and dropping the one or more activities from the remote party&#39;s timeline onto the user&#39;s timeline. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises adding one or more activities displayed along the user&#39;s timeline to the remote party&#39;s timeline responsive to the user dragging and dropping the one or more activities from the user&#39;s timeline onto the remote party&#39;s timeline. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises controlling the display screen of the user&#39;s computer device to fade the events on the first and second sides of the timeline from the display screen responsive to receiving the remote party&#39;s timeline. 
     In one embodiment, displaying a current timeline indicator on the display screen comprises displaying the current timeline indicator to intersect the timeline at a current time. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises adding a new event to the first side of the timeline responsive to the user selecting a past event, wherein the new event and the past event are of the same event type. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises adding a new event to the second side of the timeline responsive to the remote party initiating the event. 
     In one embodiment, the method further comprises adding a new activity along the user&#39;s timeline responsive to the user contacting the display screen along the timeline. 
     The present invention also provides a communications device configured to perform embodiments of the present invention. In one embodiment, the communication device comprises a display, memory configured to store scheduling information associated with the user, and a controller. The controller is configured to bisect the display using a timeline, display events originated by a user of the communication device on a first side of the timeline, display events associated with the user but originated by a remote party on a second side of the timeline opposite the first side, display activities associated with the user along the timeline, and display a current timeline indicator on the display to indicate which of the events and activities has already occurred, and which of the events and activities have yet to occur. 
     In one embodiment, the device further comprises a communications interface configured to establish a communication link with a remote communications device associated with a remote user, receive a timeline from the remote party via the communication link, and display the remote party&#39;s timeline on the display of the user&#39;s communications device. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to subscribe to receive one or more timelines associated with each of one or more other parties, indicate each of the timelines associated with one or more other parties on the display, and select the remote party&#39;s timeline from among the plurality of timelines on the display responsive to user input. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to detect a drag and drop operation in which the user drags one or more selected activities from the remote party&#39;s timeline and drops the one or more selected activities along the user&#39;s timeline, and add the one or more selected activities to the user&#39;s timeline responsive to the drag and drop operation. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to detect a drag and drop operation in which the user drags one or more selected activities from the user&#39;s timeline and drops the one or more selected activities along the remote party&#39;s timeline, and add the one or more selected activities to the remote party&#39;s timeline responsive to the drag and drop operation. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to fade the events on the first and second sides of the timeline from the display responsive to receiving the remote party&#39;s timeline. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to display the current timeline indicator to intersect the timeline at a current time. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to add a new event to the first side of the timeline responsive to the user selecting a past event, wherein the new event and the past event are of the same event type. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to add a new event to the second side of the timeline responsive to the remote party initiating the event. 
     In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to add a new activity along the user&#39;s timeline responsive to the user contacting the display screen along the timeline. 
     Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to the above contexts or examples, and will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description and upon viewing the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic device suitable to be configured to operate according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a cellular wireless communication device configured according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) on a touch-sensitive display configured according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the GUI configured according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for displaying scheduling information according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating a method for adding and/or updating scheduling information according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates perspective views of other types of computing devices suitable for use with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention provides a communications device configured to collect, organize, and display a user&#39;s scheduling information on a touch-sensitive interface of the device. Particularly, the present invention comprises an application that executes on the communications device. The application configures the device to collect information regarding events and activities that are associated with the user. The events and activities may be originated by the user, or may be originated by a remote party. The application also configures the device to display the events and activities chronologically along a timeline at the time they occurred. This enables a user to view and interact with past events and activities (i.e., those that have already occurred), as well as those that are currently occurring, and those that have yet to occur (i.e., future events and activities). The application also provides users with the ability to add and/or update their own timelines using information from the timelines of one or more other users. 
     Turning now to the drawings,  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate some of the components ( FIG. 1 ) of a communications device configured to operate according to the present invention. As described herein, one type of communications device suitable for configuring according to the present invention comprises a cellular telephone  10  (see  FIG. 2 ). However, as seen in later figures, the present invention is not limited to operation only on cellular telephones  10 , but instead, may be executed on other communications devices as well. 
     Cellular telephone  10  comprises a programmable controller  12 , a user input/output interface  14 , a memory  16 , and a communications interface  18 . The controller  12  may, for example, be implemented as a single microprocessor or multiple microprocessors. Suitable microprocessors may include, but are not limited to, general purpose and special purpose microprocessors as well as digital signal processors and/or image processors. The controller  12  controls the operation of the cellular telephone  10  according to one or more programs and data stored in memory  16 . As is known in the art, such programs and data control the cellular telephone&#39;s  10  ability to perform functions such as establish a communications link with a remote party, and to transmit/receive data with the remote party. However, as described later in more detail, the cellular telephone  10  includes an application program  30  that contains the logic and instructions for controlling the cellular telephone  10  to collect, organize, and display events and activities that are associated with a user in chronological order. 
     The User I/O Interface (UI)  14  generally includes one or more components that permit the user to interact with, and control the operation of, the cellular telephone  10 . As best seen in  FIG. 2 , this generally includes components such as a speaker  22  and one or more user controls  24 . The user controls  24 , which may comprise a variety of knobs, switches, keys, button controls, or dials, for example, are distributed across the housing of the digital camera device  10 . 
     In this embodiment, the UI  16  also includes a touch-sensitive display  20 . According the present invention, the application program  30 , when executed by controller  12 , provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) on touch-sensitive display  20 . The GUI permits the user to intuitively interact with applications executing on the cellular telephone  10  using touch. More particularly, the GUI on display  20  displays a chronological ordering of the user&#39;s scheduling information to the user, and handles user touches, which are detected by the touch-sensitive display  20 , to allow the user to interact with the present invention. 
     Memory  16  is a computer readable medium representing the entire hierarchy of memory in cellular telephone  10 , and may comprise both random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). As previously stated, the computer program instructions and data required for operation of the cellular telephone  10  (e.g., application  30 ) are stored in non-volatile memory, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and/or flash memory. Memory  16  may be implemented, for example, as one or more discrete devices, stacked devices, or removable devices, such as a flash drive or memory stick, or may be integrated with controller  12 . 
     The communications interface  18  permits the user of cellular telephone  10  to communicate and exchange data with one or more remote parties. As seen in  FIG. 1 , the communications interface  18  may comprise, for example, a short-range transceiver  26  and/or a cellular transceiver  28 . The cellular transceiver  28  is a fully functional cellular radio transceiver, and operates according to any known standard, including Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), TINEIA-136, cdmaOne, cdma2000, UMTS, and Wideband CDMA. According to the present invention, cellular transceiver  28  is configured to receive signals from, and transmit signals to, one or more remote parties via one or more base stations subsystems in a wireless communication network (not shown). The short-range transceiver  26  is configured to transmit signals to and receive signals via a short-range interface from a remote party having a corresponding short-range transceiver. In one embodiment, short-range transceiver  26  comprises a BLUETOOTH transceiver or RF transceiver operating according to the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. 
     The standards and protocols used by the cellular transceiver  28  and short-range transceiver  26  to communicate data are well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the details about the standards and protocols are not explicitly provided herein. It is sufficient to say that, according to one embodiment of the present invention, both transceivers  26 ,  28  are configured to share the scheduling information and data associated with a given timeline with one or more other devices) in accordance with their respective protocols and standards. 
     As seen in  FIG. 3 , the application  30 , when executed by the controller  12 , displays a GUI  40  on the touch-sensitive display  20  that allows the user of cellular telephone  10  to interact with the present invention. The GUI  40  comprises a timeline  42  that bisects the display  20  into two different, but substantially equally-sized, regions. Particularly, the timeline  42  extends longitudinally to partition the display  20  into a first region  44  that lies on a first side of the timeline, and a second region  46  that lies on the second, opposing side of the timeline  42 . Additionally, a current time indicator  48  and a plurality of horizontal lines  50  extends across display  20 . 
     The current time indicator  48  extends horizontally across display  20  and intersects the timeline  42  at substantially a right angle. According to the present invention, the current time indicator  48  progresses vertically relative to the timeline  42  to mark the current time of day. As seen in  FIG. 3 , the current time may be shown on each side of the current time indicator  48 . All past events and activities, which are described later in more detail, appear “behind” the current time indicator  48  while future events and activities appear below the current time indicator  48 . A current event or activity will appear at the intersection of the timeline  42  and the current time indicator  48 . Similarly, the lines  50  are spaced vertically along the timeline  42 . Each line  50  is labeled to indicate a time of day at equal intervals (e.g., every hour) thereby partitioning the display  20  into substantially equal portions. 
     In one embodiment, the background color of GUI  40  is based on the time of day. For example, for hours associated with “nighttime,” the GUI  40  may have a dark blue background on which to display the timeline  43  and events/activities, and a lighter color for “daytime” hours. In another embodiment, the horizontal lines  50  and the corresponding times change color. In one embodiment, the application  30  provides one or more differentiating horizontal lines intersecting the timeline  42  that explicitly identify a day or time-of-day boundary. 
     The user may employ predetermined actions to navigate the timeline  42  on GUI  40 . For example, to scroll forwards and backwards in time through the timeline  42 , the user could perform a swiping action with his or her finger. Swiping a finger in a first direction would “scroll” the timeline  42  back in time to display events and/or activities that occurred in the past. Swiping a finger in a second, opposite direction would “scroll” the timeline  42  forward in time to display events and/or activities that have yet to occur. Additionally, a user can invoke the “zoom” feature of the display  20  to zoom in and out of a desired portion of the display using a “pinch” gesture. It is also possible for the application  30  to detect other dual/multi-touch gestures and perform some corresponding function. 
     The application  30 , when executed by controller  12 , collects, organizes, and displays events and activities associated with the user along the timeline  42 . Specifically, all events that are originated by the user of cellular telephone  10  are placed in the first region  44 . All events that are originated by a remote party are placed in the second region  46 . Activities, depicted in the boxes or “bubbles” of  FIG. 3 , are placed along the timeline  42 . The events and activities are placed on the timeline  42  at the time they occur, or at the time they will occur. 
     Events, whether originated by the user or some other remote party, comprise actions performed by the user and/or the remote party (i.e., what a person has done or contributed to the user&#39;s timeline). Exemplary events include, but are not limited to, actions such as listening to audio/viewing video  52 , sending/receiving emails or MMS messages  54 ,  58 , sending receiving telephone calls  60 , making/reading a blog entry, and sending/receiving invitations to participate in an activity. Each event listed in the first and second regions  44 ,  46  are identified using a descriptive graphical icon and/or corresponding text. For example, from  FIG. 3 , it can be seen from the events placed in the first region  42  that the user sent an email  58  to “Mikael Hellberg” shortly before 11:00, and then placed a telephone call  60  to the same person shortly after 11:00. 
     If desired, the user can access specific details about the events by “tapping” the event icon or performing some similar action. For example, as seen in  FIG. 3 , the user can “tap” the “envelope” icon to view the contents  56  of the message  54  sent to “Lina Svensson” shortly after 13:00. Additionally, the application  30  can also launch a corresponding application program (e.g., an email application or a Short Message Service (SMS) application) responsive to another user action (e.g., a “double-tap” on the icon). This will allow the user to edit and send a new message to the same or different person. 
     Events are added to the timeline  42  by the user or by other users as they occur. In one embodiment, for example, an event is added responsive to a remote party sending an invitation to the user to participate in an activity such as a meeting. The person making the request is identified by the text  62  and the type of activity is indicated by the icon  64 . The activity (i.e., the meeting) is illustrated using bubble  66 , which is placed along the timeline  42 . The bubble  66  is sized to indicate the length of time needed for the activity. Thus, as seen in  FIG. 3 , the bubble  66  extends between the horizontal lines  50  for  1600  and  1700  indicating the start and end times, respectively, and that the meeting will last for one hour. 
     As seen in  FIG. 3 , the bubble  66  identifying the requested meeting activity is bordered by dashed lines. This indicates that the activity is pending acceptance by the user. The user has the option to either accept or refuse the invitation by tapping one of the “ACCEPT” (i.e., checkmark) or “REFUSE” (i.e., ‘X’) icons next to the bubble  66 . Upon accepting the invitation to attend the meeting, the dashed border lines will be replaced by solid lines indicating that the user has committed to attending the meeting. 
     As previously described, the present invention displays activities, such as the meeting represented by bubble  66 , along the length of the timeline  42 . Where events identify actions performed by the user (i.e., seen in the first region  44 ), or by others (i.e., seen in the second region  46 ), activities identify events that the user might attend. Some illustrative examples of an activity include, but are not limited to, appointments, business meetings, doctor appointments, vacations, scheduled dinners, and concerts. In one embodiment, the bubble or other icon that represents a given activity extends along the timeline  42  between the start and end times of the activity. All activities will have a start time, but may not have an end time. Those activities that do not have an end time are displayed on the timeline  42  as “fading out” at one end. For example, the bubble  70  represents a dinner activity that the user will attend beginning shortly after  1700 . The bottom end of the bubble  70  fades out, and thus, indicates that the user did not provide an end time for this activity. 
     The user may edit the details for a given activity by double-tapping the desired activity. In one embodiment, for example, the application  30  will display a dialog box prompting the user to enter or modify the details for the activity. Similarly, a user can add an activity by tapping on a vacant part of the timeline  42 . As when editing an existing activity, the application  30  will display one or more dialogs to allow the user to enter the activity details. 
     Additionally, the present invention also allows a user to share activities with other parties over an established communications link. Particularly, a user of timeline  42  may subscribe to share timeline information with other parties. As seen in  FIG. 3 , the user of timeline  42  subscribes to Bob, Carly, and Mikael—each identified in a subscriber section  80  of GUI  40  comprising a tab  82 ,  84 ,  86 . The application  30  may add and delete a given tab, for example, based on the presence of the associated party. The user of timeline  42  need only to touch a desired tab to share activities with the associated party. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates how the GUI  40  may change when the user of timeline  42  selects tab  84 . Particularly, the event information on both the first and second regions  44 ,  46  will fade away. The user&#39;s timeline  42 , along with the user&#39;s activities, is also moved to one side of the display  20 . This allows the application  30  to then display the selected party&#39;s timeline  88  along with their corresponding activities in the GUI  40 .  FIG. 4  illustrates only two timelines  42 ,  88  on GUI  40 ; however, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that more than two timelines  42 ,  88  may be displayed on GUI  40  as needed or desired. To enable the user to identify which timeline  42  belongs to which party, the application  30  identifies the timelines using labels. In this case, the timelines for the user and the selected remote party are identified using labels  42 a,  88 a. 
     Information between parties is transferred via an established communications link. If a link is not established between the user and the remote party at the time the user selects the party, the application  30  will control the controller  12  and communications interface  18  to establish the link. As stated above, the user&#39;s cellular telephone  10  may comprise one or both of a cellular transceiver  28  and a short-range transceiver  26 . Thus, the cellular telephone  10  may establish a cellular link or a short-range link with the selected party&#39;s device and transfer the information via that link. 
     To share activities between timelines  42 ,  88 , the user need only to perform a “drag-n-drop” operation. Such operations, as opposed to manual data entry, enable the user to easily add or update activities from other timelines to other timelines (and vice versa). This allows a given user to better plan their lives. Specifically, the user could “drag” a selected activity from one timeline to another, and then “drop” the activity on the timeline. For example,  FIG. 4  illustrates an activity  90  indicating the user&#39;s desire to meet with a friend, Carly, starting at  1600  and ending at  1700 . Using a finger, for example, the user could drag the bubble representing the activity  90  from timeline  42  and drop it on timeline  88 . Upon dropping the bubble, the application  30  could create a new activity  92  on timeline  88  sharing all the information related to that particular activity with the identified party (i.e., Carly) via the established communications link. A corresponding activity could appear on the device of the remote party along her timeline. 
       FIG. 4  describes this embodiment wherein the user performs a drag-n-drop operation to share a selected activity with a remote party such that the activity appears along the remote party&#39;s timeline  88 . Nevertheless, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention also allows other parties to initiate establishing the communications link and share selected activities from between timelines. 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a method performed by application  30  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method  100  begins when application  30 , executed by controller  12 , bisects the display  20  with the timeline  42  to form the first and second regions  44 ,  46 , and indicates the current time using the current time indicator  48 . The user can discern between past, current, and future events and activities using the current time indicator  48  (box  102 ). As events occur, the controller  12  determines whether the user originated the event or whether another party originated the event (box 104 ). If the user originated the event, the controller  12  will, based on the instructions of application  30 , display the event in the first region  44  on the first side of the timeline  42  (box  106 ). If the controller determines that a remote party originated the event, the controller  12  will display the event in the second region on the second side of the timeline  42 , opposite the first side (box  108 ). 
     For activities, the controller will determine whether the user or another party added an activity (box  110 ). This determination maybe accomplished, for example, responsive to the user “dragging-and-dropping” an activity from someone else&#39;s timeline, or by manually adding the activity as previously described. Upon detecting the addition of an activity, the controller  12  will obtain the scheduling information about the activity and display a corresponding bubble or other indicator along the timeline  42  (box  112 ). Upon detecting a user touch on the display at an event or activity, for example, the controller  12  could launch a software program associated with the event to allow the user to perform that event. For example, if the user performed a “double-tap” operation on a telephone icon associated with a past event, the controller  12  would initiate a voice communications program to allow the user to place a new call to the remote party associated with the past event (box  116 ). A new icon would then be placed, at the current time, on the first side of the timeline  42  to indicate that the call had been placed by the user (boxes  104 ,  106 ). 
     In one embodiment, the software program launched by application  30  provides its own user interface that covers or replaces all or part of GUI  40  on display  20 . In another embodiment, however, the application  30  launches the software program within the GUI  40 . In these embodiments, the software program that is launched may or may not be a “full” version having all functions and features, but instead, may be a “simplified” version of the software program having selected features and/or functions. Further, the user interface provided by the software program being launched may be opaque or transparent such that a user could interact with the user interface of the launched software program while still retaining the ability to view the components of the GUI  40 . 
       FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating a method in which the user shares activities with other users by copying the activities to/from the other users&#39; timelines in one embodiment of the present invention. Method  120  begins when the user&#39;s cellular telephone  10  establishes a communications link with the device of a remote party (box  122 ). As previously stated, either the user&#39;s device, or the remote party&#39;s device, may initiate establishing the link, which may be a cellular link or a short-range link. Upon establishing the link with the selected party, the controller  12  fades the event information on the first and second side of the timeline  12  and moves the timeline  12  towards one side of the display  20  (box  124 ). The user&#39;s device then receives the timeline information from the remote party&#39;s device via the established link (box  128 ). Authentication or other security procedures may be performed as is known in the art to help ensure privacy. The controller  12  will then, according to the logic and instructions of the application  30 , display both the user&#39;s timeline and the remote party&#39;s timeline on display  20  (box  128 ). 
     While the timelines are displayed, the controller  12  will detect a drag and drop operation performed by the user to share the information for an activity (box  130 ). For example, as seen in  FIG. 5 , the user may drag-n-drop an activity from the remote party&#39;s timeline to his/her own timeline. Upon detecting the operation, the controller  12  will retrieve the information associated with the selected activity being dropped onto the user&#39;s timeline  42  (box  132 ), and add an activity (or update an existing activity) based on the retrieved information (box  134 ). 
     The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other ways than those specifically set forth herein without departing from essential characteristics of the invention. For example, as previously described, the timelines  42  extend longitudinally. In other embodiments, however, the timelines  42  extend horizontally. Further, in one embodiment, application  30  executes on a controller  12  of a cellular telephone  10 . However, in other embodiments, application  30  executes on other electronic devices having a programmable processor and that capable of communicating with other, remote parties.  FIG. 7 , for example, Illustrates some examples of other suitable electronic devices. Particularly, the application  30  may be executed on a tablet computing device  136 , such as APPLE′S iPAD. Generally, these tablet devices include touch-screen displays  20  and short-range transceivers  28  that enable them to communicate data and information with one or more remote parties via a wireless access point and the Internet. 
     Other examples of suitable devices are laptop computers  138  and desktop computers  140 . These devices may not always include touch-screen displays  20 , and thus, may not be able to perform the “double-tap” or “drag-n-drop” operations based on touch. Rather, such devices would rely on other pointing devices such as a mouse, a trackball, or a trackpad to perform these operations. Nevertheless, such computing devices  138 ,  140  still include a processor suitable for executing the application  30  as previously described, and also, are capable of communicating data and information to one or more remote parties via a short-range interface and the Internet. 
     Additionally, the previous embodiments describe the remote parties from which the user transmits/receives scheduling information (e.g., events) as being a person with a cellular telephone  10  or similar device. However, the present invention may also communicate such information with one or more servers associated with a social networking site. For example, social networks are rapidly becoming an important means of communication for many users. Typically, a user will connect to one or more friends or acquaintances via a social networking site, such as FACEBOOK and TWITTER. Messages originating from such sites and/or sent to such sites from cellular telephone  10  can be processed and displayed by application  30  in accordance with the present invention. This includes the ability to copy selected activities to and from a timeline associated with a social networking site as previously described. 
     Therefore, the present embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein