Patent Abstract:
The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture or extension to an operating system (or component thereof) that can facilitate extensible themes for or advertising integration with a desktop that is managed by the operating system. In particular, the architecture can acquire advertisement content such as ads or advertiser skins, select suitable content for display, and configure the operating system to display the selected content. The architecture also provides mechanisms for identifying suitable locations as well as appropriate time for displaying the content.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/870,926, filed Dec. 20, 2006, entitled “ARCHITECTURES FOR SEARCH AND ADVERTISING.” In addition, this application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/767,810, filed on Jun. 25, 2007, entitled “PROVIDING ALTERNATIVE CONTENT IN A WINDOWED ENVIRONMENT”, which also claims the benefit of the above-mentioned U.S. Provisional Application. The entireties of these applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Advertisers have long been preoccupied with the search for new and better ways of reaching, understanding, and/or targeting a potential audience for their advertisement content. In addition, advertisers are also continually searching for new platforms or venues to host advertisement content, preferably in a manner that maintains a high degree of audience attention. The widespread growth of the Internet serves as one illustration of advertisers&#39; preoccupation with finding new markets. As Internet usage boomed, so too did Internet advertising. 
     However, although literally millions of people world-wide spend a substantial amount of time directly interacting with computers on a daily basis, conventionally, computer-based user-interfaces such as desktops or other features maintained by an operating system remains relatively untapped by advertising concerns. 
     SUMMARY 
     The following presents a simplified summary of the claimed subject matter in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the claimed subject matter. This summary is not an extensive overview of the claimed subject matter. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the claimed subject matter nor delineate the scope of the claimed subject matter. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the claimed subject matter in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
     The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one aspect thereof, comprises an architecture that can facilitate extensible themes and/or advertising integration in connection with an operating system user-interface such as a desktop. To these and other related ends, the architecture can be interfaced to or implemented as an extension of a computer-based operating system or components thereof such as a desktop environment manager, a window manager, and so forth. 
     In accordance therewith, the architecture can acquire advertisement content from an advertiser. The advertisement content can be, e.g. a product advertisement, a link to the advertisement, an extensible and/or configurable skin, typically related to an advertiser&#39;s brand or trademark, an update, as well as other applicable types of advertisement content. The advertisement content can be stored for later retrieval and can further be examined for suitability for display based upon a wide range of potential criteria. For example, suitable content can be selected based upon preferences or settings designated by the user, by the implementation, and/or by default. 
     The advertisement content can also be selected based upon a bidding model wherein advertisers can compete for ad-slots, based upon contractual obligations or rights associated with either advertisers or end-users of the operating system. In addition, the advertisement content can be selected based upon transaction histories and/or demographic information, wherein such information need not be transmitted or revealed to third parties or otherwise be accessible to remote systems or entities. Accordingly, aspects of the claimed subject matter can serve to mitigate privacy concerns with respect to marketing and/or ad-targeting. 
     According to another aspect of the claimed subject matter, the advertisement content can be extended to other user-interfaces that are launched, accessed, and/or instantiated by the desktop or the associated operating system. Examples of such can include but are not limited to disparate applications, web portals and so forth. 
     The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of the claimed subject matter. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the claimed subject matter may be employed and the claimed subject matter is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and distinguishing features of the claimed subject matter will become apparent from the following detailed description of the claimed subject matter when considered in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a computer-implemented system that can facilitate extensible themes and/or advertising integration in connection with an operating system user-interface. 
         FIG. 2  provides a block diagram of a computer-implemented system that illustrates further detail in connection with the acquisition component  102  and provides various examples of advertisement content. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram a computer-implemented system that depicts various features of the selection component in greater detail. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram a computer-implemented system that can monitor a user-interface to determine potential suitability for advertisement content. 
         FIG. 5  depicts a block diagram of a computer-implemented system that can provide for various inferences and/or determinations. 
         FIG. 6  is an exemplary flow chart of procedures that define a computer implemented method for facilitating extensible themes for and/or advertising integration with an operating system user-interface. 
         FIG. 7  depicts an exemplary flow chart of procedures that define a computer implemented method for selecting advertisement content based upon a variety of potential criteria. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary flow chart of procedures for a computer implemented method for determining a suitability or appropriateness for display of particular types of advertisement content. 
         FIG. 9  depicts an exemplary flow chart of procedures defining a computer implemented method for applying an extensible skin from an advertiser. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a block diagram of a computer operable to execute the disclosed architecture. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a schematic block diagram of an exemplary computing environment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may be evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the claimed subject matter. 
     As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system”, “desktop”, “skin”, or the like are generally intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a controller and the controller can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. 
     Furthermore, the claimed subject matter may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g. card, stick, key drive . . . ). Additionally it should be appreciated that a carrier wave can be employed to carry computer-readable electronic data such as those used in transmitting and receiving electronic mail or in accessing a network such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN). Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter. 
     Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. 
     As used herein, the terms to “infer” or “inference” refer generally to the process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources. 
     Referring now to the drawing, with reference initially to  FIG. 1 , a computer implemented system  100  that can facilitate extensible themes and/or advertising integration in connection with an operating system user-interface is depicted. Generally, the system  100  can include an acquisition component  102  that can obtain advertisement content  104  from an advertiser  106 . According to an aspect of the claimed subject matter, the advertisement content  104  can be specifically designed and/or tailored expressly for display by an operating system  108 . The acquisition component  102  can also store the advertisement content  104  to a data store  110 , which can be interfaced to the system  100  as depicted, or, additionally or alternatively, the data store  110  can be a component of the system  100 . 
     Likewise, the system  100  can be interfaced to the operating system  108 , while according to additional aspects, the system  100  or portions thereof can be components of the operating system  100 . For example, the system  100  (or portions thereof) can be a component or components of an operating system desktop environment manager or another similar mechanism provided by the operating system  108  that can manage user-interfaces for the operating system  108 . 
     In addition, the system  100  can also include a selection component  112  that can select the advertisement content  104  for display, and a configuration component  114  that can supply the advertisement content  104  to the operating system  108 . The advertisement content  104  is described in more detail in conjunction with  FIG. 2 , while the selection component  112  is further described in connection with  FIG. 3 . It is to be appreciated that whether interfaced to or a component of the operating system  108 , the configuration component  114  can, potentially depending upon a type of the advertisement content  104 , supply the advertisement content  104  to an appropriate component of the operating system  108  such that the advertisement content  104  can be rendered for display in a desktop environment. It is also to be appreciated that is some situations the advertisement content  104  can be forwarded to and/or displayed by a user-interface associated with a disparate or third party application, however, the acquisition, selection, and/or configuration of the advertisement content  104  is generally not handled or managed by the third party application. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 2 , a computer-implemented system  200  that illustrates further detail in connection with the acquisition component  102  and further illustrates various examples of advertisement content  104  can be found. Typically, the system  200  can include the acquisition component  102  that, as substantially described supra, can obtain advertisement content  104 , which can be tailored for the operating system  108  to display, and that can also store the advertisement content  104  to the data store  110 . The system  200  can also include the selection component  112  that can, e.g., access the data store  110  in order to choose the advertisement content  104  that is to be displayed. 
     The system  200  further depicts a number of example types of advertisement content  104 , which are indicated by reference numerals  202 - 208 . According to an aspect of the claimed subject matter, the advertisement content  104  can be an advertisement  202  for a product such as a good or service. The advertisement  202  can include a product description, a coupon or other incentive, as well as suitable text, images, audio, video, executable content and so forth. The advertisement  202  can be displayed in a static form, and activated (e.g., become dynamic) based upon an event such as a mouse or cursor hover or the like. 
     In addition, the advertisement content  104  can be a link  204  or reference to the advertisement  202 . For example, the link  204  can include anchor text that addresses the advertisement  202  or content associated therewith. The advertisement  202  can therefore be called based upon an event such as a mouse click or other input device selection mechanism. It is to be appreciated that in order to activate the advertisement  202 , the operating system can launch a disparate and/or third party application such as a web or content browser, a content/media player, or a similar application. 
     According to another aspect of the claimed subject matter, the advertisement content  104  can be an extensible skin  206  for a desktop or another user-interface associated with the operating system  108 . In particular, various features of a desktop (or other user-interfaces of the operating system  108 ) can be displayed with customized audio/visual interface aspects as well as in some cases customized content, settings, or defaults. The skin  206  can be tailored to a theme, brand, trademark, etc. associated with the advertiser  106 . Hence, that advertiser  106  can be, say, a well-known producer of cola beverages and the associated skin  206  can include customized graphical appearances for the desktop that exhibit visual aspects of the producer&#39;s brands as well as audio trademarks or themes, and so on. 
     The skin  206  can apply to, and thus facilitate customization of, virtually any feature of the desktop such as windows, taskbars, sidebars, avatars, icons, background, screensaver, alerts, bugs, tickers, and so on, and can even be extended to disparate applications and service portals as further described with reference to  FIG. 4 . In accordance therewith, the skin  206  can represent an excellent way to further brand recognition for the advertiser  106 . Moreover, it is to be appreciated that the skin  206  can be both trendy as well as useful. Thus, a user of the operating system  108  might be attracted to the skin  206  not only because it is aesthetically appealing, but also because of customized interface options provided by the skin  206  that make some tasks more efficient or more intuitive for the user of the skin  206 . 
     In another aspect, the advertisement content  104  can be an update  208 . In particular, the advertisement content  104  can be updated to provide new advertisement content  104  periodically, or updated as new advertisement content  104  becomes available from the advertiser  106 . It is to be appreciated that reference numerals  202 - 208  are merely examples of advertisement content  104  intended to provide context but not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter to only the described types of advertisement content  104 . Accordingly, other types of advertisement content  104  can exist and can be applicable to the appended claims. 
     With reference now to  FIG. 3 , a computer-implemented system  300  that depicts various features of the selection component in greater detail is depicted. In general, the system  300  can include the selection component  112  that can select the advertisement content  104  as substantially described herein. In accordance with one aspect of the claimed subject matter, the selection component  112  can select the advertisement content  104  based upon a set of preferences or settings  302  associated with the operating system  108  and/or the desktop. For example, the settings  302  can be default settings, as well as settings designated by the operating system  108  or a user of the operating system  108 . 
     In particular, in this case, the advertisement content  104  that can be displayed on the desktop can be expressly specified, such as when choosing a particular skin  206 . Additionally or alternatively, certain types of advertisement content  104  that can be selected for display can be more generally specified, such as advertisements  202  that relate to a particular type of product or service, or advertisement content  104  of only a particular type (e.g., reference numerals  202 - 208 ) can be displayed. In another aspect, the settings  302  can specify advertisement content  104  that meets various other criteria such as a minimum discount level (e.g., 33% or greater off list price), or that has been rating or ranked in a particular fashion (e.g., video-based commercials that users have rating as humorous). 
     Furthermore, the settings  302  can relate to particular features or regions of the desktop as well as to certain times. For instance, it can be specified that only the upper right-hand portion of the desktop should be populated with advertisement content  104  (e.g., a particular region) or that only a side bar and window title bars are appropriate for advertisement content  104  (e.g., a particular feature of the desktop). As another example, it can be specified that advertisement content  104  should only be displayed at certain times, which can be defined temporally such as only on weekends or after 6:00 pm, or defined by events, such as only during installations, downloads, or while a screen saver is active. It is to be appreciated that all of the above can be accomplished by way of the settings  302 , which can be employed by the selection component  112  in order to select appropriate and/or suitable advertisement content  104 . 
     According to another aspect, the selection component  112  can utilize a bid  304  from the advertiser  106  in order to select the advertisement content  104  for display on the desktop. In particular, one or more advertisers  106  can economically compete for advertising space and/or user attention. The selection component  112  can select the advertisement content  104  with respect to a highest bidder or based upon a variety of other criteria such as advertiser  106  ranking, product quality, as well as information particular to the user, such as transaction histories or profiles, which is further detailed infra. 
     Furthermore, a contractual obligation  306  can provide another example of criteria the selection component  112  can employ to select advertisement content  104 . For example, a contract  306  can be formed with an advertiser  106  providing that, e.g., a certain number of impressions or a certain amount of time of display for the advertising content  104  will be provided to users of the desktop. Likewise, the contract  306  can exist with a user of the desktop. For instance, incentives can be provided to the user such as a free or discounted operating system  108  (as well as virtually any other type of consideration or incentive) in exchange for activating, say, a skinning feature (e.g., skin  206 ), or allowing other types of advertisement content  104  to be displayed, possibly under certain agreed upon conditions. Thus, in accordance with the agreement/contract  306 , the selection component  112  can select the actual advertisement content  104  for display, or select a set of advertisement content  104 , and allow the user to choose from the set, or select one instance of the advertisement content  104  from a user-selected set. 
     In yet another aspect, the selection component  112  can select the advertisement content  104  based upon an update  308 . For instance, certain advertisement content  104  can be newly received or modified in whole or in part. Upon the occurrence of an update  308 , the selection component can re-evaluate the content for display. It is to be appreciated that the selection component  112  need not select advertisement content  104  associated with an update  308 , but rather can select the advertisement content  104  as a result of an occurrence of the update  308 . 
     In accordance with other aspects of the claimed subject matter, the selection component  112  can choose the advertisement content  104  based upon demographic information  310  such as a profile associated with a user of the desktop as well as based upon an interaction/transaction history  312 . In particular, a user profile can be aggregated based upon a history  312  of transactions by a user such as past purchases, clicks, navigation, etc. as well as demographic data  310  such age, gender, income, expenses, and potentially including personal information relating to hobbies, interests, likes, dislikes, and so on. In essence, the selection component  112  can serve as an ad-targeting mechanism for the advertisement content  104 , however, unlike many conventional ad-targeting mechanism, the selection component  112  can reside on a local machine of the user. Thus, information that a user may consider personal, private, or otherwise does not wish to propagate can still be utilized by the selection component  112 , while at the same time potentially mitigating privacy concerns of the user. It should be understood that the criteria  302 - 312  are not intended to be mutually exclusive. Thus, the selection component  112  can utilize one or more of the criteria  302 - 312  simultaneously or in sequence in order to select the advertisement content  104  for display. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a computer-implemented system  400  that can monitor a user-interface to determine potential suitability for advertisement content is illustrated. Typically, the system  400  can include an examination component  402  that can be an independent component as depicted, while, in other scenarios, the examination component  402  can be a subcomponent of the selection component  112 . The examination component  402  can determine or infer a suitable location  406  for display of the advertisement content  104 . For example, the examination component  402  can monitor a desktop  404  associated with the operating system  108  in order to identify unused, non-occluded, or nonessential display space. Unused space can be portions of the desktop  404  that display content or colors of a background (e.g., desktop  404  background, a window background . . . ). Non-occluded space can be space on the desktop  404  that is not currently concealed by other objects. Nonessential space can be space on the desktop  404  that exhibits a homogenous pattern or color scheme or provides information that is determined to be non-utilitarian and/or merely aesthetic or redundant. 
     It is to be appreciated that whether or not a location  406  included unused or non-essential display space can differ based upon a type of advertisement content  104 . For example, advertisement content  104  that can be displayed as a watermark can have different applications than advertisement content  104  associated with a streaming video. It is to be further appreciated that location  406  may need to meet certain size or dimension prerequisites based upon the advertisement content  104  or based upon a type of advertisement content  104  that is selected for display. Additionally or alternatively, the selection component  112  can select advertisement content  104  that meets the size or dimensions of the location identified by the examination component  402 . 
     According to another aspect of the claimed subject matter, the examination component  402  can also determine an appropriate time  408  for display of the advertisement content  104 . Hence, the examination component  402  can monitor either or both of the operating system  108  (or activity thereof) or the desktop  404  in order to identify a waiting period or a lapse in task-oriented activity of a user. Such wait times or lapses can be utilized for determining an appropriate time  408  in which to display the advertisement content  104 . 
     In another aspect of the claimed subject matter, it is to be understood that the operating system  108  can apply and/or output for display the advertisement content  104 . Typically, the advertisement content  104  is applied to the desktop  404 , however, it is to be appreciated that the operating system can, in some cases, apply the advertisement content  104  to other user-interfaces, such as a user-interface of an application  410  launched by the operating system  108  or a user-interface for a portal  412  accessed by the operating system  108 . As one example, consider a skin  206  applied to the desktop  404  as described herein. In addition, the skin  206  can be extended to a user-interface of the application  410  or to a user-interface of a portal  412 , such as a web portal. 
     Turning briefly to  FIG. 5 , a computer-implemented system  500  that can provide for various inferences and/or determinations is depicted. The system  500  can include the selection component  112  that can select suitable advertisement content  104  for display and the examination component  402  that can determine suitable locations  406  and appropriate times  408  for display of the advertisement content  104  as substantially described above in connection with, inter alia,  FIGS. 3 and 4 , respectively. In addition, the system  500  can also include an intelligence component  502  that can potentially aid one or both of the selection component  112  or the examination component  402  based upon, e.g. various machine learning techniques. In accordance therewith, the intelligence component  502  can be operatively coupled to or be subcomponents of one or both the selection component  112  or the examination component  402 . 
     Thus, while a number of examples have already been illustrated, it is to be appreciated that the selection component  112  and the examination component  402  can also access or employ the features of the intelligence component  502 . In particular, the intelligence component  502  can access the data sets associated with criteria  302 - 312 , as well as the data store  106  and any or portions of the data available to the examination component  402  in order to intelligently aid in one, all or portions of the selection of advertisement content  104 , the determination of a suitable location  406 , the determination of an appropriate time  408 , as well as other determinations or inferences. 
     In particular, the intelligence component  502  can examine the entirety or a subset of the data available and can provide for reasoning about or infer states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. 
     Such inference can result in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources. Various classification (explicitly and/or implicitly trained) schemes and/or systems (e.g. support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines . . . ) can be employed in connection with performing automatic and/or inferred action in connection with the claimed subject matter. 
     A classifier can be a function that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is, f(x)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, where the hypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but not identical to training data. Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority. 
       FIGS. 6 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9  illustrate various methodologies in accordance with the claimed subject matter. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the claimed subject matter. Additionally, it should be further appreciated that the methodologies disclosed hereinafter and throughout this specification are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methodologies to computers. The term article of manufacture, as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 6 , an exemplary computer implemented method  600  for facilitating extensible themes for and/or advertising integration with an operating system user-interface is provided. In general, at reference numeral  602 , advertisement content that is tailored for display by an operating system on a desktop can be acquired from an advertiser. That is, advertisement content can be acquired from the advertiser, wherein the content is tailored for a desktop associated with an operating system. Hence, the content can be tailored for display by the operating system. 
     At reference numeral  604 , the advertisement content can be stored to a data store, and at reference numeral  606  the data store can be accessed for selecting the advertisement content for display. Additional aspects associated with the act of selecting can be found in connection with  FIG. 7  infra. At reference numeral  608 , the operating system can be configured to display the advertisement content by way of the desktop. For example, suitable components of the operating system such as a window manager or a desktop environment manager can be configured to display the advertisement content, e.g. by way of standardized system calls. 
     With reference now to  FIG. 7 , an exemplary computer implemented method  700  for selecting advertisement content based upon a variety of potential criteria is depicted. Initially, at reference numeral  702 , the advertisement content can be selected based upon preferences associated with the operating system or desktop. It is to be appreciated that the preferences can relate to user-designated preferences as well as default or system-designated preferences. For example, the preferences can pertain to expressly selecting certain advertisement content or types of advertisement content or, additionally or alternatively to filtering certain particular or types of advertisement content. Thus, e.g., a particular skin can be selected as a preference or a particular type of advertisement can be filtered by the preferences. Moreover, certain regions of a desktop or certain objects or features associated therewith can be designated as preferred a recipient of advertisement content, or conversely designated to be free from advertisement content. Likewise, preferences can be associated with particular times or event-based occurrences, such that advertisement content can be displayed or precluded based upon those preferences. 
     At reference numeral  704 , the advertisement content can be selected based upon a bid from the advertiser. In accordance therewith, the content selection can be related to a bidding model, wherein advertisers can place bids on ad-slots that are available on the desktop. It is to be appreciated that the bidding model can be base upon not only a price paid for an ad-slot, but based upon many additional features as well, including but not limited to features of the advertiser (e.g., a quality or ranking of the advertiser), features of the desktop or ad-slot (e.g., dimensions, available types of content, location, time, duration . . . or features of the user (e.g., demographics, transaction history, contractual obligations, and so on). 
     At reference numeral  706 , the advertisement content can be selected based upon a contractual agreement with at least one of the advertiser or a user of the operating system or desktop. For example, the advertiser can contract for the right to display certain advertisement content, which can be a basis for the selection of advertisement content. Conversely the user can contract for the obligation to receive certain advertisement content, which can likewise provide a basis for the selection. 
     At reference numeral  708 , an update for the advertisement content can be received from the advertiser, and at reference numeral  710 , the advertisement content can be selected based upon the update or the act of receiving the update. 
     Turning briefly to  FIG. 8 , an exemplary computer implemented method  800  for determining a suitability or appropriateness for display of particular types of advertisement content is illustrated. Most generally, at reference numeral  802 , It is to be appreciated that the advertisement can include substantially any type of audio, visual, or executable content and the reference to the advertisement can invoke disparate applications or portals in order to facilitate the display of the advertisement. 
     At reference numeral  804 , the desktop can be monitored to identify a suitable position for display of the advertisement or the reference. For example, the suitable position can be identified based upon a size or dimensions of an object, space, region of the desktop as well as based upon the content that currently exists at a particular position. At reference numeral  806 , the desktop, operating system, or activity associated therewith can be examined for determining an appropriate time for displaying the advertisement or reference. For instance, the appropriate time can be determined based upon calendar time as well as based upon event-based occurrence such as user activity, downloads or installations, or other events that tend to indicate the user is not task-oriented and would thus likely be more receptive and/or focused on the advertisement or reference. 
     With reference now to  FIG. 9 , an exemplary computer implemented method  900  for applying an extensible skin from an advertiser is depicted. In general, at reference numeral  902 , the advertisement content can be acquired as an extensible skin for a the desktop, wherein the skin can be crated based upon a theme, brand, or trademark associated with the advertiser. More particularly, advertisement content such as that acquired at act  602  of  FIG. 6  can be in the form of a skin, e.g., tailored and/or designed by the advertiser. It should be understood that the skin can be applied to a desktop and/or to various features thereof by way of, e.g. a desktop environment manager, a window manager, or the like. 
     At reference numeral  904 , the skin can be applied to a user-interface associate with a disparate application launched by the operating system. Appreciably, applying the skin to the disparate application can be substantially similar to accomplished in a manner similar to constructing user-interface objects or features, with the distinction being that rather than constructing the features with conventional inbuilt operating system components, these features can be constructed with components designed, supplied, updated, and/or directed to the advertiser to, e.g., facilitate advertising, brand recognition, consumer goodwill and so forth. Similarly, at reference numeral  906 , the skin can be applied to a user-interface associated with a portal accessed by the operating system. Hence, the skin can be extended to, say, a web portal such that the skinning features are consistent throughout the standard desktop and the portal. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 10 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an exemplary computer system operable to execute the disclosed architecture. In order to provide additional context for various aspects of the claimed subject matter,  FIG. 10  and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment  1000  in which the various aspects of the claimed subject matter can be implemented. Additionally, while the claimed subject matter described above may be suitable for application in the general context of computer-executable instructions that may run on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the claimed subject matter also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software. 
     Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices. 
     The illustrated aspects of the claimed subject matter may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. 
     A computer typically includes a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media can include both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer. 
     Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. 
     With reference again to  FIG. 10 , the exemplary environment  1000  for implementing various aspects of the claimed subject matter includes a computer  1002 , the computer  1002  including a processing unit  1004 , a system memory  1006  and a system bus  1008 . The system bus  1008  couples to system components including, but not limited to, the system memory  1006  to the processing unit  1004 . The processing unit  1004  can be any of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architectures may also be employed as the processing unit  1004 . 
     The system bus  1008  can be any of several types of bus structure that may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory  1006  includes read-only memory (ROM)  1010  and random access memory (RAM)  1012 . A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatile memory  1010  such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer  1002 , such as during start-up. The RAM  1012  can also include a high-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data. 
     The computer  1002  further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)  1014  (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive  1014  may also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD)  1016 , (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette  1018 ) and an optical disk drive  1020 , (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk  1022  or, to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive  1014 , magnetic disk drive  1016  and optical disk drive  1020  can be connected to the system bus  1008  by a hard disk drive interface  1024 , a magnetic disk drive interface  1026  and an optical drive interface  1028 , respectively. The interface  1024  for external drive implementations includes at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE1394 interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies are within contemplation of the subject matter claimed herein. 
     The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and so forth. For the computer  1002 , the drives and media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format. Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a HDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media which are readable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment, and further, that any such media may contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods of the claimed subject matter. 
     A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM  1012 , including an operating system  1030 , one or more application programs  1032 , other program modules  1034  and program data  1036 . All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also be cached in the RAM  1012 . It is appreciated that the claimed subject matter can be implemented with various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems. 
     A user can enter commands and information into the computer  1002  through one or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g. a keyboard  1038  and a pointing device, such as a mouse  1040 . Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  1004  through an input device interface  1042  that is coupled to the system bus  1008 , but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE1394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc. 
     A monitor  1044  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  1008  via an interface, such as a video adapter  1046 . In addition to the monitor  1044 , a computer typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc. 
     The computer  1002  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer(s)  1048 . The remote computer(s)  1048  can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment appliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer  1002 , although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device  1050  is illustrated. The logical connections depicted include wired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN)  1052  and/or larger networks, e.g. a wide area network (WAN)  1054 . Such LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which may connect to a global communications network, e.g. the Internet. 
     When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer  1002  is connected to the local network  1052  through a wired and/or wireless communication network interface or adapter  1056 . The adapter  1056  may facilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN  1052 , which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adapter  1056 . 
     When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer  1002  can include a modem  1058 , or is connected to a communications server on the WAN  1054 , or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN  1054 , such as by way of the Internet. The modem  1058 , which can be internal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to the system bus  1008  via the serial port interface  1042 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  1002 , or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device  1050 . It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used. 
     The computer  1002  is operable to communicate with any wireless devices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable data assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand, restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices. 
     Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enables such devices, e.g. computers, to send and receive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE802.11 (a, b, g, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at an 11 Mbps (802.11a) or 54 Mbps (802.11b) data rate, for example, or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used in many offices. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11 , there is illustrated a schematic block diagram of an exemplary computer compilation system operable to execute the disclosed architecture. The system  1100  includes one or more client(s)  1102 . The client(s)  1102  can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The client(s)  1102  can house cookie(s) and/or associated contextual information by employing the claimed subject matter, for example. 
     The system  1100  also includes one or more server(s)  1104 . The server(s)  1104  can also be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The servers  1104  can house threads to perform transformations by employing the claimed subject matter, for example. One possible communication between a client  1102  and a server  1104  can be in the form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer processes. The data packet may include a cookie and/or associated contextual information, for example. The system  1100  includes a communication framework  1106  (e.g., a global communication network such as the Internet) that can be employed to facilitate communications between the client(s)  1102  and the server(s)  1104 . 
     Communications can be facilitated via a wired (including optical fiber) and/or wireless technology. The client(s)  1102  are operatively connected to one or more client data store(s)  1108  that can be employed to store information local to the client(s)  1102  (e.g., cookie(s) and/or associated contextual information). Similarly, the server(s)  1104  are operatively connected to one or more server data store(s)  1110  that can be employed to store information local to the servers  1104 . 
     What has been described above includes examples of the various embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations are possible. Accordingly, the detailed description is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
     In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by the above described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g. a functional equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the embodiments. In this regard, it will also be recognized that the embodiments includes a system as well as a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/or events of the various methods. 
     In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” and “including” and variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

Technology Classification (CPC): 6