Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20090307682?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=5631832
Timestamp: 2014-10-22 12:20:10
Document Index: 63264842

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61']

Patent US20090307682 - Techniques for Acquiring Updates for Application Programs - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsImproved approaches for submission, management and/or distribution of updates to digital products, such as application programs (software programs), with respect to an online product distribution site are disclosed. Updates to numerous digital products can be centrally managed in a uniform and computer-assisted...http://www.google.com/patents/US20090307682?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20090307682 - Techniques for Acquiring Updates for Application ProgramsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20090307682 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 12/171,197Publication dateDec 10, 2009Filing dateJul 10, 2008Priority dateJun 8, 2008Also published asCA2724858A1, CN102057354A, EP2291738A2, EP2291738A4, US20090307683, WO2010002490A2, WO2010002490A3Publication number12171197, 171197, US 2009/0307682 A1, US 2009/307682 A1, US 20090307682 A1, US 20090307682A1, US 2009307682 A1, US 2009307682A1, US-A1-20090307682, US-A1-2009307682, US2009/0307682A1, US2009/307682A1, US20090307682 A1, US20090307682A1, US2009307682 A1, US2009307682A1InventorsSam Gharabally, Michael Kuohao Chu, Sean Kelly, Christopher R. WysockiOriginal AssigneeSam Gharabally, Michael Kuohao Chu, Sean Kelly, Wysocki Christopher RExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (19), Referenced by (10), Classifications (4), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetTechniques for Acquiring Updates for Application ProgramsUS 20090307682 A1Abstract Improved approaches for submission, management and/or distribution of updates to digital products, such as application programs (software programs), with respect to an online product distribution site are disclosed. Updates to numerous digital products can be centrally managed in a uniform and computer-assisted manner so that updates can be efficiently distributed to appropriate users.
receiving an access request to an online store by a user, the online store offering for purchase one or more digital products; determining an account associated with the user accessing the online store; determining a set of prior digital product purchases associated with the account; determining one or more available updates to those of the digital products in the set of prior digital product purchases; and sending update availability data in response to the request, the update availability data being based on the one or more available updates. 2. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the update availability data includes descriptive data pertaining to the one or more available updates.
wherein the digital products are software applications, wherein the access request includes at least a list of installed software applications on a computing device used by the user to access the online store, and wherein said method further comprises:
selecting one of the available updates from the plurality of available updates; initiating an acquisition transaction for the selected available update; determining whether the acquisition transaction has been successful; and subsequently downloading the selected available update if said determining determines that the acquisition transaction has been successful. 11. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 9, wherein said method further comprises:
determining whether there are more of the available updates to be processed; selecting another of the available updates from the plurality of available updates; initiating an acquisition transaction for the selected another of the available updates; determining whether the acquisition transaction for the selected another of the available updates has been successful; and subsequently downloading the selected another of the available updates if said determining determines that the acquisition transaction for the selected another of the available updates has been successful. 12. A computer-implemented method for updating application programs at a client computing device, said method comprising:
receiving a list of updated programs available to the client computing device; and presenting an update page at the client computing device, the update page including information on a plurality of the updated programs in the list of updated programs. 13. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 11, wherein said method further comprises:
determining a count of the updated programs in the list of updated programs that are available to the client computing device. 14. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 12, wherein the update page further presents the count.
presenting another page at the client computing device, the other page including at least the count. 16. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 12, wherein said method is performed on a user computing device, and
receiving a list of updated programs available to the client computing device; determining a count of the updated programs available to the client computing device in the list of updated programs; and presenting an information page at the client computing device, the information page includes information about at least one digital product offered for purchase at the online store, and the information page includes the count such that the information page be displayed with the count. 21. A graphical user interface for a computing device, said graphical user interface comprising:
an online store page presenting, via the computing device, information on a plurality of application programs, an application updates control, and a numeric indicator, wherein the application updates control initiates a request for information on one or more application updates when selected by a user of the computing device; and wherein the numeric indicator indicates a number of application updates that are available to the user of the computing device. 22. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 21, wherein the one or more updates are replacement programs available to the user whom previously purchased a qualifying earlier version of the associated application programs.
an application updates page configured to present a plurality of available application updates to a user of the computing device, said application updates page presenting descriptive information and a graphical image for each of the plurality of available updates, wherein said application updates page further comprises (i) a set of first individual update controls respectively assigned to each of the plurality of available updates, and (ii) an all updates control, wherein on user selection of one of the first individual update controls, the corresponding one of the available application updates is requested, and wherein on user selection of the all updates control, all the available application updates to the user are requested. 26. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 25, wherein the descriptive information comprises title, developer name, version, and size.
29. A graphical user interface as recited in claim 25, wherein the replacement programs are application updates that are enhanced as compared to the earlier application being updated. Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/059,791, filed Jun. 8, 2008, entitled �NETWORK-BASED UPGRADE OF APPLICATION PROGRAMS�, which is herein incorporated herein by reference.
This application references and/or incorporates: (i) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/050,478, filed May 5, 2008, entitled �ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION AND MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL PRODUCTS FOR NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (ii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/059,792, filed Jun. 8, 2008, entitled �ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION PROGRAMS FOR NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (iii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/059,790, filed Jun. 8, 2008, entitled �NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION OF APPLICATION PRODUCTS�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; and (iv) U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ [Att. Dkt. No. 101-P559], filed Jul. 10, 2008, entitled �NETWORK-BASED UPDATE OF APPLICATION PROGRAMS�, which is herein incorporated herein by reference.
Software programs are commonly available for purchase (or license) at brick-and-mortar stores as well as online stores. A software program is often purchased as a compact disc (CD) containing the software program. Alternatively, purchasers can purchase and download a software program from an online retailer or software provider's website. After a purchaser receives the software program, the software provider might release another version of the software program. Conventionally, new releases can require the purchaser to purchase the new version if they wish to upgrade to the new version. To obtain an upgrade, a purchaser visits a physical or online store of the retailer or software provider (or their agent) to purchase and acquire the new version. In some cases, the new version can be referred to as an update because it primarily contains �fixes� or new minor features for the earlier version of the software program such updates can be made available to purchasers of the earlier version often for little or no additional cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to submission, management and/or distribution of updates to digital products, such as application programs (software programs), with respect to an online product distribution site. Updates to numerous digital products can be centrally managed in a uniform and computer-assisted manner so that updates can be efficiently distributed to appropriate users.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to submission, management and/or distribution of updates to digital products, such as application programs (software programs), with respect to an online product distribution site. Updates to numerous digital products can be centrally managed in a uniform and computer-assisted manner so that updates can be efficiently distributed to appropriate users.
The product submission and distribution system 100 also includes or supports a first client 110 and a second client 112. Typically, the product submission and distribution system 100 would include a plurality of different clients 110, 112. The first client 110 includes a network access program 114. The second client 112 includes a product submission program 116. Some clients can also include both the network access program 114 and the product submission program 116. The network access program 114 is an application program (e.g., software application) that operates on the first client 110, which is a computing device. One example of a suitable network access program is a network browser (e.g., Microsoft Explorer or Safari). Another example of a suitable network access program is iTunes� offered by Apple Inc. The first client 110 can couple to the product distribution site 102 through the data network 108. Hence, any of the first clients 110 can interact with the product distribution site 102 to review, purchase and/or manage digital products.
After a user has purchased a digital product, the digital product might be updated. The updates to the digital product can pertain to �fixes� of minor errors or inclusion of additional features. The updated digital product is considered a new release of the digital product. In general, when the digital products are software programs (or application programs), if the new version is a minor improvement to the prior version, the new version of the software program can be considered an update. Alternatively, if the new version is a major improvement, the new version of the software program can be considered an upgrade. Regardless, an upgrade can also be considered an update.
Additional details on the product submission and management system 104 can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/050,478, filed May 5, 2008, entitled �ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION AND MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL PRODUCTS FOR NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary online store page 600 according to one embodiment of the invention. The exemplary online store page 600 presents information pertaining to digital products that are available for distribution from the online store. The online store page 600 includes a source region 602 where a user can specify a source or type of digital product of interest. For example, examples of different types of digital products include music, movies, audio books, music videos, podcasts and applications. In addition, the source region 602 allows the user to specify a source of content, namely, either the online store or locally stored content, such as the above-noted different types of digital products. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the online store is shown as being selected 604, such that a digital products region 606 displays a plurality of digital products that are available for distribution from the online store. In one embodiment, the digital products can be any of the various different types of digital products. However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the digital products 608 and 610 being depicted in the digital products region 606 are application programs. The digital products 608 are presented in an enhanced fashion as compared to the presentation of the digital products 610. Additionally, the online store page 600 can also display an application updates control 612. For example, the application updates control 612 can present a virtual button. Upon selection of the application updates control 612, the user can transition to one or more other pages that assist the user with updating applications (e.g., see FIGS. 7A and 7B). The online store page 600 can also display an indicator 614 of the number of application updates that are available to the user. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the indicator 614 displays the numeric �3� indicating that there are three application updates that are available to the user. The processing discussed above can be used to dynamically determine the number of updates that are available to the user.
FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary application updates page 700 according to one embodiment of the invention. The applications updates page 700 can be displayed upon selection of the application updates control 612 of the online store page 600 illustrated in FIG. 6. The application updates page 700 is a page pertaining to application updates that can be provided by the online store. The application updates page 700 provides an application updates indication 702 in the digital products region 606. In this example, there are no application updates available to the user at this time. Hence, the digital products region 606 can display a message indicating the same to the user. When the user is done with these application updates page 700, a user interface control 704 (�Done� button) can be selected to close the application updates page 700.
FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary application updates page 750 according to one embodiment of the invention. The applications updates page 750 can be displayed upon selection of the application updates control 612 of the online store page 600 illustrated in FIG. 6. The application updates page 750 is a page pertaining to application updates that can be provided by the online store. The application updates page 700 provides an application updates indication 702 in the digital products region 606. In one implementation, the online store can determine whether any application updates are available based on prior purchases with the online store. The applications updates page 750 can include a user interface that allows a user to initiate download of some or all of the available application updates. In this example, there are three (3) applications updates available to the user at this time. Hence, the digital products region 606 can display information on each of the available application updates. For example, for each of the available application updates, the digital products region 606 can display descriptive information 752, a graphical image 754 and an update control 756. The descriptive information 752 can, for example, specify title, developer name, version, size and price for the available application update. In some cases, the price can be denoted as �free� (no charge). The graphical image 754 can be an image that corresponds to the application program or the developer for the application program. The update control 756 can pertain to a virtual button (�Get Update�) that upon selection initiates acquisition of the corresponding application update. The digital products region 606 can also include another update control 758. The update control 758 can pertain to a virtual button (�Get All�) that upon selection by a user can initiate acquisition of all of the available application updates or the user.
FIG. 8A illustrates an exemplary screen illustration of an update availability page 800 according to one embodiment of the invention. The update availability page 800 includes an information window 802. Within the information window 802, information on one or more available application updates can be presented. Namely, in the example illustrated in FIG. 8A, there are two available application updates for the user. For example, for each of the available application updates, the information window 802 can display descriptive information 804, a graphical image 806 and a select control 808. The descriptive information 804 can, for example, specify title, developer name, version, size and price for the available application update. The graphical image 806 can be an image that corresponds to the application program or the developer for the application program. The select control 808 can be used to transition to a detailed information page pertaining to the corresponding application program update (see FIG. 8B). The update availability page 800 can also display an update control 810 that can pertain to a virtual button (�Update All�) that upon selection by a user can initiate acquisition of all of the available application updates for the user. Still further, the update availability page 800 can display an indicator 812 of the number of application updates that are available to the user. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the indicator 812 displays the numeric �2� indicating that there are two application updates that are available to the user.
FIG. 8B illustrates an exemplary screen illustration of an update page 850 according to one embodiment of the invention. The update page 850 pertains to a particular available application update. The update page 850 can be displayed upon selection of the select control 808 of the update availability page 800 illustrated in FIG. 8A. The update page 850 is a page pertaining to an application update that can be provided by the online store. The update page 850 includes an information window 852. Within the information window 852, information on an available application update can be presented. The information window 852 can display descriptive information 854, a graphical image 856 and an update control 858. The descriptive information 854 can, for example, specify title, developer name and version for the available application update. The graphical image 856 can be an image that corresponds to the application program or the developer for the application program. The update control 858 can pertain to a virtual button (�Get Update�) and that upon selection initiates acquisition of the corresponding application update. The information window 852 can further include release notes 860 and a link 862 to additional information. The release notes 860 can explain the changes made to the updates to the application program. The link 862 can direct the user to a website where additional information about the updated program can be acquired.
An online distribution system for digital products, namely computer program products, can receive electronic submission of not only computer program products (including updates) but also product information, developer information and distribution parameters. The online distribution system can then present the computer program products for distribution at an online distribution site in accordance with the distribution parameters. The online distribution site also can present potential purchases with product information and/or developer information prior to any purchase. Product information and/or developer information can be used to generate windows (or webpages) for presentation of such information. These windows can be automatically generated from the electronic submission of the product information and/or the developer information. Further, these windows can have a consistent pattern that facilitates usage by users that often search and browse through many different available computer program products. Additional details on online product distribution can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/059,790, filed Jun. 8, 2008, entitled �NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION OF APPLICATION PRODUCTS�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
This application also references and/or incorporates: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/687,534, filed Oct. 15, 2003, and entitled �METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SUBMITTING MEDIA FOR NETWORK-BASED PURCHASE AND DISTRIBUTION�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/712,303, filed Feb. 27, 2007, and entitled �PROCESSING OF METADATA CONTENT AND MEDIA CONTENT RECEIVED BY A MEDIA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/609,815, filed Dec. 12, 2006, and entitled �TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF MEDIA FOR NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/622,923, filed Jan. 12, 2007, and entitled �COMPUTERIZED MANAGEMENT OF MEDIA DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; and (5) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/050,478, filed May 5, 2008, entitled �ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION AND MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL PRODUCTS FOR NETWORK-BASED DISTRIBUTION�, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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