Patent ID: 7735000

Claim:
A network device coupled to a network of devices, the network device comprising a hardware system configured to implement: a. one or more applications; b. a network layer coupled to interface with one or more other network devices; c. a communications layer to provide a communications protocol including document type definitions to manage data content exchange between the network device and the one or more other network devices; and d. an extension layer to provide document type definition extensions to the document type definitions, wherein the document type definition extensions define a hierarchical data content structure for data content and metadata corresponding to the hierarchical data content structure, further wherein the hierarchical data content structure comprises a plurality of channels to store the data content, wherein the data content is selectively offered and distributed, wherein each channel within the plurality of channels includes one or more content sub-channels, each channel within the plurality of channels provides data content of a related subject-matter and each content sub-channel of the one or more content sub-channels within a given channel segments the data content within the given channel according to more specific subject-matter than subject-matter of the given channel, wherein the metadata defines attributes associated with the each channel within the plurality of channels and the content sub-channel of the one or more content sub-channels within the hierarchical data content structure, and further wherein the metadata associated with each channel of the plurality of channels includes a title, a caption, an icon-url, an ice-element and an item-group-id.