Patent ID: 7769846

Claim:
A communication system comprising a plurality of terminals and a server, wherein: each of the plurality of terminals is accessible and utilizable by a plurality of users, wherein each of the plurality of terminals comprises: utilization means for utilizing contents; first management means for managing a utilization count of the contents and relevant information on the contents by associating said utilization count and said relevant information with the contents, said utilization count indicating a frequency and/or a number of times respective contents have been utilized by the utilization means; and transmission means for transmitting the utilization count, the relevant information and an apparatus ID identifying said respective terminal to said server, wherein said server has: reception means for receiving said utilization count, said relevant information and said apparatus ID associated with respective terminals; second management means for computing a similarity coefficient between pieces of contents utilized by any two of said terminals on the basis of utilization counts, said relevant information and said apparatus IDs, and managing computed similarity coefficients, said relevant information and said apparatus IDs by associating said computed similarity coefficients, said relevant information and said apparatus IDs with each other; first detection means for detecting any specific terminal and an other terminal having a highest computed similarity coefficient of said computed similarity coefficients and greater than a threshold value with respect to said specific terminal by referring to said similarity coefficients managed by said second management means and said apparatus IDs also managed by said second management means; second detection means for detecting contents utilized in said other terminal detected by said first detection means but not used in said specific terminal also detected by said first detection means by referring to said apparatus IDs and said relevant information, which are managed by said second management means; and generation means for generating information suggesting said specific terminal to utilize the contents detected by said second detection means, such that the suggested contents are based on the similarity of utilizing contents with respect to the plurality of terminals as identified by the associated apparatus ID independent of which of the plurality of users utilize the pieces of content.