Patent ID: 8521857

Claim:
An electronic device assembly configured for operation in a network, the device assembly comprising: a processor; a display interface configured to output a graphical user interface; a network interface through which a plurality of widget programs are downloaded by the device assembly from a remote server, the plurality of widget programs comprising distinct instances of one or more downloaded software applications providing display content for output in the graphical user interface; and a memory having computer program code executable by the processor embodied therein, the computer program code including: a control panel module comprising components for output in the graphical user interface, the control panel module including: a widget player operative to facilitate execution of the plurality of widget programs in an ordered sequence, the ordered sequence downloaded from the remote server; a widget manager module operative to modify the ordered sequence of execution of the plurality of widget programs in response to instructions received via the graphical user interface, the ordered sequence stored at the remote server; a utilities layer comprised of a plurality of client software modules accessible to said widget player operative to provide a client runtime environment facilitating operation of the widget player; and a device operating system operative to provide output via the graphical user interface with operation of the widget player, the widget manager module, and the utilities layer; wherein the one or more downloaded software applications are configured for real-time execution on the device assembly without permanent storage to the memory, and wherein the one or more downloaded software applications are temporarily cached on the device assembly for playback in the widget player.