Patent ID: 7516413

Claim:
An information processing apparatus comprising: a plurality of input and output units configured to input or output music or video content; a display control unit configured to control display of a plurality of icons, each icon corresponding to one of the plurality of input and output units; and a transfer control unit configured to automatically generate a record-setting panel for display that provides settings used for recording upon receiving a command indicating a first icon is dragged-and-dropped onto a second icon, in cooperation with the display control unit which displays settings necessary for the transfer of music or video content between the input unit and output unit, and to control the transfer of music or video content between the input and output units so that the music or video content of the input unit corresponding to the first icon is transmitted to the output unit corresponding to the second icon, the transfer control unit controlling a dragging operation in cooperation with the display control unit to designate at least one available icon onto which the dragged icon can be dropped, the availability of the at least one icon being based upon a hardware state of the output unit corresponding to the at least one icon, the display control unit highlighting the available icons by placing an arrow above each available icon indicating the corresponding hardware state, and that at least one icon is displayed in a different fashion according to state of the input, wherein the at least one icon is designated as available when the hardware state is such that a dragged icon being dropped on the at least one icon would result in an output operation being commenced.