Patent ID: 7809706

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a computer that includes a processor; an obtaining unit, implemented by the computer, that obtains a plurality of meta-information corresponding to a plurality of digital contents from each of a plurality of external apparatuses; a cache unit, implemented by the computer, that allocates cache areas corresponding to the plurality of external apparatuses in a memory and caches the obtained meta-information in the cache area in an order defined by a predetermined condition per external apparatus that is the source of the meta-information; a display management unit, implemented by the computer, that merges the meta-information cached per external apparatus in the order defined by the predetermined condition to determine a display order of the cached meta-information and manages display of the meta-information in accordance with the display order; a holding unit, implemented by the computer, that obtains and holds display management information corresponding to the meta-information per external apparatus cached in each of the cache areas based on a management status of the meta-information managed by the display management unit; a selection unit, implemented by the computer, that selects an external apparatus from the plurality of external apparatuses, to which a meta-information request is made, based on the display management information and a cache status of the meta-information in each of the cache areas; and a request unit, implemented by the computer, that requests the meta-information from the external apparatus selected by the selection unit, wherein the display management information indicates a range in which the meta-information displayed by the display management unit is arranged, from among the meta-information arranged in the order in which the meta-information has been cached in the cache unit, and the selection unit selects the external apparatus based on a relationship between the range in which the meta-information cached in the cache unit is arranged and the range in which the meta-information displayed is arranged.