Patent ID: 8195744

Claim:
A system for sharing data, the system comprising: a plurality of devices that communicate across one or more networks, wherein each device is programmed to operate as a satellite on a user's personal network, each device operates as the satellite by communicating information to one or more other satellite devices about that device's resources, including information that identifies individual files that are stored on that device; for at least some of the plurality of devices, the information is communicated automatically upon that device being interconnected to the personal network; one of the plurality of devices operates a satellite program which communicates with one or more other devices operating as satellites of the user's personal network; the satellite program identifies a collection of files using information communicated by each of the plurality of devices that is operating as one of the satellites of the personal network, including information that identifies individual files stored on individual devices that operate as satellites of the personal network; the satellite program automatically updates identification of the collection of files based on (i) a determination of which of the plurality of devices is operating as one of the satellites on the user's personal network, and (ii) updates to individual files stored on individual devices that operate as one of the satellites of the personal network; the satellite program is operable on one or more of the plurality of devices in order to (i) perform file management activities on the updated collection of files, and (ii) enable the user to select: (a) one of the files from the collection, resident on a source terminal that is one of the satellites of the personal network, and (b) one of the plurality of devices operating as one of the satellites of the personal network; the source terminal is configured to generate a stream that corresponds to the selected file, and to transmit the stream to the selected device.