U.S. patent application number 11/263582 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-04 for selectively porting meeting objects.
This patent application is currently assigned to Adobe Systems Incorported. The applicant listed for this patent is Pritham Shetty. Invention is credited to Pritham Shetty.
Application Number | 20140250173 11/263582 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51421576 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140250173 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shetty; Pritham |
September 4, 2014 |
Selectively porting meeting objects
Abstract
Customizing an electronic meeting broadcast is described in
which the meeting canvas is customized to the capabilities of the
device of the participating user. The meeting server manages the
electronic meeting including each of the participants' connections
into the electronic collaboration space. As a part of the
connection mechanism, the meeting server or a proxy/gateway
connected to the meeting server has information on the capabilities
of individual devices accessing the electronic meeting. Based on
these capabilities and/or selections made by the meeting
participant, the meeting server or proxy/gateway connected to the
meeting server selectively identifies zero or more meeting objects
from a collection of meeting objects supporting the meeting canvas
of an electronic meeting and transmits only those meeting objects
to the participant's device.
Inventors: |
Shetty; Pritham; (Los Altos,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Shetty; Pritham |
Los Altos |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Adobe Systems Incorported
San Jose
CA
Macromedia, Inc.
San Francisco
CA
|
Family ID: |
51421576 |
Appl. No.: |
11/263582 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/204 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 65/403 20130101;
G06Q 10/109 20130101; H04L 12/1827 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/204 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20060101
G06Q010/10 |
Claims
1-24. (canceled)
25. A method comprising: receiving device display and bandwidth
capabilities from a device participating in a meeting, the meeting
comprising meeting objects that are containers for presenting
information from separate data streams; selecting, by a processor,
a reduced set of the meeting objects based on the display and
bandwidth capabilities of the device, the reduced set of the
meeting objects supported by a reduced set of the separate data
streams, each of the reduced set of the meeting objects presenting
information based on a respective separate data stream; and
transmitting the reduced set of data streams to the device, wherein
the device displays information from the reduced set of data
streams for the reduced set of the meeting objects.
26. The method of claim 25 further comprising: providing a list of
the meeting objects of the meeting to the device; receiving a
selection from the device; determining a different reduced set of
the meeting objects based on the selection, the different reduced
set of the meeting objects supported by a different reduced set of
the separate data streams; and transmitting the different reduced
set of data streams to the device, wherein the device presents
information from the different reduced set of data streams for the
different reduced set of the meeting objects.
27. The method of claim 25 further comprising maintaining separate
records for each of the separate data streams in a meeting archive,
where in each of the separate records can be replayed
individually.
28. The method of claim 25, wherein the display and bandwidth
capabilities comprise one or more of: bandwidth, network latency,
display size, display resolution, and user interface.
29. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium with computer
program logic recorded thereon, the medium comprising: code for
receiving device display and bandwidth capabilities from a device
participating in a meeting, the meeting comprising meeting pods
that are containers for presenting information from separate data
streams; code for selecting, by a processor, a reduced set of the
meeting pods based on the display and bandwidth capabilities of the
device, the reduced set of the meeting pods supported by a reduced
set of the separate data streams, each of the reduced set of the
meeting pods presenting information based on a respective separate
data stream; and code for transmitting the reduced set of data
streams to the device, wherein the device displays information from
the reduced set of data streams for the reduced set of the meeting
pods.
30. A system comprising: a processor configured process
instructions stored on a computer readable medium to: receive
device display and bandwidth capabilities from a device
participating in a meeting, the meeting comprising meeting objects
that are containers for presenting information from separate data
streams; selecting a reduced set of the meeting objects based on
the display and bandwidth capabilities of the device, the reduced
set of the meeting objects supported by a reduced set of the
separate data streams, each of the reduced set of the meeting
objects presenting information based on a respective separate data
stream; and and transmit the reduced set of data streams to the
device, wherein the device displays information from the reduced
set of data streams for the reduced set of the meeting objects.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is related to co-pending, and
commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/854,762,
Attorney Docket No. 47583/P048US/10316466, entitled "SYSTEM AND
METHOD FOR ARCHIVING COLLABORATIVE ELECTRONIC MEETINGS"; and
concurrently filed, co-pending, and commonly assigned U.S. patent
application Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket No.
47583/P099US/10505034, entitled "NETWORK CONFIGURATION WITH SMART
EDGE SERVERS"; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______,
Attorney Docket No. 47583/P107US/10505477, entitled "VIRTUAL GROUP
CONNECTIONS", the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated
herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates, in general to electronic
collaboration space, and more specifically, to selectively porting
one or more meeting objects in an electronic meeting.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The first Internet was a communications system funded and
built by researchers for military use. This Internet, originally
known as ARPANET, was embraced by the research and academic
communities as a mechanism for scientists to share and collaborate
with other scientists. This collaborative network quickly evolved
into the information superhighway of commerce and communication.
The Internet explosion was due, in part, to the development of the
World Wide Web (WWW) and graphically-based Web browsers, which
facilitated a more graphically-oriented, multimedia system that
uses the infrastructure of the Internet to provide information in a
graphical, visual, and interactive manner that appeals to a wider
audience of consumers seeking instant gratification.
[0004] As the technology underlying transmission bandwidth has
grown in conjunction with the accessibility to such increasing
transmission bandwidth, a new paradigm for the old idea of Internet
collaboration is emerging that takes advantage of the modern
graphical, visual world. This new paradigm is also driven by the
advance in real-time or time-sensitive data transmission
technology, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology,
and the like. Non-Internet videoconferencing, which has generally
never been able to completely supplant teleconferencing as a viable
means for reliable communications, is slowly fading away in favor
of Internet-driven technology, such as collaborative electronic
meetings. Services, such as WEBEX COMMUNICATIONS, INC.'S, WEBEX.TM.
electronic meeting or collaboration services offer the ability for
users to connect, at least initially, across the Internet to share
voice, video, and data in real time for meetings, presentations,
training, or the like.
[0005] In such collaborative meeting environments, a virtual
meeting room typically is made up of several meeting objects which
are generally containers for presentation information, such as
slides, video, audio, documents, computer applications, and the
like, that are themselves contained within the container of the
meeting room. These meeting objects are typically placed into a
static arrangement on the actual electronic meeting interface.
Therefore, chat objects may be set on the bottom right of each
meeting interface screen, while slide or other main presentation
objects are set on the left half of each meeting interface screen.
Once the meeting begins, each of the meeting participants, both
presenters and viewers, usually see the same static meeting
interface with the presenters information loaded thereon.
[0006] In some circumstances, however, meeting participants may not
see the same static meeting interface, or, at least, see it in the
form that the meeting room creator intended. When creating the
meeting canvas or interface, the electronic meeting system
presupposes a certain minimum display size. Thus meeting objects
are designed with certain size parameters and the whole meeting
canvas is designed to fit into a certain minimum size. As
electronic meeting technology advances, it is becoming more
possible for users at devices other than standard personal
computers, whether desktop or laptop, to connect into the
electronic meeting. These users may connect into the meeting using
mobile phones, personal data assistants (PDAs), and the like.
However, these devices usually have substantially limited display
and processing capabilities. Therefore, an entire meeting canvas,
designed for display on a standard computer display, will simply
not fit on such a limited display in a meaningful and useful size.
Instead of shrinking an entire standard-display sized meeting
canvas down to the size of a mobile phone display, users accessing
an electronic meeting using such limited capacity devices will
usually only participate in the voice portion of the electronic
meeting. Thus, these meeting participants will be unable to
participate in much of the data collaboration that such electronic
meetings are known for.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is directed to a system and method for
customizing electronic meeting broadcasts to the capabilities of
the device of the participating user. A meeting server manages the
electronic meeting including each of the participants' connections
into the electronic collaboration space. As a part of the
connection mechanism, the meeting server maintains information
regarding the bandwidth and display capabilities of individual
devices accessing the electronic meeting. Based on these
capabilities and/or selections made by the meeting participant, the
meeting server selectively identifies either none, if the device
has no capabilities, or one or more meeting objects from a
collection of meeting objects supporting the electronic meeting and
transmits only those deleted meeting objects to the participant's
device.
[0008] For example, a meeting participant using a mobile phone to
connect into the electronic meeting may only receive the meeting
object that lists the roster of participants. Therefore, in
addition to the voice connection that typically is managed over the
regular telephone network, the user would be able to view the
roster and any iconic information that the roster provides, such as
an indicator of the current speaker, muted individuals, and the
like. Facility would also be provided to the user of the mobile
phone to see a list of available meeting objects that he or she
could participate in. If the user would, therefore, desire to view
another meeting object, a request initiated from the mobile phone
to the meeting server would prompt the server to change the data
stream supporting the roster object to the data stream supporting
the desired meeting object. The participating user would then
visualize the new meeting object of the mobile phone's display.
Therefore, selective meeting pods could be transmitted to the user
on the mobile phone while the mobile phone user otherwise
participates in the electronic meeting.
[0009] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
technical advantages of the present invention in order that the
detailed description of the invention that follows may be better
understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention
will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims
of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the
art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be
readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other
structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present
invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art
that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit
and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The
novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the
invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,
together with further objects and advantages will be better
understood from the following description when considered in
connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly
understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the
purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as
a definition of the limits of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] For a more complete understanding of the present invention,
reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of
typical electronic collaboration system;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a screenshot illustrating a meeting canvas in one
embodiment of typical electronic meeting;
[0013] FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating an electronic
collaboration system configured according to one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating an electronic
collaboration system configured according to another embodiment of
the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a mobile phone of a
meeting participant as connected to the electronic meeting
maintained by the meeting server (FIG. 3A) configured according to
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a mobile phone of a
meeting participant connected to an electronic collaboration system
configured according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a mobile phone of a
meeting participant connected to an electronic collaboration system
configured according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sub-notebook of a meeting
participant connected to a collaboration meeting system configured
according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a meeting server
configured according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating example steps executed in
implementing one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates a computer system adapted to use
embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of
typical electronic collaboration system 10. Meeting server 100
hosts and manages the electronic meetings within electronic
collaboration system 10. Meeting participants 102-107 each connect
into electronic collaboration system 10 by accessing meeting server
100 through Internet 101. Meeting participants 102 and 103 will
view the entire collection of meeting objects making up the
electronic meeting space, as they have normal-sized displays
capable of rendering the entire meeting canvas. Meeting participant
104 has a substantially reduced size display. Using current
electronic meeting technology, meeting participant 104 will either
view a scaled version of the entire meeting canvas, including all
of the meeting objects in various states of reduction or diminished
sizes, or participate only through a telephone connection (not
shown). Meeting participants 105-107 will not be able to view any
of the visual meeting content because their display sizes are
incapable of showing a meaningful representation of the meeting
canvas. These meeting participants would also only be able to
participate in the electronic meeting using a normal telephone
connection (not shown).
[0023] FIG. 2 is a screenshot illustrating meeting canvas 200 in
one embodiment of typical electronic meeting 20. Meeting canvas 200
contains multiple meeting pods or objects, each of which provide
data or information related to electronic meeting 20. For example,
meeting canvas 200 includes graph pods 201 and 202, screen share
data sheet 203, chat pod 204, video object 205, and roster pod 206.
In more advanced electronic meeting systems, such as MACROMEDIA,
INC.'s BREEZE.TM., each of the meeting objects that make up a
particular electronic meeting has a separate data stream that
provides the data for the associated pod. BREEZE.TM. maintains a
separate record and management of the individual data streams
feeding the multiple meeting objects. The separate management and
maintenance allows for an electronic meeting to be archived in
detail, such that the various streams in the meeting archive may be
reviewed and replayed separately. This archiving technology is
described in commonly-assigned, co-pending, U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 10/854,762, entitled, "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ARCHIVING
COLLABORATIVE ELECTRONIC MEETINGS," the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein.
[0024] In operation, the meeting server, such as meeting server 100
(FIG. 1), manages and maintains all of the connections by each of
meeting participants 102-107 (FIG. 1). As each meeting participant
accesses electronic meeting 20, handshake-type communication and
information are exchanged between the meeting participant's device
and meeting server 100 (FIG. 1). Meeting server 100, thus,
maintains the identities of both the participating user and the
participating user's device in electronic meeting 20. Meeting
server 100 (FIG. 1) manages electronic meeting 20 by copying each
of the data streams supporting meeting objects 201-206 to the
meeting participants who are capable of viewing meeting canvas 200
(i.e., meeting participants 102-104). Meeting server 100 (FIG. 1)
maintains connections to the other meeting participants as well,
even though no copies of meeting canvas 200 are transmitted.
[0025] FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating electronic
collaboration system 30 configured according to one embodiment of
the present invention. Meeting server 300 hosts and manages the
on-going electronic meeting between meeting participants 102, 104,
and 106 through Internet 101. In setting up the electronic meeting,
meeting participants 102, 104, and 106 access meeting server 300,
exchanging identification data for both the participating user and
the user's device. Part of the information exchanged with regard to
the participant's device is the device capability. Thus, meeting
participant 102 registers its device with meeting server 300
including a notation or information representing the full
capabilities of a full-size personal computer.
[0026] Similarly, meeting participant 104 registers its device with
meeting server 300 including a notation or information representing
a diminished personal computer capacity. Meeting participant 104's
device is a portable, sub-notebook with a very small display size.
Meeting participant 104 is also connected to Internet 101
wirelessly. Therefore, in the registration process with meeting
server 300, data is exchanged reflecting the quality of the
wireless link, the data exchange rate, the network latency, and the
like. Meeting participant 106 registers its device with meeting
server 300 including a notation or information that the device is a
mobile phone with a standard mobile display.
[0027] In establishing the connections to the electronic meeting,
meeting server 300 not only maintains and manages all of the
connections, but also, prior to transmitting the meeting
information and data streams in support of the electronic meeting
canvas, determines which data streams, and therefore, which meeting
objects are to be transmitted to each meeting participant. In the
case of a meeting participant who has a fully capable device, such
as meeting participant 102, meeting server 300 transmits a standard
electronic meeting package, which includes the full array of data
streams supporting each of the meeting objects on the entire
meeting canvas. For any accessing meeting participant who has a
device that is any less than fully-capable, meeting server 300
determines a reduced set of data streams supporting a reduced set
of meeting objects being transmitted to the meeting
participant.
[0028] For example, meeting server 300 determines that the display
and bandwidth capabilities of meeting participant 104 warrants
transmitting only approximately 60% of the meeting canvas.
Referring to meeting canvas 200 (FIG. 2), meeting server 300
determines to send only meeting objects 201, 202, 204, and 206
(FIG. 2) to meeting participant 104. In contrast, meeting server
300 determines that the display and bandwidth capabilities of
meeting participant 106 warrants transmitting only a single meeting
object, such as roster pod meeting object 206.
[0029] It should be noted that various alternative embodiments of
the present invention may use various determiners for deciding
which meeting objects to transmit to a less-capable accessing
device. For example, a particular electronic collaboration system
may prioritize various meeting object types, which provides a
preference list for the different objects. A roster pod, the object
that shows who is logged onto the electronic meeting, may be
considered the most important and/or useful object to initially
transmit. A chat or message object may be given a high priority as
well. The various embodiments of the present invention are not
limited to any particular meeting object prioritization or set of
determiners.
[0030] FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating electronic
collaboration system 31 configured according to another embodiment
of the present invention. Electronic collaboration system 30 (FIG.
3A) is configured according to one architecture of electronic
meeting systems. Electronic collaboration system 31 has been
configured according to another architecture as described in
commonly-assigned, co-pending, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
______, entitled, "NETWORK CONFIGURATION WITH SMART EDGE SERVERS,"
the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Meeting server 301 hosts and manages an on-going electronic
meeting, much as done by meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A).
[0031] Meeting participants 311 and 312 connect into the meeting
directly to meeting server 301 through Internet 101. Electronic
collaboration system 31 also includes collaboration edge server
303, which provides a single connection into meeting server 301
despite connecting any available number of meeting participants
into the electronic meeting managed by meeting server 301. This
connection is implemented according to technology described in
commonly-assigned, co-pending, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
______, entitled, "VIRTUAL GROUP CONNECTIONS," the disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference. Meeting participants 309
and 310 connect into the electronic meeting through collaboration
edge server 303.
[0032] Meeting proxy/gateway 302 is connected to collaboration edge
server 303. Meeting proxy/gateway 302 is configured to receive all
of the data and information being exchanged and transmitted as a
part of the electronic meeting managed by meeting server 301. In
addition to this capability, meeting proxy/gateway 302 is
configured to receive parameters from connected meeting
participants, such as meeting participants 306-308, through
Publicly Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 304 and mobile
communication system 305. These parameters include display and
bandwidth capabilities of meeting participants 306-308. Such
display and bandwidth capabilities for meeting participants 306-308
warrant transmitting only a portion of the meeting canvas or one or
more of the meeting objects selected by the specific meeting
participant.
[0033] It should be noted that in the embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 3B, meeting server 301 may have no capabilities for dividing
the data streams that support each individual meeting object.
However, by inserting meeting proxy/gateway 302 into electronic
collaboration system 31, the ability to selectively transmit a
particular meeting pod or meeting object to a client or meeting
participant device is implemented.
[0034] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating mobile phone 40 of meeting
participant 106 as connected to the electronic meeting maintained
by meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A) configured according to one
embodiment of the present invention. As meeting server 300 (FIG.
3A) initializes meeting participant 106's participation in the
electronic meeting, it transmits the data stream supporting roster
pod meeting object 206 for presentation on mobile display 41. In
the described embodiment, facility is given to meeting participant
106 to request a change in the viewed meeting object. Change
selector 400, presented on mobile display 41, allows the user to
contact meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A) by actuating soft key 401. In
activating change selector 400, mobile phone 40 requests meeting
server 300 (FIG. 3A) to change the meeting object being transmitted
to mobile phone 40. In the described embodiment, meeting server 300
(FIG. 3A) transmits the name of each available meeting object for
display on mobile display 41. Using a directional button, such as
5-way button 402, the user may scroll through the list of meeting
objects to select the specific meeting object to receive. Meeting
server 300 (FIG. 3A) would, thereafter, transmit the data stream
supporting the meeting object selected by meeting participant
106.
[0035] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating mobile phone 40 of meeting
participant 106 connected to an electronic collaboration system
configured according to one embodiment of the present invention.
When meeting participant 106 requests meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A)
to change meeting objects, meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A) transmits
the data stream supporting video meeting object 205 to mobile phone
40. Video meeting object 205 is then displayed onto mobile display
41. Meeting participant 106 may then view the video being displayed
on video meeting object 205 until he or she desires to change the
viewed object using change selector 400, soft key 401, and 5-way
button 402 or exit the electronic meeting.
[0036] FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating mobile phone 40 of meeting
participant 105 connected to an electronic collaboration system
configured according to one embodiment of the present invention. As
meeting participant 106 requests another meeting object change from
meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A), meeting server 300 transmits the data
stream supporting screen share data sheet object 203 to mobile
phone 40. Thus, meeting participant 106 may view the electronic
data being shared or collaborated in the electronic meeting even
though he or she is accessing the electronic meeting using a very
low capability device. Moreover, by providing change selector 400,
facility is given by the electronic collaboration system to meeting
participant 106 to switch to and from the various different meeting
objects making up the meeting canvas of the electronic meeting.
[0037] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating sub-notebook 50 of meeting
participant 104 connected to a collaboration meeting system
configured according to one embodiment of the present invention. As
meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A) initializes meeting participant 104's
participation in the electronic meeting, it transmits the data
streams supporting graph pod meeting objects 201 and 202, chat pod
meeting object 204, and roster pod meeting object 206 for
presentation on display 500. In the described embodiment, facility
is also given to meeting participant 104 for requesting a change in
the collection of viewed meeting objects. Change button 501,
presented on display 500, allows the user to contact meeting server
300 (FIG. 3A) to request a change in the group of meeting objects
being transmitted to sub-notebook 50. Meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A)
transmits the name of each available meeting object for display on
display 500. Meeting participant 104 may then use a mouse or other
type of pointing device to select the specific meeting objects to
receive. Meeting server 300 (FIG. 3A) would, thereafter, transmit
the data streams supporting the selected meeting objects.
[0038] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating meeting server 300
configured according to one embodiment of the present invention.
One of the features of meeting server 300 is meeting manager 601.
Meeting manager 601 monitors the relevant information for each of
the participating users to determine what parts of on-going
electronic meeting 600 to deliver to each individual meeting
participant. Electronic meeting 600, as contained on meeting server
300, includes data streams 602-606 supporting each of the meeting
objects in the entire electronic meeting canvas. Depending on which
meeting participant is being considered by meeting server 300,
meeting manager 601 will select none or one or more of data streams
602-606 to transmit to the meeting participant. In circumstances
where a meeting participant is accessing the meeting only using a
normal telephone connection (i.e., a telephone connection without
any kind of display capability), meeting server 300 and meeting
manager 601 will not transmit any of data streams 602-606, but
merely manage the simple connection of that meeting
participant.
[0039] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating example steps executed in
implementing one embodiment of the present invention. In step 700,
an electronic meeting is started having a plurality of meeting
objects supported by a plurality of data streams. Information is
received, in step 701, from a meeting participant device regarding
a set of device capabilities, such as bandwidth, network latency,
display size, display resolution, user interface, and the like. In
step 702, the data streams are prioritized according to a
predetermined set of determiners. Responsive to the device
capabilities, the data streams are selected, if any, according to
the prioritization in step 703. In step 704, the selected data
streams are transmitted to the meeting participant device. The
meeting objects are displayed on the meeting participant device, in
step 705, using any of the transmitted data streams. In step 706, a
request is received from the meeting participant device, initiated
by a user, to change one or more data streams. A list of the
available meeting objects is provided to the meeting participant
device in step 707. A selection signal is received from the meeting
participant device in step 708. In step 709, one or more data
streams are transmitted responsive to the selection signal.
[0040] The program or code segments making up the various
embodiments of the present invention may be stored in a computer
readable medium or transmitted by a computer data signal embodied
in a carrier wave, or a signal modulated by a carrier, over a
transmission medium. The "computer readable medium" may include any
medium that can store or transfer information. Examples of the
computer readable medium include an electronic circuit, a
semiconductor memory device, a ROM, a flash memory, an erasable ROM
(EROM), a floppy diskette, a compact disk CD-ROM, an optical disk,
a hard disk, a fiber optic medium, a radio frequency (RF) link, and
the like. The computer data signal may include any signal that can
propagate over a transmission medium such as electronic network
channels, optical fibers, air, electromagnetic, RF links, and the
like. The code segments may be downloaded via computer networks
such as the Internet, Intranet, and the like.
[0041] FIG. 8 illustrates computer system 800 adapted to use
embodiments of the present invention, e.g. storing and/or executing
software associated with the embodiments. Central processing unit
(CPU) 801 is coupled to system bus 802. The CPU 801 may be any
general purpose CPU. However, embodiments of the present invention
are not restricted by the architecture of CPU 801 as long as CPU
801 supports the inventive operations as described herein. Bus 802
is coupled to random access memory (RAM) 803, which may be SRAM,
DRAM, or SDRAM. ROM 804 is also coupled to bus 802, which may be
PROM, EPROM, or EEPROM. RAM 803 and ROM 804 hold user and system
data and programs as is well known in the art.
[0042] Bus 802 is also coupled to input/output (I/O) controller
card 805, communications adapter card 811, user interface card 808,
and display card 809. The I/O adapter card 805 connects storage
devices 806, such as one or more of a hard drive, a CD drive, a
floppy disk drive, a tape drive, to computer system 800. The I/O
adapter 805 is also connected to a printer (not shown), which would
allow the system to print paper copies of information such as
documents, photographs, articles, and the like. Note that the
printer may be a printer (e.g., dot matrix, laser, and the like), a
fax machine, scanner, or a copier machine. Communications card 811
is adapted to couple the computer system 800 to a network 812,
which may be one or more of a telephone network, a local (LAN)
and/or a wide-area (WAN) network, an Ethernet network, and/or the
Internet network. User interface card 808 couples user input
devices, such as keyboard 813, pointing device 807, and the like,
to the computer system 800. The display card 809 is driven by CPU
801 to control the display on display device 810.
[0043] Although the present invention and its advantages have been
described in detail, it should be understood that various changes,
substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is
not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the
process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means,
methods and steps described in the specification. As one of
ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the
disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines,
manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps,
presently existing or later to be developed that perform
substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same
result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be
utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the
appended claims are intended to include within their scope such
processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means,
methods, or steps.
* * * * *