MXPA00002208A - Automated content scheduler and displayer - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of sequencing and scheduling web resources (10), via a software application (14, 16) that collects URLs and feeds them to a Web browser, so that the amount of clicks and decisions are reduced when browsing the Internet. The method begins after a computer user (12) with Net-access encounters a URL that leads to a collection of other URLs that the software application has arranged to be presented in a continuous, slow manner. This collection of resources then plays automatically, going from one resource to the next without the user being required to make a decision or click. The decision-making process is not inhibited;it is made optional. A method of inserting full-screen advertising, public service announcements, news, etc., has been developed. The server software application module described herein allows a publisher to stream URLs to a user who does not have the client-side software. The publishing module allows a user to formatresources to a particularly desirable size and characteristic that promotes readability during a show viewing session. This same module can publish collections of nodes for others to view as a whole sequence, accessible via e-mail, screen saver or as a web resource.

Description

DISPLAY AND AUTOMATED CONTENT PLANNER FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to computer networks, and specifically to a method of sequencing and scheduling network pages, by means of a succession of software applications or programming elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The world network of computers commonly known as the "Internet" has grown remarkably since its creation of a subset known as the "World Wide Web" (WWW or Network), popularized in 1993. The emergence of the network and its accompanying standards allows Users move beyond the exposure of traditional online data, which requires knowledge of protocols and other low-level computer constructions, to a much more filtered and full-featured interface in the form of a "network browser". The network examiner filters out computer constructions, displaying only the relevant content, such as text, images, animations and sounds, while hiding computer codes from the user REF .: 33006 that are used to negotiate access, generate and display this content. Some of the standards popularized by the network are the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), the hypertext markup language (HTLM) and the uniform resource locator (URL). HTTP allows HTML documents, which present many forms of information, from text and images to audio and video, can be easily found via a URL from a collection of networks known as the Internet. These networks have public and private archives which can be accessed via address tables. Addressing tables reside on domain name servers (DNS) and are updated regularly. Two innovations provided by the browser environment, HTTP and the Internet are: specialized display of data (certain texts and graphics) and "hyperlinks" which appear as "buttons that can be pressed" or "links" made up of texts or graphics in the graphical user interface (GUI) presented by the examiner. These links contain an address for another position on the Internet. Instead of looking for a complete computer language of telecommunications protocol and an occasional list of a graphic file name, the user only observes the relevant human text and an image automatically displayed within this text. The user is shown graphical or textual links to facilitate navigation instead of having to enter complex trajectory names appropriately. This combination of features, associated with the ease of use provided by HTML as a publication page format, has proven to be very popular, leading to mass adoption of this new medium by many customers. This includes education, most of the business areas (advertising, finance, commerce, entertainment, etc.) and government. Given the increasing adoption of the network, many non-technical users use this new medium to move from one page to another, moving from one network computer to the next simply by making decisions on which to link to a pressured person. mouse button. The search devices which index the network allow these users to quickly locate the URLs and their associated links. In addition, content aggregators collect and publish collections of network pages. In just a few years, the network has developed from static pages to pages containing animation, personalized data, level of commerce security and audio and video transfer. A more recent innovation is the "push technology" model which is found in most recently published examiners.

- A - The push technology, initiated by PointCast "8, has been adopted by Netscape "8 and Microsoft" 8, the two giants of examiners, as the following way to connect or viewers with content. As implemented by Pointcast, push technology begins in 1996 as a personalized data recovery service. The user selects content sources from a list and the Pointcast service automatically provides updated information which is displayed by the user's screen saver in a uniform format. Information providers who send information to users using the Pointcast system must first format their information according to the requirements established by Pointcast. Therefore, the "pages" of information displayed by the Pointcast screen saver are specially prepared displays. A user of the Pointcast system can access information only from the sources which have information prepared in the Pointcast format. By collecting user interest profiles, current "4.x" level examiners can constantly update a specific set of topics, from news, sports and weather, to financial and entertainment content. Therefore, push technology allows the information to reach the user instead of requiring the user to search for the information. This not only facilitates a new method of distribution for editorealistas and publicistas, but also it foments new models of community and demographic concepts that are developed with the same. As network examiners have evolved, they have changed from a simple novelty to a conduit that is based on information flow. Recently, problems with access to the main online service providers produce judgments based on the lack of access to critical mission information, both in reception and transmission. As this technology has shifted from the incipient curiosity to examine to true trust, the dissemination of technology has so far shown that it will provide mature fruits. Commerce is a big part of the development of the medium as companies such as Cisco and Boeing produce exclusive sales based on networks that exceed one billion dollars. In addition, consumers and small businesses targeted to vendors such as Dell have sales that exceed $ 1 million per day via their website. But what other services, beyond catalogs and product information will the Internet offer? The present invention proposes a next level of functionality that can provide clarity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, presentation software (programming elements) is used in a network browser software. An activating event, for example the pressing of the mouse button in a single "link" begins the presentation of a series of resources instead of one resource at a time. This arrangement of resources, which is defined as "exhibition structure" or "structures" which contains a set of nodes. Each node represents a resource such as a network page, an executable file or a data file stored in a predetermined position and which is accessed via its corresponding address. This structure allows access to one or more information topics from several resources in a continuous array. Information topics include multimedia data such as audio, video, graphics and text that, together, define a presentation display for a user. It is noted that according to one embodiment of the invention, the nodes defining an exhibit structure or structure can be arranged as a multi-session sequence. An array of nodes can be available from a multimedia presentation or exhibition. Each node in the array is accessible from the other nodes in the array. These nodes or a portion of these nodes are selected for presentation. An exhibition structure is defined by one or more trajectories that are encompassed through these nodes. The information conveyed by displaying the arranged resources may be interspersed with advertising and public service announcements (PSA). The presentation of all resources can be adjusted for different pacemaker protocol attributes of individual users. Although the invention can automate many decisions that the user makes when observing a plurality of resources, in no way does it inhibit the interactivity currently present in the network. The decision-making process is not inhibited: it is optional to allow preprogramming and navigate the arrangement of resources as they develop or simply observe a series of resources previously edited. The present invention serves as an enhancer which refocuses the status of the content supplied to the user via a communication medium, such as the Internet, physical elements (hardware), TV / PC and software offers. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of presenting information content is provided, which includes the steps of accessing and providing the information from an array, content sources, or a display of node structures. Each node in the structure includes both an address from which information can be accessed and an indication of the duration by which the content will be presented. For each node, the method establishes the content source, accesses the content and presents it for the indicated duration. According to another aspect of the invention, while the requested information is presented, the method forms in a row and hides the following resource, and then loads the next resource for its observation. According to a further aspect of the invention, a method is provided by which structures of content sources can be generated. A user can select and organize content from a variety of sources by several methods that include a bookmark list, a list of search results and through the creation of a node structure by a "drag and drop" technique . According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for generating and publishing these structures is provided. When a plurality of nodes are available for presentation, the system determines the order of such presentation based on the predetermined set of criteria. In addition, a user can specify additional criteria to arrange the order of the nodes in order to create an exhibition structure. The method also includes provisions for a filter which customizes a pre-existing structure by automatically composing variable items in the structure to a predefined user profile. According to another embodiment of the invention, the system and presentation method for displaying resources includes a system for presenting the resources of a user's local computer. Therefore, the resource arrangement may include an exhibit structure where each node in the structure represents a resource that exists locally within the user's computer. These resources can be planned according to a specific arrangement and executed according to the protocol. According to another embodiment of the invention, the method for creating an exhibition structure can be used by various user terminals, such as computer PCS, visual display terminals only, TV equipment and other terminals that are capable of displaying information. . In addition, for certain applications, the method for creating and displaying the content of various resources, according to one embodiment of the invention, can function as an operating system for managing resources for display in the user's terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram which illustrates the Internet environment and the worldwide network in which the invention operates. Figure 2A is a block diagram of a hardware system (physical elements) for using the software (programming elements) of the present invention. Figures 2B-2F are an illustration of exemplary node arrays defining various display structures according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a flowchart which is useful for describing the software application which operates on a server and the sequences and URLs displayed and the structure predefined automatically according to the timer settings while monitoring the navigation decisions of the user, if any. - Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a software application on the client side or Apple, which processes URLs and predefined structures automatically while monitoring timer settings and user navigation decisions. Figure 5 is a flowchart which illustrates the process by which the initial structures of the content are personalized and supplied to the user.

Figure 6 is a flowchart which illustrates a method for formatting individual resources and resource collections for use with the resource scheduler and organizer software shown in Figures 3 to 5. Figure 6A is a graphical demonstration of a process to edit a structure of nodes. Figure 7 is a computer screen diagram of an exemplary user interface for the invention that is useful for describing the features of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram which is useful to describe the connectivity of users and content providers on the Internet. Briefly, the Internet includes a large collection of content providers 10 which can be accessed by users 12. Typically, a user has access to the content on a "server" when establishing a data communications connection with the server to through the computer network 14, 16 defined by the Internet. Each server 10 operates as a "network site" which includes data files containing text, audio and video content images. The network site typically includes a group of linked HTML documents or pages that contain links to the data files. A user 12 can access the content in a file simply by selecting one of these links. The file can be transferred to a hidden memory on the user's computer and is presented using the browser, or the content can be provided directly by the server 10 to the user 12 as a coded data stream (e.g., an audio program) on the which is decoded and reproduced by the user's computer 12. The content accessed by the examiner may not be in a file on a remote computer but may be generated by the remote computer and transmitted to the user directly. Many of the data that can be accessed by an examiner on a remote computer are classified as Multipurpose Internet Mail (MIME) extension type. One type of MIME is an HTML file, another is a JPEG file, a fixed image that is encoded according to the standard developed by the set of image experts. Mime types can also be property data, in this case, the examiner may need to be configured with a "connection" program in order to decode and present property data. An example of such a connection is the Macromedia "8 instant technology which allows the transfer of animation that is displayed with accompanying audio.For more information about MIME types, see the Netscape 's User Handbook at http: // home .netscape .com / eng / mozilla / 1. l / handbook / docs / answers-html, the HTTP servers (hypertext transfer protocol) use the HTML format. The Netscape software has interconstruction capability to read pages formatted in HTML (as well as the graphic file formats GIF, JPEG and XBM). Netscape can interpret many other file formats with the help of external auxiliary applications. To accommodate the file formats that require auxiliary applications, Netscape maintains a mapping of the file formats for the auxiliary applications. MIME (Multiple-purpose Internet mail extensions) is a standardized method for organizing divergent file formats. The method organizes file formats according to the type of MIME files. When the Netscape software retrieves a file from a server, the server provides the MIME file type. Netscape uses the MIME type to establish that the file format can be read by the built-in software capabilities or, if not, if a suitable auxiliary application is available to read the file. For servers that do not provide a MIME type with a file, Netscape interprets the file extension (a suffix attached to the file name). For example, the .HTML extension suggests a file in the HTML format. In the same way, a .zip extension suggests a compressed file, an extension. rtf suggests a text rich format file and so on. The Internet content in relation to an exhibit structure, according to one embodiment of the invention may be increased as a new MIME type. Therefore, an exhibition structure can be created by an exhibition originator who attempts to present an arrangement of resources corresponding to a user at a specified speed. The display structure can be transmitted to a plurality of users via the Internet. Therefore, in order to ensure the integrity of an exhibit structure, a security arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention is provided, as described in the following. Therefore, the programming elements create the display structure allow the display originator to code in the identity of its creator. In addition, a mechanism is used to automatically verify that the exhibit structure comprises the exhibit and has not been misused. In an exemplary implementation, this is accomplished by the use of cryptographic techniques; for example Digital Signature Initiative (see http://w3c.org/Dsig/Overview.html). The identity of the exhibition originator in this way is represented by a digital signature. The security status of the currently selected display structure is visible to the user at all times. A user chooses' to edit a sequence of an exhibition, the previously attached signature will be discarded and the user will be warned of his new unsigned status. Currently it is taken for granted, that to have access to services, information and entertainment on the network, a user must make certain choices, place the mouse pointer and press the mouse buttons appropriately to indicate the decisions. For example, in a typical network access, these selections are made at a rate of once per minute. The result of each mouse click is another page and another set of decisions. Typically, a user is expected to transfer one of several dozen links that are provided on a given page (see, for example, cnn.com). Alternatively, a user can type in a URL or an access, a bookmark to visit a favorite search device. In addition, the user can access a "content" "channels" connection via a Netscape Communicator 's Netcaster or Microsoft Internet Explorer' s Active Desktop and sit recharged for a few seconds to observe an animated presentation of the offers of a specific publicist. The user can even choose a header from a story presented in a Pointcast screen saver to receive more information about that topic that is grouped within the application, or to transfer to a relevant network site. All these methods typically require a significant amount of user effort and decision making to generate browsing experience in the network. Although users and servers are shown as separate machines in Figure 1It is well known that a computer that is used as a server can be a guest of users and can also serve as a conduit to interconnect a user with a remote server. Figure 2 is a block diagram which illustrates the basic distribution of a typical user computer, which is before a personal computer (PC) or a network computer (NC), as typified by webtv "8 or a Java Station. " The computer can also be a dedicated workstation coupled to a local area network or a terminal connected to a central unit computer which in turn is coupled to the Internet or other communication networks. The user does not require special hardware to use this invention. No additional cards are required with TV tuners, but they can be used as an annex. This diagram illustrates a possible environment of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention. It is contemplated that the invention may utilize user terminals which may have radically different hardware, including but not limited to handheld devices, public kiosks, visual display terminals only, top-of-the-line houses, TV sets and even television set configurations. "size of credit card". The exemplary system includes a microprocessor 32, a random access memory (RAM) 34, a memory management circuit, a disk unit 36, a flexible disk unit 37, a read-only memory (ROM) 33 which includes the basic system and / or (BIOS) for the computer system, a CDROM unit 42, a modem 50, a digital signal processor 43, a keyboard controller 38, a mouse controller 39, a video controller 40, and an audio controller 41 which are all connected by a common system link 31. The keyboard 22, the mouse 23 and a graphic display monitor 24 are connected to the keyboard controller 38, the mouse controller 39 and the video controller 40. The loudspeakers 25A and 25B are connected to an audio controller 41. In the exemplary system, the connection to the online service provider 16 (shown in Figure 1) is made through the modem 50 via a telephone line 56. As shown in Figure 2, the memory 34 includes an operating system 60, for example Windows 9S "8, an examiner 62, for example Netscape Navigator" 4.0; and a hidden memory 63. The hard disk 36 is the main data storage device for the system shown in figure 1. It includes the software necessary to run the examiner and the software libraries used by the operating system to control the operation of all the components that they are connected to the common system link 31. The hard disk 36 also includes a hidden disk (not shown) for the examiner. When data is accessed on a remote computer by the examiner, it can be transferred by the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or the file transfer protocol (FTP) and stored on the disk temporarily hidden. The component of the invention which is used in the user's computer 12 may be, for example, a connection examiner. Although in this example the user component is a connection browser, it is contemplated that it may be an Apple which operates on a virtual computer defined by the examiner, and it may also be a self-sustaining program, which includes the functionality typically provided. by the examiner, or it can be a distributed application. The user component is described below with reference to Figure 4 and is referred to as the RoboSurf program. "The RoboSurf program allows the user to see an exhibit that has a content that corresponds to an exhibit structure, as will be explained in more detail It is noted that according to one embodiment of the invention, the nodes defining an exhibit structure or structure can be arranged as a multidimensional sequence, Figure 2B illustrates an arrangement 300 of nodes that may be available for presentation or multimedia display Each node identifies an available resource and the time at which the resource can be presented to the user As illustrated in figure 2B, nodes 302,304, 306, 308, 310 and 312 are available for presentation according to a exemplary arrangement.Each node in the array is accessible from another node in the array.For a typical display or presentation, a The arrangement of these nodes or a portion of these nodes is selected for presentation as described with reference to FIGS. 2c to 2f. Therefore, an exhibition structure is defined by one or more trajectories that are encompassed through these nodes. Figure 2c illustrates an exhibit structure that simultaneously encompasses multiple paths for the same start node such as node 310 to each of the remaining nodes 312, 302, 304, 306 and 308. Thus, an exhibit in accordance with the structure presented in Figure 2c simultaneously displays the content identified by the nodes 312, 302, 304, 306 and 308, after the content identified by the node 310 is presented. Alternatively, as illustrated in Figure 2d-1, An exhibit structure may encompass a path with a length of four, starting at node 308, and traversing nodes 312, 302 and 306. The state map of this path is illustrated in Fig. 2d-2. Therefore, an exhibit according to the structure presented in Figure 2d-1 first presents the content identified by the node 308, followed by the content identified by the nodes 312, 302 and 306. In a further alternative arrangement, it can be create an exhibit structure that also encompasses multiple trajectories concurrently, as illustrated in figure 2e. For example, a first path encompasses nodes 308, 302, 306, and 310. The second path encompasses nodes 312, 306, 304, and 310. As illustrated, nodes 302, 306, and 310 are encompassed simultaneously with nodes 306, 304 and 310. Therefore, an exhibit according to the structure presented in Figure 2e, first presents the content identified by node 310, followed by the content identified by node 312. Subsequently, the display structure presents the content identified in the nodes 302 and 306 at the same time that it presents the content identified in the nodes 306 and 304. Finally, the structure presents the content identified in the node 310. Therefore, a structure of The display may include one or more paths that may be presented sequentially and / or concurrently. It is noted that a trajectory may include portions that are presented sequentially and other portions that are presented concurrently. In addition, a node for many nodes trajectories and many nodes for a node path also define an exhibit structure. Each time a node is detected, the corresponding content of the node is presented at the user's terminal regardless of whether a plurality of nodes are detected at the same time or separately. It is noted that the process that generates and / or organizes and manages the arrangement of these nodes and finally the corresponding resources, can be implemented as a specific operating system of the user according to an embodiment of the invention. The operating system then allows trajectories to be selected and arranged according to the user's interactive specifications or according to predefined criteria. Therefore, the operating system, among other things, organizes and arranges the available resources as they are identified by the available nodes; allows end users to select and interact with files and applications, and makes certain files and / or resources available to be shared by all other resources. For example, during the presentation of an exhibition, certain sound effects and visual effects can be shared by all the resources that can make use of such effects. Such an operating system can be used for many applications described herein in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. An exhibition structure can be presented on a server that can be accessed by a user who visits a corresponding site on the server. This component on the server is described below with reference to Figure 3, and is referred to as the Robosites program "8. Robosites can perform the actual transfer operations to obtain pages from other sites in the network." In addition to RoboSurf and Robosites , the exemplary system includes RoboGuide "8, described in the following with reference to Figure 5, a program that allows several users to have access to a prepared display structure of nodes or links that are customized to their respective preferences. The system also includes a program called RoboPublisher "8, described later with reference to figure 6, which functions as -in advertising software in a way that helps a publicist prepare exhibition structures- The complete succession of programs is called in the following as RoboCast, with reference again to Figure 3, a flow diagram is explained in more detail which illustrates the operation of the server-side application, Robosites.The first two stages in Figure 3 represent activities that are they produce on the user's computer 12.

In step 70, the user begins by accessing the Internet or another network by means of a personal computer (PC), a network computer (NC), a network-enabled TV set or other similar device. In step 72, the user finds and selects a URL, for example within a screen saver, an e-mail message or a site on the network, or a network site, which is designed as an entry node in a structure of exhibition of resources. The URL can also be designed by its association within a list generated by an advertiser, by results that are generated automatically by a search device or because it is the first URL in a display structure of URLs that is manually collected by the user. The server stores a plurality of display structures, each structure includes nodes that represent a resource of the internet. Therefore, each structure represents a display that is available for the user's preview. Accessing the resources referenced by URL initiates an event structure in the Robosites application which operates on server 10, which is shown in figure 1. In step 74, the server recognizes the request in the sets of tasks, starting the search for the resources indicated by the URL. This stage activates the relevant data and the packages adapted for the examiner 62, which is shown in Figure 2. As part of its customized packaging application, Robosites provides a set of contents that can be displayed in the user's display terminal in form of a persistent content window. Therefore, a small window on the user's screen begins to display content that is provided by the server, such as advertisements or specific messages to the user. In addition, as part of its custom packaging application, Robosites can arrange the position on the screen where the user can see a selected exhibition, and also updates the display structures that have been previously used by a user and that have been stored in the hidden memory in the user's computer. In step 76, Robosites verifies if the user is destined to receive information in a dynamic array that is referred to as dynamic value-added content. As will be explained in more detail in the following, such dynamic value-added content may include additional URL positions or files that are considered by the Robosites system to be of interest to the user, such as advertising material. Such dynamic content is usually based, among other things, on the profile of the user. For example, some of the factors in relation to a user profile, which are considered to include the preference of a particular sports team; a demographic or preset profile as specified in the software. This information is used as selection criteria which are sent to a database and, in step 78 to a page, conforming to the user's preferences, which are retrieved by the server, either locally or from a database located remotely. Therefore, this dynamic content can be presented in the persistent content window of the user's display screen or as information content and messages selectively interleaved between an exhibit structure. In step 80, if the resource addressed by the URL does not include dynamic content or if the user is unable to receive dynamic content, a resource having predefined content is retrieved, either directly from a resource operated by Robocast or by a third party. party with prior authorization to handle such content requests. For example, a resource that has a default setting of advertising content can be presented to the user. In stage 82, the dynamic or pre-defined URL is accessed and the content associated with the URL is retrieved, encoded and supplied to the examiner in step 84. The content provided from the position addressed by the URL may include, among other formats, HTML, DHTML documents or XML. The information provided may contain references to many other types of data, including animation, transfer and non-transfer of audio and video, virtual reality modeling language (VRML) Quicktime VR, and front ends for various types of base applications. data, to name a few. In step 84, the content recovered by Robosites is supplied to the user's examiner for an exhibition presentation. This step is inherent in the operation of the examiner 62 (shown in Figure 2), consequently, it is not described in detail. In step 86, a timer is initiated in response to a message produced by the examiner 62 which indicates that the recovered content has been supplied and is ready to be presented. This timer is set for a value that is provided in the corresponding node in a display structure which indicates an amount of time that the content will be accessed from the associated URL that is to be displayed. It is noted that Robosites provides an additional code to the content that corresponds to the amount of time the content will be displayed. For example, for an HTML file, Robosites includes additional tags that correspond to the duration that the HTML document will be displayed by the user's browser. In step 88, Robosites determines whether the user has selected another URL before the timer ends. It is noted that the user can select another URL either manually or via the RoboSurf program that resides on the user's computer. In this case, the newly selected URL is based on a node within an exhibition structure that is executed by the user's RoboSurf program. If another URL has been selected, the program will do one of two things: 1) move forward so that the user moves away from the default course of the exhibition structure that was introduced at the beginning of this process and that the user takes in another course, based on the other selected URL; or 2) skip it advancing on, the default course that is played by the user, according to the selected structure. This last scenario is advantageous for a quick reader, or someone who has seen the content presented before, or in case you want to skip the content of the viewer (including an advertisement or PSA). If the user has selected a new URL during the display time allowed by the timer, then, in step 90, Robosites determines whether the following URL relates to an exhibit structure or not. This can be determined simply by the lack of a new URL request. It can also be determined by checking the header information of the new URL, as described below with reference to Table 1. As shown in step 93, the user's decisions are recorded in a database at this point, which provides a list of feedback for advertisers and content providers in some cases. For example, if an advertisement for cat food is displayed, the user may skip advertising or otherwise indicate that he is not interested in advertising for cat food. This information is recorded in step 93 and is used to direct only advertising that is of interest to the user. In step 94, the system requests the next resource in the display structure and returns to step 74 described above. It is noted that, according to another embodiment of the invention, it is possible to change the course of the events to be exhibited by the observer by substituting the following appeal request in step 94 with a request for prior recourse. For example, if the forward-forward screen provides a first URL content in relation to the weather forecast with a second URL content in relation to sports news, the backward-forward display provides the news-of sports before the Weather forecast. It is also noted that a user can switch to another set of display structure at any time by selecting a desired structure, for example by a Robosurf program used by the user's computer. Instructions related to a newly selected path in a structure can be provided via a point A, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition, a newly selected path in a structure can also be deflected backward to a previous display structure by the use of the "slide" feature (described below with reference to figure 7). The user's selections are followed by the user's Robosurf program. Thus, for example, when a URL is selected in relation to a second exhibition structure, when it is marked for the first time, the system remembers the moment when the user left the initial structure and returns the user to that point in the structure when the slide button is pressed a second time. Alternatively, you can use the characteristics and background, inherent in most examiners, to return the user to the pages that were submitted moments before or days before. In step 88, if the user does not interact with the system within the allowed time (which is set by the user or the advertiser), the time expires in step 92 and this signals the request for another resource, which allows that a sequence for automatic sliding is played. In step 96, the program requests the next node in the exhibit structure that is played at that time. Although this sequence has been described as a simple display of preprogrammed URLs, it is contemplated that, in more complex ways, this process can transfer URLs to the observer, and at the same time monitor user habits (for example, which sites are skipped and which sites the user observes for the full display time) and injects the targeted content, including news, advertising and PSAs within the data stream. If the URL that is selected in step 88, before the time limit, is not another display structure, the Robosites processes the presentations of the selected content and resets the timer. If additional content is not available, a display structure specified by the user will be optionally displayed. Figure 4 is a flowchart which illustrates the operation of the exemplary system component of the user, which is referred to as the RoboSurf program, according to one embodiment of the invention. Briefly, this program allows the user to plan, personalize and reproduce the content obtained from the network addresses. Using RoboSurf, a user can access almost any accessible network site as a node in a structure. It is noted that although RoboSurf is described as a connection examiner, it can be an Applet, a self-sustaining program or a distributed application. The RoboSurf process illustrated in Figure 4 starts at step 110 to access a default list of URLs that can be generated, for example, by one of several resources such as: 1) A RoboCast network server network that will provide a general list of available display structures; 2) a preselected list generated by the server in response to information obtained about the user from a Profiler (profiler) program (eg, structures defined for an intranet described below with reference to Figure 6); 3) the results of a search initiated through the RoboCast system or through an unaffiliated search device; 4) an email message; 5) the contents of a screen protector playback row; or 6) other methods of supply. In step 112, the URL is supplied to the examiner 62 by one of these methods in a traditional manner. This corresponds to step 84 of figure 3, described above. Also in step 112, the content is received and / or activated either automatically or programmatically for presentation to the user. Once RoboSurf begins to display the content, a timer is started in step 114. This timer has a duration that is determined from the information contained in each node of the current display structure, which corresponds to this URL. In step 116, while the timer is running, RoboSurf monitors the user's actions to determine if the user wants to override the playback sequence. First, the user may select node or a link on the resource displayed in step 122. In this case, if the selected link itself is part of an exhibit structure, the program advances to step 124, and the structure of The newly selected exhibit replaces the current structure. If the selected link is not part of an exhibit structure, the program advances to step 120 to obtain the next resource of the initial structure and the timer is reset and the reproduction continues in step 112. Second, the user can press on the Surf button (slide), on the control buttons 7, shown in figure 7, and then select a link on the presented resource. By pressing the Surf button (slide), the user temporarily suspends the presentation of the original exhibition structure, to review the content of accessible pages by hyperlinks presented on a presented page. When this revision is complete, the exhibition structure can be restarted at the point of deviation simply by clicking on the Surf button (slip) a second time. In step 118, if the user has not selected any URL, the time limit is carried out and the reproduction sequence is resumed in step 120. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, this step clarifies the following article in the protocol window 2 (shown in figure 7), select the corresponding URL and branch back to step 112, causing Robosites to supply the content in the URL requested to 'examiner 62. It is noted that according to a embodiment of the invention, any of the RoboSurf or Robosites programs can operate independently without interaction with the other. Figure 5 is a flow diagram which illustrates the operation of the RoboGuide component of the succession of RoboCast programs. RoboGuide is an auxiliary application that provides an observation guide which provides a personalized search in diverse exhibition structures, of content that has been stored in the hidden memory in the server. RoboGuide interacts with information produced by a profiler program to modify the exhibition structures stored in the hidden memory to eliminate content or add alternative content according to a user's preferences. The RoboGuide program begins at step 150 where the user initiates access to the internet or other network via a personal computer (PC), a network computer (NC), a network-enabled television set or other similar device. The user finds and selects a URL which has been designed as an entry node in a resource display structure by an advertiser. This URL can be found, for example, inside a screen saver, an email message or a network site.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the server terminal using the RoboGuide program stores a plurality of different display structures that may be of interest to users. These display structures can relate to different topics or topics that visitors can access via the server. An example of such a server may be a search device such as those available by YAHOO "or EXCITE" 8. According to one embodiment of the invention, the RoboGuide program can prepare several display structures based on the user's search specifications. The results of a search may include a plurality of URL positions containing pertinent information in relation to the search topic. In response, the RoboGuide program generates an exhibit structure that includes all or a portion of the URL positions not covered as the result of the search. In step 152, the RoboGuide program receives a request from a user for a URL position that is provided by the server. In step 154, the program retrieves from its database an exhibit structure corresponding to the user's request. For example, the server can present a displacement display defined by an exhibition structure prepared by the RoboGuide program.

It is noted that according to one embodiment of the invention, the RoboGuide program can create a custom display structure based on user preferences that can be obtained according to various commercially available filtering techniques. The server can in advance have information regarding the user, for example, via a profiler program that the user has previously updated via a Robosites program, as described above with reference to figure 3. Therefore, based on such a technique of adaptive filtering, the RoboGuide program generates a customized content that can be provided for each user or groups of users. In step 155, the program uses a filtering technique to generate the custom display structure. An exemplary filtering process can be one in which it is available from Firefly.net, described below. This filtering is based on classifying resources (for example classifying cat food advertising as inappropriate if the user's profile does not indicate that the user has a cat or if the user indicates disinterest in cat food advertising either explicitly by pressing on a "button" on the screen (not shown) that indicates disinterest, or implicitly as can be inferred from a skip pattern of cat food advertising when it is presented). The information generated by the profiler program is fed to the server based on "technology technology" (cookie technology), a common method of maintaining information about a client on the network. The server reads the elaboration (cookie) for preferences and the information date and then feeds a customized request to the database which sends a dynamically generated list of the URLs to the user. In step 158, in response to the received display structures, the RoboSurf program residing in the user's terminal recognizes the data and displays the nodes in the structure in its protocol window 2 (shown in Figure 7). In response to the user's request, then an exhibit structure is presented either by a RoboSurf program as described with reference to figure 4, or by a RoboSites program, as described with reference to figure 3. The following description It is an exemplary filtering technique used by Firefly.net and is obtained from its website at http: // www. firefly.net/products/CollaborativeFiltering html # Summary. Collaborative filtering technology is a powerful technology that can effectively solve the information program and overload content, especially in highly subjective domains. Collaborative filtering systems use human intelligence instead of machine intelligence to solve the limitations of content-based filtering systems. Based on human opinions, collaborative filtering systems automate the word-of-mouth process among users. Automated collaborative filtering (ACF) systems automate the word-of-mouth process on a global scale through hundreds or thousands of users and catalog items. Most ACF systems recommend articles using the following three process steps: 1. Capture a set of user opinions in the form of numerical classifications for articles. 2. Calculate a set of "closest neighbor users" for the user. These closest neighboring users are users with opinions very similar to that of the given user. 3. Use the qualifications of the closest neighbors to calculate a set of recommendations for the given user. Although standard ACF systems are effective in subjective domains, they suffer from certain limitations that may cause them to make incorrect conclusions in broad domains. This is mainly due to their tendency to ignore information about the articles that are recommended, even when such information is readily available.

Automated, feature-driven collaborative filtering (FGACF) is a powerful Firefly Network Inc technology that combines the benefits of collaborative filtering with content-based filtering to solve the limitations affecting standard ACF systems. FGACF uses simple feature information about items in a catalog to dynamically divide the article space into a custom base, so that it more effectively applies the ACF algorithm to the appropriate subspace. The designers and developers of commercial collaborative filtering systems need to solve several demanding issues. The main issue in the construction of large-scale collaborative filtering systems is the scaling capacity of the system. The accuracy of the underlying collaborative filtering technology, and the set of functionality that is offered, are important factors for designers of such systems. Firefly Network Inc.'s Catalog Navigator product is scalable to handle loads of hundreds or thousands of users, catalogs sizes in the half million range, with a number of ratings in the millions, and still provides response times less than the second for the requests. As it has already been developed successfully in applications in high traffic sites. In addition to Catalog Navigator, it is the only commercial implementation of this powerful FGACF technology and offers one of the most comprehensive sets of catalog navigation and community functionality for a client. ®Firefly Networks Inc. 1997. It is noted that according to another embodiment of the invention, the information presented to the user based on the display of structures can be reformatted according to certain default structure characteristics. For example, reformatting can include tasks such as: making the network resources friendlier to the reader when RoboSurf, RoboSites or RoboGuide programs are used, by using formatting parameters, such as restricting page size to a size of default screen and automatic reproduction of audio keys before the display of a new page; provide indications of "reproduce", "stop", "advance", "reverse" and "pause" to facilitate the user's vision of an exhibition presentation; develop pages into parts of a content; provide information labels regarding the duration that content will be displayed in the user's terminal and, encode pages with certain demographic information and based on keywords to assist the filtering operations explained above.

Table 1 shows an exemplary HTML code that can be added according to one embodiment of the invention to network resources or other content that has been formatted. Note that HTML of a page can be altered in this way between the download from a server and its presentation to the user. This process of "labeling" only requires a few milliseconds and can be done as it develops. Essentially, this module uses the capabilities of an advertising packaging HTML page such as Adobe Pagemill (www.adobe.com) to add the HTML code of the type shown in table 1. TABLE 1 < ! D0CTYPE HTML PUBLIC "- // IETF // DTD HTML 3.0 // EN" > < html > < head > < title > RoboGuide ll / 3/97 < / title > < META name = "author" content = "® 1997 Damon Torres, Brian Foy "> < META name =" generator "content =" RoboSites 1.0"> < META name =" keywords "content =" news, sports, weather, lifestyles; jane q. public, climate of nyc, climate of San Francisco, climate of Washington DC, yankees, knicks, news without violence, information for parents, content of filter 530145x2a, and filter 398543 * kj fd23, psa filter 19284jksd8sfj * 659"> < META name = "description" content = "Jane Q.

Publish personalized news, sports and weather. It contains preferences for cities, teams, content filters (ie, sex, violence, languages) and preferences for advertising and public service announcement categories. The free parameters are indicated by an asterisk (*). "> < META HTTP-EQUIV = "Expires" content = "Tue, 04 Nov 1997 18:45:23 GTM" > < ! - see http: // www. watermelon .gov / sci_compute / elements.

Html for details-- > < LINK rel = "previous" href = "some url" > < LINK rel = "next" href = "some url" > < LINK rel = "toc" href = "URL of the channel description" > < ! - toc = Table of Contents- - > < / head > < body > < ! - content goes here-- > < / body > < / html > Figure 6 is a flow chart that is useful for describing the operation of a RoboPublisher program, which is the advertising tool used to create and modify display structures for observation via RoboGuide, RoboSurf and / or RoboSites. The first stage represents activities that occur on the user's computer 12. In step 200, the user accesses the program described in this flowchart. In step 210, the user selects between editing an existing display structure or creating a new one. This can be an existing structure that has been previously prepared, or a structure that has been published by another content provider. If the user creates a new structure, the resources, or nodes of the structure, can be activated from the local hard drive or the server or from a remote server. In step 212, the user is presented with a dialog box. In step 214 the user is presented with the options in the dialog box to establish the general preferences for all the resources that will be attached to the structure, such as the duration of all the resources, estimated duration based on the Word count and "page change" by default, sound that accompanies an automatic resource supply.

In step 216 the user has chosen to load a previously defined structure and, in step 218, the computer requests and loads the structure from the local or remote unit. Starting at step 220, the user has many options, presented by an interface that will allow the user to choose to "Add, Edit, or Cut" a node for the structure he is building. This can be carried out graphically, as shown by examples in figures 6A or by means of a list. In step 222, the user can add a node from a standard dialog box allowing to examine all available units and from a special hidden memory area that produces RoboSites, RoboSurf and / or RoboSites. This hidden memory area allows users to collect Internet URLs, for example, by examining, implementing searches or harvesting their email for additional display structures. In step 224 the user adds to the node at the point chosen in the structure. In step 226, the user has the option to make changes or cancel and start again. In step 228, the selection modify choice provides the user with options 230 to edit the parameters of the "next" node (i.e., change the next destination node or the previous node in the structure from, for example, a link local news or a local weather link).

The choice of duration pertains to how much the node will be displayed before the subsequent node is loaded. This can be done on a per resource basis, since some of the resources require more time than others. The expiration option allows the advertiser to choose a "deadline" for the node, automatically activating a substitution search, or skipping to the next action. This is useful for up-to-date information such as weather. In step 232, the user has the option of deleting a node from the structure. Again, this can be done graphically (as shown in Figure 6A) or by means of a list. This step leads to step 234 where the previous structure joins the successful node in the suppressed node. In step 236 it allows the user to choose to continue adding, editing and / or cutting when branching backwards to either stage 220 or 238, to save the work and / or export it for a preview or for it to be seen by others. If the user does not choose to save or export, then in step 244, the program reverses the last saved version or cancels the session. If the user exports it, in step 240, the program writes the changes to the local disk 36 (shown in figure 2). The RoboSites program can in turn write header information to files with which the user can access locally or even files from a remote server. It should be noted that the writing of the HTML document header information is an option, which provides a convenience for the RoboSurf and RoboSites programs. The page reproduction actions can be carried out without the header information being present. The publicist completes his work in stage 242 where he provides the option to preview for the advertiser using the RoboCast examiner improvements or to publish for other users of RoboCast products. Figure 7 is a screen diagram of the interface presented by the RoboSurf program. Article 1 on the screen is an interface with the profiler program. This program allows the user to specify several profiles for RoboSurf. The user can select from profiles prepared for individuals or groups, for example, "Internet Professional", "Laws", "Students", "Family 1", and "Girl, Preschool" and modify these to create a new profile. In the profiler window, the user field allows a profile name to be appended. The protocol field allows the user to associate the profile with a particular structure, also referred to as a protocol. In this case, the structure of the URLs is shown in the protocol window 2 and is called "after dinner". The field of revisions allows the user to specify one of several sources for the network site or to show structure revisions. Using the classifications field, the user can specify limitations on the type of network site or structure that will be reviewed using the family MPAA classification system. The censor level field can be used to control the content of the network that the user will see. Different sensor levels will allow different types of content to be displayed. The RoboSurf program can compare the specified sensor level with voluntary content ratings obtained from network resources or it can interconnect with an existing content monitoring system such as Cyber Patrol to ensure that undesirable content is blocked. The final field in the profiler window allows the user to specify a help to the guidance function. It is envisaged that help is available for both text and synthesized voice. To help with synthesized speech, the user can identify a particular voice with a name (for example "Chris") as shown in figure 7. Article 2 in figure 7 is a protocol window. As described above, this window shows the current structure of the URLs that is displayed by RoboSurf. The window contains a small textual description of each URL and the time in hours and minutes and seconds during which the provided content of the URL will be displayed. The URL from which the content is currently displayed is highlighted. Each URL in the protocol list also includes a small box which is marked with an "x" after the URL has been viewed and can be marked with an "*" to indicate that the user wishes to return to this site. Article 3 in Figure 7 are controls for volume, channel and speed. The volume control works as you would expect to increase or decrease the level of sound that is provided. The button channel allows the observer to move a pointer up and down in the channel window to select a new channel. As used in this description, a "channel" is a collection of resources, such web pages, which are linked in a structure by a content provider. The speed button allows the user to specify the amount of time between the content of resources. The "*" button on each of the volume, channel and speed buttons activates a separate dialog box in which you can manually enter specific entries. Article 4 in Figure 7 is the progress bar. This bar shows the progress of the system and if it has been requested to be done in this way. During playback mode, this bar shows progress through the structure as a percentage of time that remains on the structure screen. In search mode, the bar can show the progress in a search and the preparation of an exhibition structure derived from the search. In acquisition mode, the bar can display the progress of the acquisition operation. Article 5 in Figure 7 are the programming bars. The search button allows the user to set criteria for an Internet search for URLs that are included in an exhibit structure. The take button allows the user to select categories within established information sources in order to make selections within the specified sites. Once the search criteria and the acquisition categories have been established, the acquisition button retrieves information from the selected sources according to the user's criteria at a specified time and frequency. The protocol button allows the user to group the content of the site by topic and then set the time when the specific group will be played. The play button begins the presentation of information. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the play button also allows the user to set parameters such as the size of the content window, the length of time in which each article is displayed and, if RoboSurf is being used as a screen saver, the parameters of the screen saver activation (for example, delay time, cursor auto start position and keyword).

Channel window 6 shows the structure of the advertisers that can be accessed by a "point and click" operation. This window is analogous to a list of "favorite places" in a conventional examiner. The control window 7 contains buttons which allow the user to jump back and forth through a display structure shown in the protocol window, reproduce the information that is provided from the structure of the URLs, stop the reproduction of this information, print the information that is currently being observed and mark the current resources for further observation. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the dial button interacts with the play and print buttons. Even if the content is observed in relation to an exhibition structure, the user can mark individual resources. After observing the display structure, the user can specify that the marked resource be reproduced again, be lined up for printing or be displayed and printed. This feature can be activated, for example, by playing the print buttons or by activating the buttons with a modifier key, for example, the right mouse button. In addition to these buttons, the control window also includes an add / up button which allows the user to add resources to a structure when it is being established in the protocol mode that allows the user to move upwards from the hypertext links that are are presenting on the screen during playback mode. Conversely, the cut / down button allows the user to delete a site from the structure during the protocol mode and move down the hypertext links during the playback mode. The function of the surf button "slide" is described before. This button allows you to temporarily suspend the observation of a structure when the button is pressed for the first time and resume the suspended site when the button is pressed a second time. According to another embodiment of the invention, the functions described above with reference in Figure 7 are a mode in a separate remote control hardware device. The email and videophone buttons, subsection 9 on the screen shown in Figure 7, request third-party software packages, one for email and one for the videophone product. Article 10 on the screen is a content window. This is where the entire content which is found, taken, retrieved, reviewed, classified, censored, edited and planned is finally reproduced automatically. The process of reproducing the content is similar to television mixed with radio, newspapers and a research library. Although the invention has been described in terms of an Internet browser application, which allows a user to observe or create a content display structure of several sites, it is contemplated that it may be used for other purposes. For example, the invention can be used as a jukebox to plan and present successive audio or video recordings or to plan movies or videos that are observed upon payment. As illustrated in Figure 6A, a resource display structure can be created and reproduced according to various embodiments of the invention. These resources may include, for example, several local application files on a user's computer. Therefore, a user can observe information in relation to various executable programs in a selected arrangement in a desired protocol. A typical example involves a user system that contains an account software, an online bank software, an intranet email program and a calendar program. The user generates a display structure that executes each of these programs and displays the relevant information at a predetermined speed. This allows the user to automate several tasks that are currently carried out manually. A) Yes, for example, the user, on a daily basis, can verify the received email, followed by the user's protocol for the day, the funds available in the user's bank account. The selected information is presented automatically in an organized arrangement. It is noted that according to another embodiment of the invention, a display structure may include the local resources of the user and other remote resources as explained above with reference to applications on the Internet. Although only some characteristics of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes or equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore understood that the appended claims are designed to cover all such modifications and that the changes will be within the true spirit of the invention. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (33)

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

1. A method for displaying on a user's computer, the content derived from a plurality of resources in an organized arrangement, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: creating a node display structure, each node identifying a resource of a plurality of accessible resources; access each of the resources identified by each of the nodes; recover the content that corresponds to each of the resources accessed; and display each of the contents retrieved automatically according to the exhibition structure.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the creation step further comprises the step of providing a duration information, which represents the duration within which the content corresponding to the resource is to be displayed.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the access stage further comprises the step of executing an application file that resides on the user's computer.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that it also comprises the step of generating a data file resulting from the execution stage.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that it also comprises the step of storing the data files for each accessed resource.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the step of recovering the content also comprises the step of recovering each of the data files.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the display stage further comprises the step of reformatting the data files according to a predetermined arrangement.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that it also comprises the step of displaying control buttons to control the display of the data files.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises the step of receiving instructions from control buttons to establish pauses in the data file display, and to reverse the display sequence of the data files and to perform fast forward of the display of the data files.

10. A method for displaying, in a sequential arrangement, in a terminal of a user, content derived via a communications network from a plurality of resources, the method is characterized in that it also comprises the steps of: creating a structure for displaying nodes, each node identifies a resource of a plurality of resources accessible via the communications network; access each of the resources identified by each of the nodes; recover a content that corresponds to each of the resources accessed; and display each of the contents retrieved automatically according to the exhibition structure.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the creation step further comprises the step of providing duration information, which represents the duration within which a content corresponding to the resource is displayed.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the access stage further comprises the step of downloading a file from a server that resides within a communications network.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises the step of receiving a dynamic content from a predetermined server.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that it further comprises the step of displaying a window of persistent content to receive the dynamic content within the window of persistent content.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that it also comprises the step of inserting resource identifiers interspersed within the display structure in relation to the dynamic content.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the dynamic content is an advertising message.

17. The method in accordance with the claim 15, characterized in that it further comprises the step of providing dynamic content according to the profile of the user.

18. The method in accordance with the claim 17, characterized in that it also comprises the step of storing content for each accessed resource.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that the presentation step further comprises the step of reformatting the content according to a predetermined arrangement.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that it also comprises the step of presenting control buttons to control the presentation of the content.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that it further comprises the step of receiving control button instructions to establish pauses in presenting the content, and to return the presentation of the content and to fast forward the presentation of the content.

22. A method for transmitting in a sequential arrangement to a user's computer, content derived via a communications network from a plurality of resources, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: storing a node display structure, each node identifies a resource of a plurality of resources accessible via a communications network; access each of the resources identified by each of the nodes; recover a content corresponding to each of the resources accessed; and supply the content to the user for display on the user's computer, in accordance with the display structure.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the step of storing further comprises the step of providing duration information, which represents the duration within which a content corresponding to the resource is to be presented.

24. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the access stage further comprises the step of downloading or downloading a file from a server that resides within the communications network.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that it also comprises the step of transmitting to the user a dynamic content.

26. The method in accordance with the claim 25, characterized in that it further comprises the step of formatting the dynamic content for presentation within a window of persistent content in the user's terminal.

27. The method in accordance with the claim 26, characterized in that it further comprises the step of inserting resource identifiers interspersed within the display structure in relation to the dynamic content.

28. The method in accordance with the claim 27, characterized in that the dynamic content is an advertising message.

29. The method in accordance with the claim 28, characterized in that it also comprises the step of providing dynamic content according to the profile of the user.

30. The method in accordance with the claim 29, characterized in that it also comprises the step of storing the content for each accessed resource.

31. The method in accordance with the claim 30, characterized in that the supply step further comprises the step of reformatting the content according to a predetermined arrangement.

32. The method in accordance with the claim 31, characterized in that it further comprises the step of transmitting information to the user to present control buttons to control the presentation of the content.

33. The method in accordance with the claim 32, characterized in that it also comprises the step of receiving control button instructions to establish pauses in the presentation of the content, and to return the presentation of the content and to fast-forward the presentation of the content. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method of sequencing and scheduling network resources (10) is provided via an application (14, 16) of programming elements that collects the URLs and feeds them to a network browser, so that the amount of pressure is reduced and decisions when the internet is examined. The method begins after a computer user (12) with access to the network finds a URL that leads to a collection of other URLs so that the application of programming elements has been arranged to be presented in a slow and continuous manner . This collection of resources is then automatically played, moving from one resource to the next without the user being equipped to make a decision or press. The decision-making process is not inhibited; it becomes optional. A method for inserting advertisements, news, etc., public service, and full-screen advertising has been developed. The server programming element application module described herein allows a publisher to direct URLs to the user who does not have programming elements on the client side. The publication module allows the user to format resources to a particularly desirable size and feature that promotes readability during a viewing assignment of an exhibit. This same module can publish node connections for others who observe as a complete sequence, accessible via email, screen saver or as a network resource.