Networked computer system
View Patent ↗A networked computer system has a plurality of servers and a plurality of distributed clients, which may be devices or computers. Each client has a boot operating system (OS). Upon startup, the boot OS in each client automatically initiates a connection to one of the servers via the Internet. The boot OS can detect the type of medium (e.g., cable modem, DSL) to which the client is connected. The server automatically downloads a base OS and dynamically configures a suite of applications on the client without running the standard installation programs. One included application is an Internet telephony application, allowing a user to plug a standard telephone into the client appliance or computer, pick up the telephone, and automatically dial out using long distance Internet telephony. Optionally, the server may download a plurality of operating systems that are automatically initiated to run concurrently on the client. The clients use a random access memory (RAM) caching technique. A first portion of each OS or application is downloaded at startup and maintained in the client RAM, containing the files needed to launch the OS or application. If the client processes a request for an OS or application program file not in the client's RAM, the requested file is automatically downloaded from the server.
1. A method for operating a computer system Including a server and a client, comprising the steps of:
(a) based on a selection made by a user of the client, downloading a first portion of an application program from the server to the client, the first portion of the application program containing a first plurality of program files, the application program further including a second portion containing a second plurality of program files, the second plurality of program files not being included in the first plurality of program files, the application program being designed to operate at the client only with the first plurality of program files stored locally and the second plurality of program files stored locally;
(b) launching the application program in the client, while the first portion of the application program is stored locally in the client, but the second portion of the application program is not stored locally In the client;
(c) processing in the client, a request for one of the second plurality of program files, wherein the request is based on the selection made by the user;
(d) automatically downloading at least one of the second plurality of program files from the server to the client; and
(e) using the at least one of the second plurality of program files in the client.
2. The method of claim 1 , including, before step (a), the steps of
(1) Selecting the first plurality of program files to include program files that are expected to be used frequently; and
(2) selecting the second plurality of program files to include program files that are not expected to be used frequently.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (d) includes downloading all of the second plurality of program files from the server to the client.
4. A method for configuring computer programs on a client that is coupled to a server, comprising the steps of:
(a) identifying a first plurality of computer programs that are listed in a user profile associated with a user of the client, the first plurality of computer programs being associated with the user;
(b) querying a database identifying dependencies among a second plurality of computer programs that are stored on the server, the first plurality of computer programs being a subset of the second plurality of computer programs;
(c) identifying dependencies among the first plurality of computer programs based on the querying; and
(d) automatically generating configuration files for downloading to the client and that are required to execute any of the first plurality of computer programs in the client, without executing any installation programs associated with any of the first plurality of computer programs.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising automatically downloading computer program files corresponding to the first plurality of computer programs from the server to the client.
6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising, before step (a), the step of:
storing a plurality of codes in the database, each code associated with a respective dependency between at least two of the second plurality of computer programs.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein step (d) Includes:
generating the configuration files to reflect a dependency between the at least two of the second plurality of computer programs, if all of the at least two of the second plurality of computer programs are included in the first plurality of computer programs.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein step (d) further includes:
generating the configuration files so as not to reflect the dependency between the at least two of the second plurality of computer programs, if the at least two of the second plurality of computer programs are not all included in th first plurality of computer programs.