Variable refresh rates for portions of shared screens

1. A computer program product for setting refresh rates for different portions of a shared screen in a sharing session, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, the program code comprising;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for setting an initial refresh rate for the sharing session, wherein the sharing session is between a display device that displays the shared screen and a remote client device that displays the shared screen;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for selecting a portion of the shared screen;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for selecting a refresh rate for the selected portion of the shared screen that is different from the initial refresh rate for the sharing session, wherein the selected refresh rate is a real number for how often the selected portion of the shared screen is refreshed each second, and wherein the selected refresh rate is selected from one of a first range including a high refresh rate, a medium refresh rate, and a low refresh rate, and wherein the low refresh rate is approximately 0.1 Hz, the high refresh rate is approximately 2 Hz, and medium refresh rate is one of approximately 0.5 Hz and approximately 0.9 Hz.; and

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for refreshing the selected portion based on the selected refresh rate and a portion not selected based on the initial refresh rate.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the selected portion comprises an area surrounding a pointer on the screen, wherein the area moves as the pointer moves on the screen.

3. The computer program product of claim 2 , wherein the area surrounding the pointer on the screen is a circle having a radius around a location of the pointer.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the selected portion comprises a window and further comprising:

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for selecting a high priority rate for a window that is currently in use, wherein the window is currently selected and on top of any other window.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 , further comprising:

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for receiving an input from a pointer in a set of portions indicating a location of the pointer;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for tracking the location of the pointer in the set of portions over an interval of time;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for determining the location of the pointer in each portion of the set of portions over the interval of time;

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for selecting the portion of the set of portions where the pointer is located most frequently; and

program code, stored on the computer readable storage medium, for selecting a highest refresh rate for the portion of the set of portions where the pointer is located most frequently and a lowest refresh rate for a portion of the set of portions where the pointer is located least frequently.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the refresh rate selected for the portions not selected is based on a type of application running in each portion.

7. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the first range further comprises a set of second ranges, each second range comprising a set of values for the high refresh rate, the medium refresh rate, and the low refresh rate respectively.

8. A data processing system for setting refresh rates for different portions of a shared screen in a sharing session, the system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device includes program code;

a processor unit configured to execute the program code:

to set an initial refresh rate for the sharing session, wherein the sharing session is between a display device that displays the shared screen and a remote client device that displays the shared screen;

to select a portion of the shared screen;

to select a refresh rate for the selected portion of the shared screen that is different from the initial refresh rate for the sharing session, wherein the selected refresh rate is a real number for how often the selected portion of the shared screen is refreshed each second, and wherein the selected refresh rate is selected from one of a first range including a high refresh rate, a medium refresh rate, and a low refresh rate, and wherein the low refresh rate is approximately 0.1 Hz, the high refresh rate is approximately 2 Hz, and the medium refresh rate is one of approximately 0.5 Hz and approximately 0.9 Hz; and

to refresh the selected portion based on the selected refresh rate and a portion not selected based on the initial refresh rate.

9. The data processing system of claim 8 , wherein the selected portion comprises an area surrounding a pointer on the screen, wherein the area moves as the pointer moves on the screen.

10. The data processing system of claim 9 , wherein the area surrounding the pointer on the screen is a circle having a radius around a location of the pointer.

11. The data processing system of claim 8 , wherein the selected portion comprises a window and further comprising:

the processor unit configured to automatically select a high priority rate for a window that is currently in use, wherein the window is currently selected and on top of any other window.

12. The data processing system of claim 8 , further comprising:

the processor unit configured to receive an input from a pointer in the portion; and to select the portion receiving the input from the pointer.

13. The data processing system of claim 8 , further comprising:

the processor unit configured to receive an input from a pointer in a set of portions indicating a location of the pointer; to track the location of the pointer in the set of portions over an interval of time; to determine the location of the pointer in each portion of the set of portions over the interval of time; to select the portion of the set of portions where the pointer is located most frequently; and to select a highest refresh rate for the portion of the set of portions where the pointer is located most frequently and a lowest refresh rate for a portion of the set of portions where the pointer is located least frequently.

14. The data processing system of claim 8 , wherein the first range further comprises a set of second ranges, each second range comprising a set of values for the high refresh rate, the medium refresh rate, and the low refresh rate respectively.