System and method for focused navigation using filters

1. A computer-implemented method for navigating a plurality of options within a user interface, the method comprising:

providing a first sequence of cards, each card graphically representing an available option;

providing a user interface including a focus area intersected by a first axis and a second axis, the first axis being perpendicular to the second axis;

displaying a set of cards representing filters along the second axis;

receiving a selection of a filter in response to a user scrolling the set of filter cards along the second axis to align a corresponding filter card with the focus area;

filtering the first sequence of cards according to the selected filter to reduce in number the first sequence of cards to produce a second sequence of cards; and

displaying at least a subset of the second sequence of cards along the first axis, one card being displayed within the focus area.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

scrolling the second sequence of cards along the first axis in response to a single user action to progressively change the card within the focus area to a next card in the second sequence; and

halting the scrolling of cards in response to a subsequent user action to show a selected card from the second sequence within the focus area.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each filter comprises filtering criteria, and wherein filtering comprises:

comparing each card in the first sequence to the filtering criteria of the selected filter; and

copying each card from the first sequence that matches the filtering criteria to the second sequence.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the filtering criteria comprises one of a search term, a search attribute, and a logical expression.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein each card comprises at least one tag, and wherein comparing comprises:

comparing the at least one tag of each card to the filtering criteria of the selected filter.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein at least one tag is selected from the group consisting of an XML tag and an object attribute.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein at least one tag indicates a characteristic of a card selected from the group consisting of a genre, a type, a function, and a priority.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein each filter comprises filtering criteria, and wherein filtering comprises:

comparing each card in the first sequence to the filtering criteria of the selected filter; and

copying each card from the first sequence that does not match the filtering criteria to the second sequence.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

storing a third sequence of cards, each card graphically representing a filter.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the focus area is intersected by a second axis, and wherein receiving a user selection comprises:

displaying at least a subset of the third sequence of cards along the second axis, one card from the third sequence being displayed within the focus area.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the selected filter corresponds to the card from the third sequence within the focus area.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the second axis.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first axis comprises a vertical axis and the second axis comprises a horizontal axis.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein receiving a user selection further comprises:

scrolling the third sequence of cards along the second axis in response to a single user action to progressively change the card within the focus area to a next card in the third sequence; and

halting the scrolling of cards in response to a subsequent user action to show a selected card from the third sequence within the focus area.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one filter is predefined.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein each card in the first sequence represents a television program, and wherein at least one predefined filter is configured to select television programs from a genre selected from the group consisting of sports, movies, and news.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one filter is explicitly defined by a user.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one filter is implicitly defined based on one of historical viewing habits and demographics.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one filter is received via network.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein each filter comprises filtering criteria, and wherein each filter comprises program code configured to filter the first sequence of cards according to the filtering criteria to produce the second sequence of cards.

21. The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically generating a filter for at least one filter card based on historical viewing selections by the user.

22. The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically generating a filter for at least one filter card based on a user demographics.

23. The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically generating a filter for at least one filter card based on a plurality of survey questions answered by the user.

24. A system for navigating a plurality of options within a user interface, the system comprising:

a memory for storing a first sequence of cards, each card graphically representing an available option, the memory also storing a set of filter cards, each filter card representing a

filter for filtering the first sequence of cards to reduce in number the first sequence of cards to produce a second sequence of cards;

a display interface for presenting a focus area intersected by a first axis and a second axis, the first axis being perpendicular to the second axis, at least a subset of the filter cards being displayed along the first axis; and

an input interface for receiving a user selection of a filter in response to the at least a subset of filter cards being scrolled along the first axis to align a corresponding filter card with the focus area;

wherein the display interface is to display, in response to selection of a filter, at least a subset of the second sequence of cards along the second axis, one card being displayable within the focus area.

25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the selected filter comprises filtering criteria, and wherein the selected filter is further adapted to compare each card in the first sequence to the filtering criteria and copy each card from the first sequence that matches the filtering criteria to the second sequence.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the filtering criteria comprises one of a search term, a search attribute, and a logical expression.

27. The system of claim 25 , wherein each card comprises at least one tag, and wherein the selected filter is further adapted to compare the at least one tag of each card to the filtering criteria.

28. The system of claim 27 , wherein at least one tag is selected from the group consisting of an XML tag and an object attribute.

29. The system of claim 27 , wherein at least one tag indicates a characteristic of a card selected from the group consisting of a genre, a type, a function, and a priority.

30. The system of claim 24 , wherein the selected filter comprises filtering criteria, and wherein the selected filter is further adapted to compare each card in the first sequence to the filtering criteria of the selected filter and copy each card from the first sequence that does not match the filtering criteria to the second sequence.

31. The system of claim 24 , wherein the memory is further adapted to store a third sequence of cards, each card graphically representing a filter.

32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the focus area is intersected by a second axis, and wherein the display interface is further adapted to display at least a subset of the third sequence of cards along the second axis, one card from the third sequence being displayed within the focus area.

33. The system of claim 32 , wherein the selected filter corresponds to the card from the third sequence within the focus area.

34. The system of claim 32 , wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the second axis.

35. The system of claim 32 , wherein the first axis comprises a vertical axis and the second axis comprises a horizontal axis.

36. The system of claim 32 , wherein the display interface is further adapted to scroll the third sequence of cards along the second axis in response to a single user action to progressively change the card within the focus area to a next card in the third sequence and halt the scrolling of cards in response to a subsequent user action to show a selected card from the third sequence within the focus area.

37. The system of claim 24 , wherein at least one filter is predefined.

38. The system of claim 37 , wherein each card in the first sequence represents a television program, and wherein at least one predefined filter is configured to select television programs from a genre selected from the group consisting of sports, movies, and news.

39. The system of claim 24 , wherein at least one filter is explicitly defined by a user.

40. The system of claim 24 , wherein at least one filter is implicitly defined based on one of historical viewing habits and demographics.

41. The system of claim 24 , further comprising:

a network interface for receiving at least one filter via a network.

42. The system of claim 24 , wherein each filter comprises filtering criteria, and wherein each filter comprises program code configured to filter the first sequence of cards according to the filtering criteria to produce the second sequence of cards.

43. A system for navigating a plurality of options within a user interface, the system comprising:

means for providing a first sequence of cards, each card graphically representing an available option;

means for providing a user interface including a focus area intersected by a first axis and a second axis, the first axis being perpendicular to the second axis;

means for displaying a set of cards representing filters along the second axis;

means for receiving a selection of a filter in response to a user scrolling the set of filter cards along the second axis to align a corresponding filter card with the focus area;

means for filtering the first sequence of cards according to the selected filter to reduce in number the first sequence of cards to produce a second sequence of cards; and

means for displaying at least a subset of the second sequence of cards along the first axis, one card being displayed within the focus area.

44. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium including program code for performing a method for navigating a plurality of options within a user interface, the method comprising:

providing a first sequence of cards, each card graphically representing an available option;

providing a user interface including a focus area intersected by a first axis and a second axis, the first axis being perpendicular to the second axis;

receiving a selection of a filter in response to a user scrolling the set of filter cards along the second axis to align a corresponding filter card with the focus area;

filtering the first sequence of cards according to the selected filter to reduce in number the first sequence of cards to produce a second sequence of cards; and

displaying at least a subset of the second sequence of cards along the first axis, one card being displayable within the focus area.

45. A computer-implemented user interface for navigating a plurality of options, the user interface comprising:

a focus area;

a first axis intersecting the focus area;

a second axis intersecting the focus area, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis;

a first sequence of cards displayed along the first axis, each card graphically representing a filter, one card being displayed within the focus area; and

a second sequence of cards displayed along the second axis, the second sequence of cards comprising a filtered subset of a third sequence of cards reduced in number based on the filter represented by the card within the focus area.

46. A computer-implemented method for navigating a plurality of television programming options within a user interface of an interactive television system, the method comprising:

storing a first sequence of cards, each card graphically representing an available television programming option;

storing a set of genre filter cards, each genre filter card having an associated genre filter for reducing in number the first sequence of cards according to genre criteria;

providing a user interface including a focus area intersected by a first axis and a second axis, the first axis being perpendicular to the second axis;

receiving a user selection of a particular genre filter card representing a genre filter in response to a user scrolling the set of genre filter cards along the second axis to align the particular genre filter card with the focus area;

filtering the first sequence of cards according to the selected genre filter to reduce in number the first sequence of cards to produce a second sequence of cards;

displaying at least a subset of the second sequence of cards along the first axis, one card being displayed within the focus area;

scrolling the second sequence of cards along the first axis in response to a single user action to progressively change the card within the focus area to a next card in the second sequence; and

halting the scrolling of cards in response to a subsequent user action to show a selected card from the second sequence within the focus area.

47. The method of claim 46 , further comprising displaying a channel represented by the selected card within the focus area in response to a user command.

48. A computer-implemented method for navigating a plurality of television programming options within a user interface of an interactive television system, the method comprising:

displaying a set of genre filter cards along a first axis of a user interface, one genre filter card being displayable within a focus area of the user interface;

allowing a user to affirmatively select a particular genre filter card within the focus area;

filtering a second sequence of cards representing television programming options according to a genre filter associated with the selected genre filter card to reduce in number the second sequence of cards to produce a third sequence of cards; and

displaying at least a subset of the third sequence of cards along a second axis, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis and intersecting the first axis within the focus area, one card of the third sequence being displayable within the focus area.