Document stream operating system

Abstract

A document stream operating system and method is disclosed in which: (1) documents are stored in one or more chronologically ordered streams; (2) the location and nature of file storage is transparent to the user; (3) information is organized as needed instead of at the time the document is created; (4) sophisticated logic is provided for summarizing a large group of related documents at the time a user wants a concise overview; and (5) archiving is automatic. The documents can include text, pictures, animations, software programs or any other type of data.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to an operating system in which documents are stored in a chronologically ordered “stream”. In other words, that is, as each document is presented to the operating system, the document is placed according to a time indicator in the sequence of documents already stored relative to the time indicators of the stored documents. [0002] Within this application several publications are referenced by arabic numerals within parentheses. Full citations for these and other references may be found at the end of the specification immediately preceding the claims. The disclosures of all of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Conventional operating systems frequently confuse inexperienced users because conventional operating systems are not well suited to th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] One object of the present invention is to provide a document stream operating system and method which solves many, if not all, of the disadvantages of conventional operating systems.

[0017] Also, an object of the present operating system is to make “reminding” convenient.

[0018] Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating system in which personal data is widely accessible anywhere and compatibility across platforms is automatic. Accordingly, this invention provides that computers using the operating system of the present invention need not be independent data storage devices, but also act as “viewpoints” to data stored and maintained on external systems such as the INTERNET. Thus, in accordance with the present invention users can access their personal document streams from any available platform such as a UNIX machine, a Macintosh or IBM-compatible personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a set-top box via cable.

Problems solved by technology

Conventional operating systems frequently confuse inexperienced users because conventional operating systems are not well suited to the needs of most users.

In addition, conventional operating systems require the user to invent pointless names for files and to construct organizational hierarchies that quickly become obsolete.

Also, the paper-based model is a rather poor basis for organizing information where the state of the art is still a messy desktop and where one's choices in creating new information paradigms is constrained [1].

Thus, conventional operating systems suffer from at least the following disadvantages: (1) a file must be “named” when created and often a location in which to store the file must be indicated resulting in unneeded overhead; (2) users are required to store new information in fixed categories, that is directories or subdirectories, which are often an inadequate organizing device; (3) archiving is not automatic; (4) little support for “reminding” functions are provided; (5) accessibility and compatibility across data platforms is not provided and (6) the historical context of a document is lost because no tracking of where, why and how a document evolves is performed.

Online, many filenames are not only pointless but useless for retrieval purposes.

Data archiving is an area where conventional electronic systems perform poorly compared to paper-based systems.

Paper-based systems are first and foremost archiving systems, yet data archiving is difficult in conventional desktop systems.

Reminding is a critical function of computer-based systems [2] [3], yet current systems supply little or no support for this function.

However, this article fails to address many of the disadvantages of conventional operating systems.

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