Connecting to different network types through a common user interface

Abstract

Described is a technology by which network connections are unified into a single user interface for user interaction with those networks. Upon receiving information identifying available networks that correspond to different types of media, a user interface component aggregates the available network connections and displays representations of the available network connections on the user interface. The result is a single user interface page on which the available networks are represented as available network connections that may correspond to destinations, for example by displaying a network name and / or a user-friendly name maintained in a network profile. Also displayable is connectivity status, security-related information, signal strength information for wireless network connections, and other information. The user may choose to show all available network connections, or only subset of the available network connections (e.g., only wireless, or only dial-up and VPN).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 273,803 filed on May 9, 2014, entitled “CONNECTING TO DIFFERENT NETWORK TYPES THROUGH A COMMON USER INTERFACE,” which issued as U.S. Pat. No. ______ on ______, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 447,540 filed on Jun. 5, 2006, entitled “CONNECTING TO DIFFERENT NETWORK TYPES THROUGH A COMMON USER INTERFACE,” which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,724,484 on May 13, 2014, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 717,703 filed on Sep. 16, 2005, and entitled “Method for connecting to different network types through a single user interface,” wherein all of the foregoing are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.BACKGROUND[0002]In contemporary computer systems and networking, computer users view networks from the perspective of the network source, e.g., what the user needs to do to make ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent is about a technology that merges network connections into a single user interface. A platform collects information about different types of networks from various modules and presents them on a common page for user interaction. The user interface displays available network connections, which may be connected or disconnected, and can provide additional information by interacting with the page. The technical effect of this technology is a more convenient and user-friendly way to access multiple networks with a single user interface.

Problems solved by technology

Many users are confused and frustrated when dealing with network connections, because in general the current user interface model of having different user interfaces for different network connections does not match a service-oriented, network destination computing model.

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