Roaming Bookmark Listing Profile for Device-Specific Context

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current browser technologies fail to differentiate and prioritize bookmarks effectively across multiple devices, leading to inconsistent and cluttered bookmark listings, as they do not account for device-specific contexts, permissions, and usage patterns.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a characteristic association navigation approach that associates bookmarks with usage data sets and page accessibility tags, allowing devices to prioritize and arrange bookmarks based on device-specific contexts, such as domain membership and network connectivity, to provide a tailored and organized bookmark listing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If bookmarks are synchronized across multiple devices using a traditional file and folder structure, then users can access their bookmark lists on any device, but the bookmark listings become cluttered and inconsistent across devices due to lack of device-specific customization

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebookmark listing adaptability to device-specific contextsVSAvoidbookmark management complexity across devices

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by allowing each device to have its own bookmark listing characteristics (sorting order, grouping, visibility) while maintaining a unified set of bookmarks. The system stores device-specific attributes in the bookmark data structure that define how bookmarks are presented on each device, enabling customization without requiring separate bookmark sets for each device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the bookmark management system into two independent components: the bookmark content itself (URL, title, description) and the listing characteristics (sorting, grouping, filtering). This segmentation allows the bookmark data to be synchronized across devices while the presentation characteristics remain device-specific, resolving the contradiction between consistency and customization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Loss of information

If all bookmarks are presented uniformly across devices, then users have consistent access to their bookmark collections, but important device-specific priorities and contexts are lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice-specific usage context informationVSAvoidbookmark listing organization

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary action by pre-defining listing characteristics (sorting criteria, grouping categories, filtering rules) as part of the bookmark data structure during bookmark creation or synchronization. This allows the system to automatically apply device-appropriate organization without requiring real-time user intervention, preserving usage context while maintaining ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of operation

If manual grouping of bookmarks is required on each device, then users can customize their bookmark listings, but this increases user effort and time consumption

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebookmark listing customization effortVSAvoidtime spent organizing bookmarks across devices

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies self-service by enabling the system to automatically generate and maintain device-specific bookmark listings based on pre-stored listing characteristics. The system autonomously sorts, groups, and filters bookmarks according to device-specific attributes without requiring user intervention, eliminating the time and effort previously needed for manual organization while preserving customization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Adaptability or versatility

If bookmarks are stored in a fixed folder tree structure, then the organization is simple and consistent, but the system cannot adapt to different user needs on different devices

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebookmark organization flexibilityVSAvoiddata structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent adds another dimension to the traditional folder tree structure by introducing listing characteristics (sorting order, grouping, filtering) as a separate layer of organization. Instead of modifying the fundamental tree structure, the system overlays device-specific presentation rules on top of the unified bookmark data, enabling flexibility without increasing structural complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS10769229B2Separation of work and personal content

Publication Date: 2020.09.08 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

In one example, a user with multiple devices may have the same group of favorited webpages across each device while having the bookmark listing of the favorited pages organized to present a device-specific order. A user device may receive in a roaming bookmark listing profile a bookmark describing a webpage for ready access by a user. A user device may associate the bookmark with a usage data set describing an interaction with the webpage by the user. A user device may examine the usage data set for the webpage in relation to the user device. A user device may present the bookmark in a bookmark listing to a user based upon the usage data set.