Unified Desktop Assistant for Multi-Source Information Aggregation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in accessing and managing multiple types of information items, such as messages, calendar information, and documents, across different client applications, leading to distractions and reduced efficiency due to the need to switch between various interfaces and the bombardment of unrelated messages.
Innovation Solution
A desktop assistant system that aggregates and integrates scheduling information, messages, and documents, providing an organized timeline view of communications and allowing users to set priority thresholds to filter out non-essential information, thereby offering a unified and focused interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users access multiple different information client applications to gather needed information, then complete information coverage is achieved, but system complexity and operation difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple information client applications (email client, instant messaging client, calendar client, document client) into a single unified information client application. This unified application provides a single interface that aggregates information from all these different sources, eliminating the need for users to switch between multiple applications while maintaining complete information coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified information client application performs multiple functions that were previously distributed across separate applications. It handles email, instant messaging, calendar events, and document access within a single application framework, making the system more versatile while reducing complexity.
2Loss of information
If users access multiple different information client applications to gather needed information, then complete information coverage is achieved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to interface switching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple information client applications (email client, instant messaging client, calendar client, document client) into a single unified information client application. This unified application provides a single interface that aggregates information from all these different sources, eliminating the need for users to switch between multiple applications while maintaining complete information coverage.
3Reliability
If users receive all messages without filtering, then no important messages are missed, but user productivity decreases due to distractions from unrelated messages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces priority level parameters for different types of messages and information items. The system allows users to set priority thresholds that determine which messages are displayed and which are filtered out. This enables users to maintain productivity by blocking low-priority distractions while still receiving high-priority important messages, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for providing an aggregate view of information that a user may need is provided. A desktop assistant system collects information items that a user may need such as scheduling information and recently received messages. The desktop assistant system may also identify documents that the user may need and contacts with whom the user may need to communicate based on analysis of the collected scheduling information and the collected messages. The desktop assistant system then displays indications of the collected scheduling information, the collected messages, the identified documents, and the identified contacts so that the user has an integrated view of the needed information items.