International Business Machines Corporation

Ubique Ltd.

Ehud Shapiro

Avner Shafrir

Jacob Rimer

A data retrieval system is described. The system includes a data server, at least one data retrieval client, a co-presence server and at elast one downloadable co-presence client. The data server retrieves at least one data object from among a plurality of data objects stored in a data repository. The data retrieval client requests at least one data object from the data server. The co-presence server includes a virtual place generator which generates one virtual place per data object retrieved from the data server and an associator which associates each virtual place with its data object once its data object is accessed. The downloadable co-presence client is operative with the data retrieval client and communicates with the co-presence server. Each co-presence client includes an object associator which associates a data object received from the co-presence server with one of the at least one virtual places in the co-presence server.

Co-presence data retrieval system

A data retrieval system has a data server, a co-presence server and at least one awareness co-presence client. The data server retrieves at least one data object from among a plurality of data objects stored in a data repository. The co-presence server opens communication and observation channels associated with at least one of the data objects. The awareness co-presence clients communicate with the co-presence server and define an awareness state of the client. The co-presence server opens a communication channel or an observation channel with each client depending on the awareness state of each client per retrieved data object. For observation channels, the co-presence server indicates to each client which other clients have retrieved the same data object. The co-presence server opens a communication channel associated with a retrieved data object to those clients which retrieved the data object and which are in a communication type of awareness state.

Co-presence data retrieval system which indicates observers of data

A data retrieval system includes a data server a co-presence server and at least two co-presence data retrieval clients. The data server retrieves at least one of a plurality of data objects from a data repository. The co-presence data-retrieval clients communicate at least with the data server and with the co-presence server. The co-presence server includes community means for at least maintaining a list of users associated with a community and at least one virtual place having a list of users from the community at the virtual place. Each of the co-presence data retrieval clients includes object association means and co-presence means. The object association means associate a data object received from the data server with one of the at least one virtual places in the co-presence server. The co-presence means is associated with the one virtual place and associates the client with the community and enables communication at least with other co-presence means also associated with the one virtual place.

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New York, NY, United States of America

Ehud Shapiro