Palmsource Inc.

Palm, Incorporated

Apple Inc.

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.P.

Palm Computing, Inc.

Jesse Donaldson

Robert Ebert

Francis James Canova, Jr

Neal A Osborn

David Zachary Creemer

E Michael Lunsford

Steven C Lemke

David Kammer

Kevin James Van Vechten

Roger Flores

Janell Paulson

Kristin M Forster

Gurunath Ramaswamy

Chad E Jones

Ryan N Armstrong

Lee R Taylor

Edward C Ballot

Mark P Hamlin

Sachin S Kansal

Craig C Hamilton

The subject technology provides for displaying applications on a display while avoiding the display's irregular or undesirable features. The disclosed techniques include determining whether a triggering condition related to an application executing on an electronic device is present, and if so, determining a user interface (UI) adjustment value. The UI adjustment value is applied to a frame that represents all of the content including a user interface of the application to be rendered on the display. The UI adjustment value represents an adjustment to the frame such that, when the adjusted frame is rendered, the user interface of the application is presented on the display except on a predefined portion (e.g., a portion including an irregular feature or region) of the display. The adjusted frame is then rendered to present the user interface of the application on the display except on the predefined portion of the display.

Displaying on a display with an irregular feature

A method, system and computer-usable medium for copying a file are disclosed. A plurality of location identifiers are stored that include a location identifier of a removable memory and a location identifier of a memory of a portable electronic device. A file is stored in a memory of the portable electronic device, where the file is associated with the location identifier of the memory. In response to a user interaction with a user interface of the portable electronic device, the location identifier of the removable memory is associated with the file, where the user interaction includes a user selection of the file to copy. In response to the associating the location identifier of the removable memory with the file, the file is copied from the memory of the portable electronic device to the removable memory.

Method and system for copying a file using a portable electronic device

Embodiments of the present invention include a method and system for a category based user interface for management of information stored on auxiliary storage of a portable computer system, e.g., a PDA. In one embodiment, files can be copied to a removable storage unit by changing the category name to which they are assigned. For example, a game that is stored on the main memory of a PDA can be copied to a memory card by changing the category of the game to a category that is associated with the expansion memory. In another embodiment, the user has the option of keeping the application in two categories or deleting the original instance. For example, after copying a game from the PDA to a memory card, the user can decide if the game will remain on the PDA or it will be removed. Alternatively, an application can also be copied from the expansion memory to the main memory by changing the category of the application to a category that is associated with the main memory.

Category based user interface for management of auxiliary storage on a portable computer system

The present invention is drawn to a method and/or a system for recovering from an OS crash caused by unsuccessful event notification to a client that is typically a third party program. After the recovery from such crash, the present invention is also drawn to a method and/or a system for avoiding such OS crash in the future. Specifically, the crash recovery steps include recording the current position of the client on a client list kept by the OS. The current position is recorded in a memory location impervious to OS crashes and system reset. Once the OS crash and reboot are completed, the persistently stored current position is accessed to identified the client that was notified prior to the OS crash. The identified client is designated as an errant client, namely a client whose notification might trigger an OS crash. In turn, the errant client is removed from either the notification list or the computer system in order to prevent the client from triggering any future OS crash.

Graceful recovery from and avoidance of crashes due to notification of third party applications

A system and method for prioritizing multiple audio sources and balancing them in a single combined output in a handheld device. Audio sources are sensed and combined with the level of each source subject to adjustment by an attenuator/amplifier. A priority logic unit controls the attenuator/amplifier associated with each source. the level of each source being combined is adjusted on the basis of the character of the sources being combined and a set of programmed rules. For example, if source A is a high priority source (e.g. a telephone ring or other alert tone) and source B is a lower priority source (e.g. a music program) then the sound management system may lower the volume on source B combine with source A and output the result. Alternatively, source A may be raised in volume, combined with source B, and then output. In one embodiment, the sound management system is integrated with a palm sized handheld computer system.

System and method for prioritizing and balancing simultaneous audio outputs in a handheld device

A method and apparatus for presenting a tab-based graphic user interface (GUI) having more tabs than can be fitted across a screen side for a computer system. The computer system can be handheld devices such as personal digital assistants (PDA's) and cell phones. The tab-based GUI displays as many tabs as possible on the screen side. The on-screen tabs are arranged in a sequence on a side of the display screen wherein each of these displayed tabs is adapted to be selected by a user for entering into a file category. The off-screen and on-screen tabs form a circular array conceptually such that a portion of the circular array being displayed on the screen side is the sequence of the on-screen tabs. In response to the selection of a on-screen tab, the selected on-screen tab is automatically scrolled to the center position of the screen side. In response to the selection of another on-screen tab, the newly selected on-screen tab is automatically scrolled to the center position of the screen side. Any tab, whether on-screen or off-screen, can eventually be selected by repeatedly selecting a tab on-screen on the left-most position of the screen side until the desired tab is on-screen for selection.

Automatically centered scrolling in a tab-based user interface

A method and system of providing compatibility between a software application and an electronic device are disclosed. An exemplary method includes providing an electronic device having a processor and a memory, the processor running an operating system. The method also includes providing access to a software application configured to run on the process of the electronic device. Further, the method includes checking operating system compatibility information. The operating system compatibility information is included in the software application.

Verification of software application attributes for optimal compatibility with a software system

A method for communicating between a first handheld computer and a second handheld computer is provided. The method includes selecting at least a first information item from a first index on the first handheld computer, and signaling the first information item to the second handheld computer. The method includes identifying a second information item on the second handheld computer that corresponds to the first information item, and synchronizing the second information item with the first information item.

Synchronization of data between two handheld computers

The present invention is a system and method that facilitates extendible identification of various peripheral devices coupled to a hand held computer. In one embodiment of a present invention peripheral device identification system and method, an initial pulse of an interrupt signal received by the hand held computer initiates an interrupt routine that continues to monitor the interrupt signal for additional pulses within a predetermined time. A hand held computer peripheral device identification system and method of the present invention correlates the number of received pulses with the type of peripheral device coupled to the serial port. In one exemplary implementation of the present invention, a hand held computer peripheral device identification detection system and method utilizes a hash table to map the number of pulses to a type of peripheral device. In one embodiment of the present invention, the hand held computer peripheral device identification system and method is backward compatible and capable of identifying legacy peripheral devices such as a cradle or modem.

Handheld computer system and method to detect and identify a peripheral device

An improved method and apparatus manages communications port contention and power consumption for a handheld computer, particularly handheld computers with a communications protocol that boosts power consumption when active, such as an RS-232 protocol. The improved method provides communications channel management that automatically opens the communications channel in response to a wake-up signal sent to a handheld computer from a peripheral device. The computer peripheral device is explicitly and/or implicitly identified. The opened communications channel is closed in response to receiving some data from the peripheral device, and/or after a device timeout expires without the handheld computer receiving data from the computer peripheral device.

System for managing power of peripheral communications by automatically closing communications channel immediately after finishing a communication with a peripheral device

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Jesse Donaldson