International Business Machines Corporation

Patrick Justin Laffey

Johnny Meng-Han Shieh

Jessica Kelley Murillo

Kim-Khanh Vu Tran

Scott Trieu Tran

Gerald Francis McBrearty

Daniel Nhiem Nguyen

Kim-Khanh V Trans

Vit T Tran

Immediate changes and updates in a Global Positioning System (GPS) providing wireless communication display devices with displayed maps of a defined areas with traffic and objects of interest information are implemented through broadcasting short range RF information relative to an object from an object located within the defined area. When this broadcast information is received by the transceiver of any wireless display device within RF broadcast range, the receiving device obtains the position of the object from a GPS satellite based upon the information received by the wireless display device and the object and the information are displayed.

Immediate updating of global positioning system (GPS) generated area maps on wireless computer controlled displays

In an interactive display interface, an implementation for highlighting all icons in any set of a plurality of the icons, wherein each icon in the set is within a predetermined distance of an approaching pointer or cursor. In other words, the point of the pointer or cursor may be considered to be surrounded by a circular halo with a radius of said predetermined distance. The user moves the cursor in a standard manner. However, if the icons that the moving cursor is approaching are so densely spaced that more than one icon comes within the halo, then all of the icons within this set of the plurality of icons is highlighted to give the user a more distinct choice. The highlighting of each of the highlighted icons is ended when the pointer moves outside of the predetermined distance or halo radius.

Directing users' attention to specific icons being approached by an on-screen pointer on user interactive display interfaces

In an interactive display interface, an implementation switching to an alternate smaller sized cursor when the original sized cursor does not have the minimum clearance between the target icon and other adjacent icons to permit a clear user selection of the target icon. A predetermined minimum clearance factor is set. As the cursor moves toward the target icon, there is a determination made as to whether the arrangement of the target icon with respect to its adjacent icons exceeds the minimum clearance factor. If not, there is an implementation for reducing the size of the cursor so that the minimum clearance factor is exceeded.

Alternate reduced size on-screen pointers for accessing selectable icons in high icon density regions of user interactive display interfaces

Temporarily moving adjacent or overlapping icons away from specific icons being approached by an on-screen pointer on user interactive display interfaces

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Cedar Park, TX, United States of America

Patrick Justin Laffey