Smart Browsing Providers

Abstract

A web browser program is for execution by a client computer connectable to a plurality of server computers via a computer network. The web browser program automatically reconfigures chrome of a user interface to the web browser program to provide a user access to any one of a plurality of groups of related information. A content display program module is configured to receive content data from a current server computer that is one of the plurality of server computers. The content display program module causes a display, on a content portion of the a display of the client computer, that corresponds to the content data. A chrome display program module is configured to cause a display of chrome on a chrome portion of the client computer display that corresponds to chrome specifiers in a chrome configuration database.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A web browser program, for execution by a client computer connectable to a plurality of server computers via a computer network, to automatically reconfigure chrome of a user interface to the web browser program to provide a user access to any one of a plurality of groups of related information, the web browser program comprising:
 content display program means configured to receive content data from a current web site of a current server computer, that is one of the plurality of server computers, and to cause a display, on a content portion of the a display of the client computer, that corresponds to the content data;   chrome display program means configured to cause a display of chrome on a chrome portion of the client computer display that corresponds to chrome specifiers in a chrome configuration database;   current site communication program means configured to provide an indication of the current server computer to a plurality of “related information” servers indicated by a “related information” servers indication;   chrome configuration processing program means configured to receive, from the plurality of “related site” servers, “related information” designators provided to the client computer based on the indication of the current server computer, and to provide the “related information” designators as ones of the chrome specifiers in the chrome configuration database such that the chrome display program means displays the “related site” designators as part of the chrome; and   “related information” servers indication receiving program means configured to receive the “related information” servers indication from at least one of the plurality of server computers such that the “related information” servers indication is dynamically reconfigurable.   
     
     
         2 . A web browser program as in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the “related information” servers receiving program means is configured to received the “related information” servers indication in an RDF format.   
     
     
         3 . A web browser program as in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the “related information” designators received from the “related information” servers specifies the appearance of at least one sub-portion of the chrome portion of the client computer display and also specifies a behavior associated with a user activation of that sub-portion.   
     
     
         4 . A web browser program as in  claim 3 , wherein:
 at least a portion of the “related information” designators received from the servers specifies the behavior as a JavaScript method.   
     
     
         5 . A web browser program as in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the one of the servers from which the “related information” servers indication is received by the “related information” servers indication receiving program means is a trusted server to which the web browser program causes the client computer to connect.   
     
     
         6 . A web browser program as in  claim 5 , wherein:
 the trusted server is a default server to which the web browser program causes the client computer to connect upon a first execution of the web browser after a predetermined event.   
     
     
         7 . A web browser program as in  claim 6 , wherein the predetermined event is installation of the web browser program on the client computer. 
     
     
         8 . A web browser program as in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the web browser program causes the client computer to provide to the “related information” servers an indication of a demographic of the user, and the “related information” provided by the “related information” servers corresponds to that demographic.   
     
     
         9 . A web browser program as in  claim 8 , wherein the demographic is an indication of an identity of the user. 
     
     
         10 . A web browser program as in  claim 1 , wherein the “related information” provided by the “related information” servers includes at least one of links to web sites having content whose subject matter is related to the subject matter of the current web site and a review of the current web site. 
     
     
         11 . A web browser program as in  claim 1 , and further including:
 confirmation program means configured to confirm whether the user has a desire to store a “related information” server indication in a “related information” server indication database and to control that storage based on the confirmation,   wherein the servers to which the current server computer indication is provided is limited to servers whose indication is in the “related information” server indication database.