System and method for simultaneous display of multiple information sources

Abstract

A computerized method of presenting information from a variety of sources on a display device. Specifically the present invention describes a graphical user interface for organizing the simultaneous display of information from a multitude of information sources. In particular, the present invention comprises a graphical user interface which organizes content from a variety of information sources into a grid of tiles, each of which can refresh its content independently of the others. The grid functionality manages the refresh rates of the multiple information sources. The present invention is intended to operate in a platform independent manner.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A graphical user interface, displayed on a display screen of a computing device, the interface comprising:
 a grid of non-overlapping tiles;   wherein each tile in the grid of tiles individually:
 links to an application program selected from a plurality of application programs; 
 displays content from the application program to which it is linked; 
 has a configurable refresh rate so that content from the application program to which it is linked is continually updated; 
 has a first selection operation that calls the application program linked to the tile, and 
 has a second selection operation that provides a menu of options for a user to ascertain or adjust properties of the tile; 
   and wherein the grid of tiles is persistent from one session to another; and   wherein two or more tiles in the grid of tiles link to different application programs and are updated simultaneously with one another.   
     
     
         2 . The graphical user interface of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of application programs are selected from the group consisting of: a web browser, a word processing application, an electronic mail application, a chat application, a weather application, a news application, a spreadsheet application, a music application, a streaming video player, and an additional grid of non-overlapping tiles according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         3 . The interface of  claim 1 , wherein at least one tile in the grid of tiles is positioned via a drag-and-drop action by a user. 
     
     
         4 . The interface of  claim 1 , further comprising a second grid of non-overlapping tiles, wherein each of the two grids is associated with a different theme. 
     
     
         5 . The interface of  claim 1 , wherein each tile in a grid of tiles is a uniform size and shape. 
     
     
         6 . The interface of  claim 1 , wherein a unit tile size is associated with the grid of tiles, and wherein each tile in the grid of tiles has a fixed size that is equal to the unit tile size, or a multiple thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The interface of  claim 1 , wherein the configurable refresh rate of each tile is automatically assigned based on the type of application program to which the tile is linked. 
     
     
         8 . The interface of  claim 1 , wherein the menu of options for a tile includes options selected from: causing the tile to be shared with another user; adjusting the size of the tile; and refreshing the tile's content. 
     
     
         9 . The interface of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is selected from: mobile telephone, desktop computer, and notebook computer. 
     
     
         10 . The interface of  claim 1 , wherein one or more tiles in the grid of tiles is pre-populated with a link to a particular application program. 
     
     
         11 . A method for displaying a graphical user interface on a display screen of a computing device, wherein the method comprises:
 defining a grid of non-overlapping tiles, wherein each tile in the grid of tiles individually:
 links to an application program selected from a plurality of application programs; 
 displays content from the application program to which it is linked; 
 has a configurable refresh rate so that content from the application program to which it is linked is continually updated; 
 has a first selection operation that calls the application program linked to the tile, and 
 has a second selection operation that provides a menu of options for a user to ascertain or adjust properties of the tile; and 
 wherein two or more tiles in the grid of tiles link to different application programs; 
   updating two or more tiles in the grid of tiles simultaneously with one another;   displaying the grid of tiles on the display screen; and   preserving the grid of tiles from one session to another.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the plurality of application programs are selected from the group consisting of: a web browser, a word processing application, an electronic mail application, a chat application, a weather application, a news application, a spreadsheet application, a music application, a streaming video player, and an additional grid of non-overlapping tiles defined according to the method of  claim 11 . 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising positioning at least one tile in the grid of tiles via a drag-and-drop action by a user. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising defining a second grid of non-overlapping tiles, wherein each of the two grids is associated with a separate theme. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each tile in the grid of tiles is a uniform size and shape. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein a unit tile size is associated with the grid of tiles, and wherein each tile in the grid of tiles has a fixed size that is equal to the unit tile size, or a multiple thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the configurable refresh rate of each tile is automatically assigned based on the type of application program to which the tile is linked. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the menu of options for a tile includes options selected from: causing the tile to be shared with another user; adjusting the size of the tile; and refreshing the tile's content. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the computing device is selected from: mobile telephone, desktop computer, and notebook computer. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein one or more tiles in the grid of tiles is pre-populated with a link to a particular application program. 
     
     
         21 . An electronic readable memory to direct a computing device to display a graphical user interface on a display screen connected to the device, wherein the memory is encoded with instructions to:
 define a grid of non-overlapping tiles, wherein each tile in the grid of tiles individually:
 links to an application program selected from a plurality of application programs; 
 displays content from the application program to which it is linked; 
 has a configurable refresh rate so that content from the application program to which it is linked is continually updated; 
 has a first selection operation that calls the application program linked to the tile, and 
 has a second selection operation that provides a menu of options for a user to ascertain or adjust properties of the tile; and 
   wherein two or more tiles in the grid of tiles link to different application programs;   updating two or more tiles in the grid of tiles simultaneously with one another;   displaying the grid of tiles on the display screen; and   preserving the grid of tiles from one session to another.   
     
     
         22 . The memory of  claim 21  wherein the plurality of application programs are selected from the group consisting of: a web browser, a word processing application, an electronic mail application, a chat application, a weather application, a news application, a spreadsheet application, a music application, a streaming video player, and an additional grid of non-overlapping tiles defined according to the instructions in  claim 21 . 
     
     
         23 . The memory of  claim 21 , further comprising instructions to position at least one tile in the first grid of tiles via a drag-and-drop action by a user. 
     
     
         24 . The memory of  claim 21 , further comprising instructions to define a second grid of non-overlapping tiles, wherein each of the two grids is associated with a separate theme. 
     
     
         25 . The memory of  claim 21 , further comprising instructions to assign a uniform size and shape to each tile in the grid of tiles. 
     
     
         26 . The memory of  claim 21 , further comprising instructions to assign a unit tile size to a grid of tiles, and wherein each tile in the grid of tiles has a fixed size that is equal to the unit tile size, or a multiple thereof. 
     
     
         27 . The memory of  claim 21 , further comprising instructions to automatically assign the configurable refresh rate of each tile, based on the type of application program to which the tile is linked. 
     
     
         28 . The memory of  claim 21 , wherein the menu of options for a tile includes options selected from: causing the tile to be shared with another user; adjusting the size of the tile; and refreshing the tile's content. 
     
     
         29 . The memory of  claim 21 , wherein the computing device is selected from: mobile telephone, desktop computer, and notebook computer. 
     
     
         30 . The memory of  claim 21 , further comprising instructions for pre-populating one or more tiles in the grid of tiles with a link to a particular application program.