Methods, systems, and storage mediums for managing content storage and selection

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments relate to methods, systems, and storage mediums for managing content storage and selection activities. The method includes aggregating content from content providers and presenting the content to a content device. The method also includes monitoring consumption of storage space with respect to storage capacity in the content device, relocating content contained in the storage space of the content device when a predetermined condition is met, and providing access to relocated content. The relocation is operable for freeing up the storage space of the content device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for managing content storage and selection, comprising:
 aggregating content, remotely by an off-site host system, from a plurality of content providers;   providing the content to at least one consumer user content device;   monitoring, remotely by the off-site host system, consumption of a storage space of the at least one consumer user content device residing locally in a consumer user system, with respect to storage capacity in the at least one consumer user content device receiving the content, wherein the at least one consumer user content device contains a fixed amount of storage space, the monitoring based upon the type of the at least one consumer user content device;   selecting content contained in the storage space for relocation, wherein the content for relocation is selected based on at least one of how long the content has been stored in the storage device, size of the content, a content device user's selection, and an inference based upon most frequently accessed content;   relocating, remotely by the off-site host system, the content contained in the fixed amount of storage space of the at least one consumer user content device when a predetermined condition is met, wherein relocating the content frees up the fixed amount of storage space of the at least one consumer user content device; and   providing a user interface, by the off-site host system, to the consumer user content device, the user interface operable for building a content library listing content contained in the storage space of the at least one consumer user content device and the relocated content, wherein a content storage and selection application maintains a single copy of a content item in a database and replicates the single copy for each user content device that includes the content item in its content library;   wherein the relocating content contained in the storage space includes:   removing the content from the storage space; and   providing a link in the content library to the relocated content removed from the storage space, the link providing access to the relocated content.   
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 associating the content library with a user account;   providing access to the content library;   providing access to the relocated content;   monitoring a plurality of activities conducted by a content device user via transactions occurring in the content library associated with the content device user;   comparing the plurality of activities conducted by the content device user with a plurality of other activities conducted by users of other content devices via transactions occurring in corresponding content libraries of the other content devices;   determining relationships between the plurality of activities conducted by the content device user and the plurality of other activities conducted by users of other content devices;   generating a listing of recommended content items based on determined relationships; and   presenting the listing to the content device user, wherein access to the content library includes providing an owner of the user account and a non-owner of the user account with access to the content library associated with the user account.   
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein access by the non-owner includes at least one of:
 viewing listings in the content library,   accessing content identified in the content library, and   charging a fee for accessed content.   
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content includes at least one of:
 audio;   video;   images;   text;   premium channel programming;   cable programming;   broadcast network programming;   radio programming;   digital music; and   pay-per-view programming.   
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the consumer user content devices include:
 a personal computer;   a cellular telephone;   a personal digital assistant; and   a television.   
     
     
       6. A system for managing content storage and selection activities, comprising:
 an off-site database for storing content;   an interface to an at least one consumer user content device receiving content from a content provider over a communications network; and   an off-site host system performing:
 aggregating content from a plurality of content providers; 
 providing the content to at least one consumer user content device; 
 remotely monitoring, via a content storage and selection application, consumption of a storage space of the at least one consumer user content device residing locally in a consumer user system, with respect to storage capacity in the at least one consumer user content device; 
 selecting content contained in the storage space for relocation, wherein the content for relocation is selected based on at least one of how long the content has been stored in the storage device, size of the content, a content device user's selection, and an inference based upon most frequently accessed content; 
 relocating, remotely by the off-site host system, the content contained in the storage space of the at least one consumer user content device to the off-site database via the communications network when a predetermined condition is met; 
 building a content library listing the content contained in the storage space and the relocated content, via the interface, wherein a content storage and selection application maintains a single copy of a content item in a database and replicates the single copy for each user content device that includes the content item in its content library; 
 wherein the relocating content contained in the storage space includes:
 removing the content from the storage space; and 
 providing a link in the content library to the relocated content removed from the storage space, the link providing access to the relocated content. 
 
   
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the content storage and selection application further performs:
 associating the content library with a user account;   providing access to the content library;   providing access to the relocated content;   monitoring a plurality of activities conducted by a content device user via transactions occurring in the content library associated with the content device user;   comparing the plurality of activities conducted by the content device user with a plurality of other activities conducted by users of other content devices via transactions occurring in corresponding content libraries of the other content devices;   determining relationships between the plurality of activities conducted by the content device user and the plurality of other activities conducted by users of other content devices;   generating a listing of recommended content items based on determined relationships; and   presenting the listing to the content device user, wherein access to the content library includes providing an owner of the user account and a non-owner of the user account with access to the content library associated with the user account.   
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7 , wherein access by the non-owner includes at least one of:
 viewing listings in the content library,   accessing content identified in the content library,   adding content to another content library associated with the non-owner,   charging a fee for accessed content, and   compensating a content owner for accessed content.   
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the content includes at least one of:
 audio;   video;   images;   text;   premium channel programming;   cable programming;   broadcast network programming;   radio programming;   digital music; and   pay-per-view programming.   
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the consumer user content devices include:
 a personal computer;   a cellular telephone;   a personal digital assistant; and   a television.   
     
     
       11. A storage medium encoded with machine-readable program code providing content storage and selection services, the program code including instructions causing a host system to implement a method, comprising:
 aggregating content, remotely by an off-site host system, from a plurality of content providers;   providing the content to at least one consumer user content device;   monitoring, remotely by the off-site host system, consumption of a storage space of the at least one consumer user content device residing locally in a consumer user system, with respect to storage capacity in the at least one consumer user content device receiving the content, wherein the at least one consumer user content device contains a fixed amount of storage space, the monitoring based upon the type of the at least one consumer user content device;   selecting content contained in the storage space for relocation, wherein the content for relocation is selected based on at least one of how long the content has been stored in the storage device, size of the content, a content device user's selection, and an inference based upon most frequently accessed content;   relocating, remotely by the off-site host system, the content contained in the fixed amount of storage space of the at least one consumer user content device when a predetermined condition is met, wherein relocating the content frees up the fixed amount of storage space of the at least one consumer user content device; and   providing a user interface, by the off-site host system, to the consumer user content device, the user interface operable for building a content library listing content contained in the storage space of the at least one consumer user content device and the relocated content, wherein a content storage and selection application maintains a single copy of a content item in a database and replicates the single copy for each user content device that includes the content item in its content library;   wherein the relocating content contained in the storage space includes:
 removing the content from the storage space; and 
 providing a link in the content library to the relocated content removed from the storage space, the link providing access to the relocated content. 
   
     
     
       12. The storage medium of  claim 11 , further comprising instructions for:
 associating the content library with a user account;   providing access to the content library;   providing access to the relocated content;   monitoring a plurality of activities conducted by a content device user via transactions occurring in the content library associated with the content device user;   comparing the plurality of activities conducted by the content device user with a plurality of other activities conducted by users of other content devices via transactions occurring in corresponding content libraries of the other content devices;   determining relationships between the plurality of activities conducted by the content device user and the plurality of other activities conducted by users of other content devices;   generating a listing of recommended content items based on determined relationships; and   presenting the listing to the content device user, wherein access to the content library includes providing an owner of the user account and a non-owner of the user account with access to the content library associated with the user account.   
     
     
       13. The storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein access by the non-owner includes at least one of:
 viewing listings in the content library,   accessing content identified in the content library,   adding content to another content library associated with the non-owner,   charging a fee for accessed content, and   compensating a content owner for accessed content.   
     
     
       14. The storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the content includes at least one of:
 audio;   video;   images;   text;   premium channel programming;   cable programming;   broadcast network programming;   radio programming;   digital music; and   pay-per-view programming.   
     
     
       15. The storage medium  claim 11 , wherein the consumer user content devices include:
 a personal computer;   a cellular telephone;   a personal digital assistant; and   a television.   
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 2 , wherein access by the non-owner includes adding content to another content library associated with the non-owner. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 2 , wherein access by the non-owner includes compensating a content owner for accessed content. 
     
     
       18. A method, comprising:
 aggregating, by an offsite host system, content from a plurality of content providers;   monitoring, by the off-site host system, consumption of a storage space of a content device residing locally in a consumer user system, wherein the monitoring is based upon a type of the content device;   selecting, by the off-site host system, particular content contained in the storage space for relocation, wherein the selection is based on at least one of: how long the particular content has been stored in the storage space, size of the particular content, a user's selection, and an inference based upon most-frequently accessed content; and   relocating, by the off-site host system, the particular content contained in the storage space when a predetermined condition is met, wherein the relocating includes:
 removing the particular content from the storage space; and 
 providing a link in a content library to the particular relocated content, wherein the link provides access to the particular relocated content. 
   
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the relocating includes storing, on a local storage device included in the off-site host system, the particular content such that the particular content can be accessed via the link. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the particular content is accessible via a content library of at least one other consumer user system than the consumer user system. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 monitoring, by the off-site host system, user activity with respect to content of the content library;   identifying, by the off-site host system, a set of similarities between the user activity and other user activity with respect to content of another content library; and   providing, to a user of the consumer user system, one or more recommendations based on the set of similarities.   
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the off-site host system, a request from the consumer user system to access the particular content; and   authenticating, by the off-site host system, a user associated with the request to determine whether to grant access to the particular content.   
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , wherein the authenticating of the user includes validating an identifier and password of the user. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 providing, by the off-site host system, a user interface that is displayable for presenting the content library that lists content contained in the storage space of the content device and relocated content.   
     
     
       25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program instructions stored thereon that are capable of causing a host system to perform a set of operations, wherein the host system is remote to a consumer user system, and wherein the set of operations comprise:
 aggregating content from a plurality of content providers;   monitoring consumption of a storage space of a content device residing locally in the consumer user system, wherein the monitoring is based upon a type of the content device;   selecting particular content contained in the storage space for relocation, wherein the selection is based on at least one of: how long the particular content has been stored in the storage space, size of the particular content, a user's selection, and an inference based upon most-frequently accessed content; and   relocating the particular content contained in the storage space when a predetermined condition is met, wherein the relocating includes:
 removing the particular content from the storage space; and 
 providing a link in a content library to the particular relocated content, wherein the link provides access to the particular relocated content. 
   
     
     
       26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the content device is associated with an account owner, and wherein the set of operations further comprise:
 performing an authentication of a request received to access the particular content; and   based on the authentication indicating the request was not issued by the account owner. determining whether permissions exist to access the particular content.   
     
     
       27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the determining of whether permissions exist to access the particular content includes determining whether accessing the particular content carries a subscriber fee. 
     
     
       28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the performing of the authentication includes validating an identifier, included with the request, of the content device. 
     
     
       29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the set of operations further comprise:
 providing a user interface to the content device, wherein the user interface is operable for building the content library that lists content contained in the storage space of the content device and relocated content.   
     
     
       30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the set of operations further comprise:
 providing, to a plurality of content devices, the particular content for storage at the plurality of content devices.   
     
     
       31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the set of operations further comprise:
 providing, to a user of the consumer user system, one or more recommendations based on a set of similarities between user activity with respect to content of the content library and other user activity with respect to content of another content library.   
     
     
       32. A system, comprising:
 at least one processor; and   memory having program instructions stored thereon that are executable by the at least one processor to cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 aggregating content from a plurality of content providers; 
 monitoring consumption of a storage space of a content device residing locally in a consumer user system, wherein the monitoring is based upon a type of the content device; 
 selecting particular content contained in the storage space for relocation, wherein the selection is based on at least one of: how long the particular content has been stored in the storage space, size of the particular content, a user's selection, and an inference based upon most-frequently accessed content; and 
 relocating the particular content contained in the storage space when a predetermined condition is met, wherein the relocating includes:
 removing the particular content from the storage space; and 
 providing a link in a content library to the particular relocated content. wherein the link provides access to the particular relocated content. 
 
   
     
     
       33. The system of  claim 32 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 monitoring a first plurality of activities conducted by a user with respect to the content library;   comparing the first plurality of activities with a second plurality of activities conducted by other users with respect to other content libraries; and   determining relationships between the first plurality of activities and the second plurality of activities,   generating a list of recommended content based on determined relationships; and   causing the list to be presented to the user.   
     
     
       34. The system of  claim 32 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 in response to receiving a request from the content device to access the particular content, performing an authentication of the request; and   based on the authentication indicating the request was not made by an account owner associated with the content device, determining whether permissions exist to access the particular content.   
     
     
       35. The system of  claim 32 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 providing the particular content to another content device such that the particular content is accessible via at least two different content devices.   
     
     
       36. The system of  claim 32 , wherein the relocating includes storing, on a local storage device included in the system, the particular content such that the particular content can be accessed via the link. 
     
     
       37. The system of  claim 32 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 providing a user interface that is displayable for presenting the content library that lists content contained in the storage space of the content device and relocated content.