Methods, systems, and products for characterizing target systems

Description

BACKGROUND

This application particularly relates to characterizing a target system without revealing metadata and content selections stored on the target system, thus helping ensure the privacy of the target system.

Website operators personalize online experiences. There is so much digital information that websites need to ensure their content is relevant to a user. If content is not relevant to a user, then that content gets lost and unnoticed. Website operators, then, strive to personalize the user's online experience to ensure the content is meaningful.

Personalization, however, is mostly user defined. That is, websites permit the user to establish a profile, and the website is configured according to the user's profile. Website “cookies” are one example of profile information that is exchanged between a server and a browser. The user's profile, however, is usually defined by explicit controls, such as website options that permit the user to personalize a website with news, weather, sports, and other desired information. Some websites may even utilize passive systems that slowly establish, or learn, a user's profile. These passive systems may monitor web requests and learn, over time, what interests the user.

Personalization, however, can be improved. Computer users already have favored content on their communications devices. Users already store websites and content that interests them, so users have little incentive to personalize yet another website. Users also have great concerns about privacy, so users understandably want to limit access to their personal information. What is needed, then, are methods, systems, and products that improve personalization of online experiences, that personalize based on content and information already available on a user's computer or other communications device, and that maintain privacy of personal information,

SUMMARY

The problems noted above, along with other problems, may be reduced or eliminated by embodiments of the present invention using methods, systems, and products that characterize target systems. According to one aspect of the present invention, a third party may determine the interests of a computer user, based on the content and information already stored on the user's system. The third party, such as AMAZON® or EBAY®, is permitted to characterize a user's system, without revealing personal or private information. The third party may thus develop a profile of any target system, based primarily or only on the information associated with that target system. All the third party need do is send a query according to the exemplary embodiments. The response to that query contains a snapshot, hereinafter termed a “score,” that characterizes the target system. The third party need not have access to any information stored on the target system. The privacy of the user's information is maintained.

According to another aspect, a method is disclosed for characterizing a target system. A query is sent. The query may include an ontology of interest, perhaps one or more predicates, and/or a scoring algorithm. Each predicate describes a membership qualification for a node in the ontology of interest. A response is received comprising a score. The score represents an evaluation of the predicate to metadata associated with the target system. The score represents how well the metadata matches the ontology of interest.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system is disclosed for characterizing a target system. The system comprises a characterization application stored in memory, and a processor communicates with the memory. The processor sends a query, and the query may comprise an ontology of interest, zero or more predicates, and/or a scoring algorithm. Each predicate describes a membership qualification for a node in the ontology of interest. The processor receives a response comprising a score that represents an evaluation of the predicate to metadata associated with the target system. The score represents how well the metadata matches the ontology of interest.

In yet another aspect, a computer program product is disclosed that characterizes a target system. The computer program product comprises a computer-readable medium that stores processor-executable instructions. These instructions cause the processor to send a query. The query may comprise an ontology of interest, a predicate, and/or a scoring algorithm. Each predicate describes a membership qualification for a node in the ontology of interest. The processor receives a response comprising a score that represents an evaluation of the predicate to metadata associated with the target system. The score represents how well the metadata matches the ontology of interest.

Other aspects, including systems, methods, and/or computer program products according to the present invention will be or become apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following drawings and detailed description. Such additional aspects, including systems, methods, and/or computer program products, are included within the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects, features, principles and advantages of the present invention, and together with the Detailed Description serve to better explain the aspects, features, principles, and advantages of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic illustrating systems for characterizing a target system.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic illustrating systems for characterizing the target system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating the ontology of interest.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are additional schematics illustrating the ontology of interest.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustrating the metadata collection agent.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating an alternative operating environment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating third party personalization of the target system.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustrating characterization constraints.

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustrating user controls.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the metadata collection agent and the profile agent residing in the target system.

FIG. 12 is a schematic further illustrating various communications devices in which the metadata collection agent and/or the profile agent may operate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will convey the invention to those skilled in the art.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein may include wirelessly connected or coupled. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first device could be termed a second device, and, similarly, a second device could be termed a first device without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic illustrating a network environment in which exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. FIG. 1 illustrates how the target system 20 may be characterized without revealing the actual content stored in the target system 20. That is, the present invention describes how content selections made via the target system 20 may be described, but those actual content selections may be kept inaccessible. FIG. 1 illustrates a metadata collection agent 22, a profile agent 24, and a characterization application 26. The metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 are computer programs that, in this embodiment, store within the target system 20. The characterization application 26 is a computer program that stores within a characterizing system 28. When a user of the target system 20 uses, acquires, and/or selects content, the metadata collection agent 22 collects metadata 30 associated with those content selections. The metadata collection agent 22 then stores that collected metadata 30 in a metadata repository 32. When a third party desires to characterize the user's content selections, the characterizing system 28 sends a characterization query 34. The characterization query 34 comprises an ontology 36 of interest to the third party. As the following paragraphs explain in more detail, the profile agent 24 receives the characterization query 34 and evaluates the collected metadata 30 stored in the metadata repository 32 against the ontology 36 of interest. The profile agent 24 then sends a response 38 sends a response 38 representative of the collected metadata. According to one embodiment, the response 38 representative of the collected metadata comprises a score 40 which represents how well the collected metadata 30 matches the ontology 36 of interest.

The user's privacy is maintained. The score 40 may be the only artifact received by third party's characterizing system 28. The third party understands and accepts that the actual metadata 30, stored in the metadata repository 32, is inaccessible to the third party sender of the characterization query 34. The profile agent 24 thus acts as a “middleman” to intercept the characterization query 34. The profile agent 24 compares and scores the collected metadata 30 to the third party's ontology 36 of interest. The user may configure the profile agent 24 to never divulge the exact metadata 30 stored in the metadata repository 32. The returned score 40 provides the third party with a snapshot of the user's interests, but the actual metadata 30 is inaccessible to the third party. Because the profile agent 24 acts as an intermediary, the target system 20 itself may be inaccessible to the third party. The target system's memory structure and storage devices may be inaccessible to the third party requestor, thus preserving the privacy of the user's metadata, content selections, and other information.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic illustrating systems for characterizing the target system 20. The metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 again store within memory 42 of the target system 20. Although the target system 20 is shown as a computer 44, later paragraphs will explain that the target system 20 may be any processor-controlled device. The characterization application 26 again stores within memory 46 of the characterizing system 28. The characterizing system 28 is shown as a computer server 48, yet the characterizing system 28 may also be any processor-controlled device.

The characterizing system 28 sends the characterization query 34. The characterization application 26 includes code that instructs a characterizing processor 50 to formulate and to issue the characterization query 34. Here, however, the characterization query 34 may comprise the ontology 36 of interest, a predicate 52, and/or a scoring algorithm 54. Each predicate 52 describes a membership qualification for a node in the ontology 36 of interest. Each ontological node may have zero predicates, a single predicate, or a collection of predicates. The characterization query 34 communicates via a communications network 56 to the profile agent 24. When the profile agent 24 receives the characterization query 34, the profile agent 24 includes code that instructs a target processor 58 to evaluate the predicate 52 to the collected metadata 30 stored in the metadata repository 32. The profile agent 24 then instructs the target processor 58 to apply the scoring algorithm 54 and produce the score 40. The profile agent 24 instructs the target processor 58 to send the response 38, and the response 38 includes the score 40. The score 40 represents how well the collected metadata 30 matches the ontology 36 of interest, as defined by the scoring algorithm 54. The response 38 is addressed to the characterizing system 28 and communicates via the communications network 56. The third party's characterizing system 28 may then evaluate the score 40 to determine the user's interests, relative to the ontology 36 of interest.

The third party may provide the ontology 36 of interest. As FIG. 2 illustrates, the sender of the characterization query 34 may provide the ontology 36 of interest with the characterization query 34. As those of ordinary skill in the art understand, an ontology defines terms and concepts that describe and represent the third party's domain of interest. The ontology 36 of interest may be described in any language or format. The ontology 36 of interest, for example, may be expressed using WC3's OWL Web Ontology Language, DAML+OIL, RDF, and any other language. The ontology 36 of interest may additionally or alternatively expressed using other structures, such as a taxonomy or as simple as a list of concepts. Because ontologies are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, this specification will not greatly describe the known aspects of the ontology 36 of interest. If, however, the reader desires more information, the reader is invited to consult the following sources, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: W3C Recommendation, OWL Web Ontology Language—Overview, available from W3C, 32 Vassar Street, Room 32-G515, Cambridge, Mass. 02139 USA; U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,194 to Sheth et al. (Oct. 3, 2001); U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,795 to Zhang et al. (Dec. 24, 2002); U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,160 to Cho et al. (Aug. 3, 2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0120662 to Vishik (Jun. 26, 2003); Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0220893 to Spivack et al. (Nov. 4, 2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2005/0034107 to Kendall et al. (Feb. 10, 2005); and Published U.S. Patent Application 2005/0154701 to Parunak et al. (Jul. 14, 2005).

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating the ontology 36 of interest, according to more aspects of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates a simple sports-oriented ontology, perhaps used by an online sports website. A large website, such as AMAZON® or EBAY®, may have a larger and more complicated ontology. The ontology 36 of interest may include one or more nodes 60, and each node may (or may not) include one or more associated predicates 52. Each predicate 52 describes a membership qualification for a particular node in the ontology 36 of interest. The profile agent uses each predicates 52 to query the metadata repository (the profile agent and the metadata repository are, respectively, shown as reference numerals 24 and 22 in FIGS. 1 and 2). The query results are then used by the scoring algorithm (shown as reference numeral 54 in FIG. 2) to quantify the presence of metadata (and therefore the user's interest) related to the respective ontological node 60. FIG. 3, for example, illustrates a “Baseball” node 62, and the baseball node 62 includes an associated baseball predicate 64. If the profile agent queries the user's metadata repository for the baseball predicate 64, then the resultant score determines the user's interest in “baseball.” The baseball predicate 64 thus allows the third party to define meaning to the user's metadata with respect to the “Baseball” node 62.

FIG. 3 also illustrates a “Major League Baseball” node 66. The “Major League Baseball” node 66 also includes an associated major league baseball predicate 68. The major league baseball predicate 68 describes the qualifications for determining whether the user has an interest in major league baseball. Suppose, for example, the associated major league baseball predicate 68 has the following structure:

Node=“Major League Baseball”

• • predicate=where type=‘browser’ and keyword=‘history’ and value like ‘%world%series%’ and age<30 days
  • predicate=where type=‘browser’ and keyword=‘history’ and value like ‘http://%.mlb.com/%’
    Here the major league baseball predicate 68 is expressed as pseudo-SQL expressions. Each node's predicate 52, however, may comprise any query language, such as OMG's OQL, KQML, or any other knowledge query language. Here the third party requestor defines the major league baseball predicate 68 to determine whether the user has an interest in major league baseball. If the user's Internet browser history contains the search term “world series” within the previous thirty (30) days, then the third party defines the user as having an interest in major league baseball. If the user's Internet browser history contains the domain “mlb.com,” then the third party defines the user as having an interest in major league baseball. The profile agent uses the major league baseball predicate 68 to query the metadata repository (the profile agent and the metadata repository are, respectively, shown as reference numerals 24 and 22 in FIGS. 1 and 2). The query results are then used by the scoring algorithm (shown as reference numeral 54 in FIG. 1) to quantify the user's interest in major league baseball.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are additional schematics illustrating the ontology 36 of interest. FIG. 4 again illustrates the simple sports-oriented ontology shown in FIG. 3. Here, however, FIG. 4 also illustrates computation of the score 40, according to the scoring algorithm 54. Recall the third party includes the scoring algorithm 54 with the characterization query 34 (shown, respectively, as reference numerals 54 and 34 in FIG. 2). The profile agent applies the scoring algorithm to produce the score (shown, respectively, as reference numerals 24, 54, and 40 in FIG. 2). The profile agent uses the scoring algorithm and the ontology 36 of interest to generate an ontological score of the target system. The score may be a list of the ontological nodes with each node's associated score. The score may be the only artifact sent back to the third party—the profile agent may not divulge the exact metadata collected by the metadata collection agent (and stored within the metadata repository 32).

In another aspect of the present invention, the score is may generated in a two-step process. In a first step the profile agent computes a raw score 70 for each ontological node 60. Each node's raw score 70 is a sum of applying the scoring algorithm to the results of each predicate associated with the node. In this aspect the scoring algorithm is a simple string equation. The scoring algorithm, however, may have any structure and/or language, such as MathML or OpenMath. In addition, the third party requestor may supply a scoring algorithm in the form of mobile executable code (e.g., Java byte code). Suppose the scoring algorithm is defined as
score=(node depth)*(# of hits),
so that the score is related to the number of website “hits” or visits. Here a “Sports” node 72 occupies a first level, the “Baseball” node 62 occupies a second tier, and the “Major League Baseball” node 66 occupies a third level or tier. The “Major League Baseball” node 66 thus has a depth value of three (3). If one of the “Major League Baseball” node's predicates resulted in fifty (50) hits, then the score for this predicate is 150 (or 3×50). If the “http://%.mlb.com/%” predicate resulted in 100 hits, the score for that predicate is 300 (3×100). The “Major League Baseball” node 66 thus has a raw score of 150+300=450.

FIG. 4 also illustrates raw scores for other nodes in the ontology 36 of interest. Suppose a “White Sox” node 74 has a raw score of 300, and the upper tier “Baseball” node 62 has a raw score of 200. A top tier or parental node “Sports” 72 has a computed raw score of 250. Each node on the ontology 36 of interest thus has a corresponding raw score (assume, for simplicity, that nodes eluded to by ellipses have raw scores of zero). The reader may now understand that, in this example, the further into the ontological tree, the more the third party refines and characterizes interests. The ontology 36 of interest, of course, may be defined and scored in any fashion that suits the third party requestor.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second step for computing the final score 40. Here the profile agent propagates scores up the ontological hierarchy. A parent node's final score is its associated raw score added to the sum of the scores of its children nodes. A child node's score may optionally be modified using weighting factors 76 associated with the semantic relationships. Each weighting factor 76 affects a relationship between nodes in the ontology. FIG. 5 illustrates each node on the ontology 36 of interest, each node's raw score, each node's associated weighting factor, and each node's final score. Again, for simplicity, nodes eluded to by the ellipses have raw scores of zero and do not factor into the score. The profile agent thus produces the following final scores:

Sports: 1098
Baseball: 848
Major League Baseball: 810
White Sox: 300

The score may also include the intermediary results that produced the final score. For example, the nodal result may include the number of hits for each predicate. The third party requestor may even specify how the scores are filtered or truncated to limit or condense the returned results. The third party, for example, may instruct the profile agent to only return the top ten nodal scores. The third party may additionally or alternatively specify that only scores greater than a certain value need be returned.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustrating the metadata collection agent 22. Here the metadata collection agent 22 is shown stored within the memory of the target system 20. When a user of the target system 20 uses, acquires, and/or selects content, the metadata collection agent 22 collects the metadata 30 associated with those content selections. The metadata collection agent 22 then stores that collected metadata 30 in the metadata repository 32. The metadata collection agent 22 may constantly, instantaneously, or periodically update the metadata repository 32. The collected metadata 30 may comprise content metadata and/or behavioral information. This behavioral information may include such as frequency and/or length of use (such as how often a file is accessed or how long a song is played). This behavioral information may include calendar or time information describing dates and times of access or use. The metadata repository 32 may include simple keyword value pairs and/or formal data structures that are more optimal for a specific predicate language. The behavioral information adds more context behind the user's content, thus allowing the third party to refine their characterization of the target system 24. The metadata 30 may additionally or alternatively be stored in a distributed fashion within one or more communications devices. The metadata 30 may additionally or alternatively be stored in a distributed fashion within one or more peer systems operating in a peer-to-peer network.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating an alternative network operating environment. Here the profile agent 24 and the metadata repository 32 are remotely stored from the target system 20. That is, the profile agent 24 and the metadata repository 32 need not be co-located with the target system 20. The metadata repository 32 may be maintained in memory of a metadata server 80, while the profile agent 24 stores in memory of a profile server 82. Whenever the target system 20 generates the metadata 30, that metadata 30 is sent to the metadata repository 32 in the metadata server 80. When a third party wishes to characterize the target system 20, the characterizing application 26 sends the characterization query 34. The characterization query 34 communicates via the communications network 56 to the profile agent 24 in the profile server 82. When the profile agent 24 receives the characterization query 34, the profile agent 24 may also receives the third party's ontology of interest, associated predicates, and the scoring algorithm (shown, respectively, as reference numerals 36, 52, and 54 in FIG. 2). The profile agent 24 then queries the metadata repository 32 for the predicates associated with the third party's ontology of interest. The metadata server 80 returns a metadata response that comprises the query results. The profile agent 24 then applies the scoring algorithm to produce the score 40. The profile agent 24 then sends the response 38 to the characterizing system 28, and the response 38 includes the score 40. The score 40 represents how well the collected metadata 30 matches the ontology of interest, as defined by the scoring algorithm.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustrating third party personalization of the target system 20, according to still more aspects of the present invention. Here the characterizing system 28 personalizes the target system 20 according to the third party's needs. In previous aspects the metadata collection agent 22 may have autonomously determined what metadata is collected and how that metadata is formatted and stored. Here, however, the third party provides instructions to the metadata collection agent 22. The characterizing application 26, perhaps on behalf of the third party, instructs the characterizing processor 50 to send a message 86 to the metadata collection agent 22. The message 86 communicates via the communications network 56 to personalize the target system 20 according to the third party's ontology of interest. That is, the message 86 includes instructions 88 that suggest how the metadata collection agent 22 processes the user's metadata 30. The instructions 88 may describe what metadata is preferred by the third party and/or how that metadata is formatted. The instructions 88 may specify how the metadata is obtained and/or recorded. The third party requestor, for example, may offer the instructions 88 so that their queries may be quicker and/or simpler. The third party need not query according to only one version of how the metadata is stored. The third party requestor may use the instructions 88 to specify only their preferred metadata, how that preferred metadata is collected, and how that preferred metadata is formatted. The instructions 88 thus configure the metadata collection agent 22 to more optimally provide a meaningful score.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustrating characterization constraints. Here the profile agent 24 may impose constraints when the target system 20 is characterized. As the above paragraphs have mentioned, some ontologies may be large and/or their associated nodal predicates may be complicated. Large third party websites, such as AMAZON® and EBAY®, may have complex ontologies and predicates in order to finely characterize a user's interests. The profile agent 24 may require minutes, hours, or even days to process and complete such complex characterizations. Moreover, such complexity may compromise the performance of other applications operating on the target system 20. For whatever reasons, then, the profile agent 24 may impose constraints on the characterization.

The user, for example, may restrict the size of the ontology of interest. When the characterization query 34 is received, the profile agent 24 may perform an inspection 90 for some measure of the size of the ontology 36 of interest. The profile agent 24 may inspect the file or byte size of the ontology 36 of interest. The profile agent 24 may inspect and determine the number of levels or tiers within the ontology 36 of interest. The profile agent 24 may inspect and determine the number of nodes within a tier or within the entire ontology 36 of interest. The profile agent 24 may even estimate the time of characterization and compare to a threshold time. Whatever the profile agent 24 may measure, the profile agent 24 may restrict the size of the ontology of interest.

The user may restrict the predicates associated with the ontology of interest. As the above paragraphs explained, each node in the ontology of interest may have one or more associated predicates. Each predicate defines some membership requirement for that associated node. The number of predicates may be an accurate measure of complexity. The profile agent 24, then, may impose a limit 92 on the predicates. The profile agent 24, for example, may limit the total number of predicates associated with any ontology. The profile agent 24 may additionally or alternatively impose a limit on the number of predicates associated with any single node in the ontology. The profile agent 24 may additionally or alternatively impose a limit on the complexity of any predicate associated with any node in the ontology.

The user may also impose restrictions 94 on the scoring algorithm. The scoring algorithm, as previously described, may have a complex structure, and this complexity could hinder the performance of the profile agent 24 or the target system 20 itself. So the profile agent 24 may inspect the scoring algorithm 54 and estimate its complexity. The profile agent 24 may measure the bit or byte length of the scoring algorithm and compare to a threshold size. The profile agent 24 may inspect the scoring algorithm 54 for terms, mathematical operations/operands, or mathematical functions that the user has predefined as indicators of complexity. If such predefined indicators are found, the profile agent 24 could reject the scoring algorithm.

The profile agent 24 may only permit fragmental characterization 96. Again, because some third party websites, such as AMAZON® and EBAY®, may have complex ontologies and/or predicates, the profile agent 24 may only permit a limited number of characterizing “sniffs.” That is, the profile agent 24 only permits the third party to send a limited number of small or broadly defined ontologies. The profile agent 24, for example, may limit a third party's ontology to three (3) nodes. The third party, then, may choose to send a limited ontology (such as only the nodes “Sports,” “Music,” and “Books”). Should the target system 20 then have a high score in the “Sports” node, the profile agent 24 may then permit a finer characterization using the entire ontology fragment underneath the “Sports” node. Because the profile agent 24 may limit the total number of queries, each third party must judiciously and wisely characterize the target system 20.

The profile agent 24 may impose the characterization constraints during a session. The profile agent 24 and the third party's characterizing system 28 may establish a session to enable a sequence of characterization requests. Session initialization includes negotiating the amount of requests and predicate searches, a duration of any characterization request, transport level security, and any other session-oriented parameters. The profile agent 24 can use the session to “throttle” a particular third-party and to prepare the metadata repository 32 for particular types of queries. The session allows the third party's characterization application 26 to efficiently scope its characterization process, thus abiding by the profile agent's constraints.

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustrating user controls, according to even more aspects of the present invention. Here the user of the target system 20 may establish restrictions 98 on the directories and/or content that are available for characterization. The user may control what content is processed, by either the profile agent 24 and/or the metadata collection agent 22, based on regular expressions or other query/filter languages. The profile agent 24 and/or the metadata collection agent 22, for example, may permit the user to approve or deny third parties. The user, for example, may enter a list 100 of those third parties that are approved for characterization requests. Any third party requestor not on the list would not be permitted to characterize the target system 20. The user may establish a relationship with approved third parties, thus permitting characterization by those third parties. The user may also specify the maximum number 102 of characterization requests that may be received per hour, per day, or per any other time period. The user may even specify an acceptance period 104 of time in which such characterization requests may be accepted. The user may even stagger characterization requests, such that each third party is only permitted a defined window of time in which to characterize the target system 20. Each approved third party, in other words, is assigned a window 106 of opportunity in which their characterization request may be received and processed. Should that third party attempt to characterize outside their assigned window, the request may be denied.

Some examples help explain user controls. Assume the user stores a collection of music in the target system 20. If the user does not want AMAZON® or EBAY® to know of that collection of music, the user may designate that directory or file (representing the collection of music) as inaccessible to either the profile agent 24 and/or the metadata collection agent 22. The metadata collection agent 22, for example, may be prevented from collecting metadata concerning this directory. The profile agent 24 may be prevented from processing characterization requests that seek to characterize this directory. The user may similarly impose controls or restriction on family photos stored on the target system 20. The user may not want third parties to characterize certain directories or files, so the user may impose controls that limit what data may be characterized.

FIG. 11 depicts another possible operating environment for additional aspects of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 residing in the target system 20. FIG. 11, however, may also represent a block diagram of the characterizing system (shown as reference numeral 28 in FIGS. 1-2 & 7-10) or the metadata server and the profile server (shown, respectively, as reference numerals 80 and 82 in FIG. 6). FIG. 11 may also represent a block diagram of any computer, communications device, or processor-controlled device in which the metadata collection agent 22, the profile agent 24, and/or the characterizing application 26 may operate. The metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 operate within a system memory device. The metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24, for example, are shown residing in a memory subsystem 152. The metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24, however, could also reside in flash memory 154 or peripheral storage device 156. The computer system 24 also has one or more central processors 158 executing an operating system. The operating system, as is well known, has a set of instructions that control the internal functions of the computer system 24. A system bus 160 communicates signals, such as data signals, control signals, and address signals, between the central processor 158 and a system controller 162. The system controller 162 provides a bridging function between the one or more central processors 158, a graphics subsystem 164, the memory subsystem 152, and a PCI (Peripheral Controller Interface) bus 166. The PCI bus 166 is controlled by a Peripheral Bus Controller 168. The Peripheral Bus Controller 168 is an integrated circuit that serves as an input/output hub for various peripheral ports. These peripheral ports could include, for example, a keyboard port 170, a mouse port 172, a serial port 174, and/or a parallel port 176 for a video display unit, one or more external device ports 178, and external hard drive ports 180 (such as IDE, ATA, SATA, or SCSI). The Peripheral Bus Controller 168 could also include an audio subsystem 182. Those of ordinary skill in the art understand that the program, processes, methods, and systems described herein are not limited to any particular computer system or computer hardware.

One example of the central processor 158 is a microprocessor. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., for example, manufactures a full line of ATHLON™ microprocessors (ATHLON™ is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., One AMD Place, P.O. Box 3453, Sunnyvale, Calif. 94088-3453, 408.732.2400, 800.538.8450, www.amd.com). The Intel Corporation also manufactures a family of X86 and P86 microprocessors (Intel Corporation, 2200 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, Calif. 95052-8119, 408.765.8080, www.intel.com). Other manufacturers also offer microprocessors. Such other manufacturers include Motorola, Inc. (1303 East Algonquin Road, P.O. Box A3309 Schaumburg, Ill. 60196, www.Motorola.com), International Business Machines Corp. (New Orchard Road, Armonk, N.Y. 10504, (914) 499-1900, www.ibm.com), and Transmeta Corp. (3940 Freedom Circle, Santa Clara, Calif. 95054, www.transmeta.com). Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the program, processes, methods, and systems described herein are not limited to any particular manufacturer's central processor.

Any operating system may be used. Any of the WINDOWS® operating systems, for example, may be suitable (WINDOWS® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond Wash. 98052-6399, 425.882.8080, www.Microsoft.com). Other operating systems would include the UNIX® operating system (UNIX® is a registered trademark of the Open Source Group, www.opensource.org), the UNIX-based Linux operating system, WINDOWS NT®, and Mac® OS (Mac® is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, Calif. 95014, 408.996.1010, www.apple.com). Those of ordinary skill in the art again understand that the program, processes, methods, and systems described herein are not limited to any particular operating system.

The system memory device (shown as memory subsystem 152, flash memory 154, or peripheral storage device 156) may also contain an application program. The application program cooperates with the operating system and with a video display unit (via the serial port 174 and/or the parallel port 176) to provide a Graphical User Interface (GUI). The Graphical User Interface typically includes a combination of signals communicated along the keyboard port 170 and the mouse port 172. The Graphical User Interface provides a convenient visual and/or audible interface with a user of the computer system 24.

FIG. 12 is a schematic further illustrating various communications devices 200 in which the metadata collection agent 22 and/or the profile agent 24 may operate. Here the metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 may entirely or partially operate within a personal digital assistant (PDA) 202, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device 204, an interactive television 206, an Internet Protocol (IP) phone 208, a pager 210, a cellular/satellite phone 212, or any computer system and/or communications device utilizing a digital signal processor (DSP) 214. The communications device 200 may also include watches, radios, vehicle electronics, clocks, printers, gateways, and other apparatuses and systems. FIG. 12 also illustrates that the metadata 30 may additionally or alternatively be stored in a distributed fashion within one or more of the communications devices 200.

Moreover, the present invention may be applied regardless of networking environment. The communications network 56 may be a cable network operating in the radio-frequency domain and/or the Internet Protocol (IP) domain. The communications network 56, however, may also include a distributed computing network, such as the Internet (sometimes alternatively known as the “World Wide Web”), an intranet, a local-area network (LAN), and/or a wide-area network (WAN). The communications network 56 may include coaxial cables, copper wires, fiber optic lines, and/or hybrid-coaxial lines. The communications network 56 may even include wireless portions utilizing any portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and any signaling standard (such as the I.E.E.E. 802 family of standards, GSM/CDMA/TDMA or any cellular standard, and/or the ISM band). The concepts described herein may be applied to any wireless/wireline communications network, regardless of physical componentry, physical configuration, or communications standard(s).

The metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 may be physically embodied on or in a computer-readable medium. This computer-readable medium may include CD-ROM, DVD, tape, cassette, floppy disk, memory card, and large-capacity disk (such as IOMEGA®, ZIP®, JAZZ®, and other large-capacity memory products (IOMEGA®, ZIP®, and JAZZ® are registered trademarks of Iomega Corporation, 1821 W. Iomega Way, Roy, Utah 84067, 801.332.1000, www.iomega.com). This computer-readable medium, or media, could be distributed to end-users, licensees, and assignees. These types of computer-readable media, and other types not mention here but considered within the scope of the present invention, allow the metadata collection agent 22 and/or the profile agent 24 to be easily disseminated. A computer program product comprises either or both the metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 stored on the computer-readable medium. The metadata collection agent 22 and the profile agent 24 comprise computer-readable instructions/code for characterizing metadata, as hereinabove explained.

While the present invention has been described with respect to various aspects, features, principles, and exemplary embodiments, those skilled and unskilled in the art will recognize the present invention is not so limited. Other aspects, variations, modifications, and alternative embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the invention as described by the claims.