Network-attached display device as an attendee in an online collaborative computing session

TECHNICAL FIELD

p-0002The present disclosure relates generally to computer networks, and, more particularly, to network-attached display devices and online collaborative computing sessions.

BACKGROUND

p-0003When participating in a meeting, whether in a physical conference room or over the internet through an online collaborative computing session, it may be beneficial to use a display device such as a projector to show screen images to a plurality of attendees. Generally, this is accomplished through a physical connection between a participant's computer (personal computer or “PC”, laptop, etc.) and the display device in order to relay the image on the computer to the display device. While this may pose problems for certain users, such as those needing an adapter to connect to standard projectors, it particularly causes problems when multiple presenters to an online collaborative computing session are located within a same conference room. In this instance, it is often necessary to connect the presenter's computer to both the projector and maintain presenter rights for the online collaborative computing session. Should presenters change during the meeting, this creates an unnecessarily time consuming exchange of the wires connected to the projector, in addition to the maintenance of presenter rights for the online collaborative computing session. Furthermore, generally setting up a projector in a conference room, particularly for online meetings, often requires cumbersome and inefficient manual configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

p-0004The disclosure may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate identically or functionally similar elements, of which:

p-0005<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates an example computer network;

p-0006<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> illustrates an example computer;

p-0007<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> illustrates an example network-attached display device;

p-0008<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> illustrates an example server;

p-0009<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 5A-B</figref> illustrate example displays;

p-0010<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> illustrates an example procedure for allowing a network-attached display device join an online collaborative computing session as an attendee; and

p-0011<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> illustrates an example procedure for using a network-attached display device as an attendee to an online collaborative computing session.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Overview

p-0012According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, a network-attached display device (e.g., projector) may join an online collaborative computing session as an attendee, such as by signing into the session using information obtained in a variety of ways. The display device may then receive data for the online collaborative computing session as an attendee over the computer network. As such, the display device may render images associated with being an attendee of the online collaborative computing session from the received data, and then visually display the images associated with the online collaborative computing session. Also, according to one or more embodiments, various techniques may be used to efficiently schedule the display device for joining a particular online collaborative computing session.

p-0013A) Network Architecture:

p-0014<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a schematic block diagram of an example computer network <b>100</b> illustratively comprising nodes/devices, such as one or more participant/client devices <b>200</b> and one or more interaction servers <b>400</b> interconnected by links/network <b>120</b> as shown and as described further herein. For instance, participant devices, as described below, may be a personal computer (PC) or laptop, or one or more peripheral devices, such as phones, etc. Also, as described herein, one or more network-attached display devices <b>300</b> may also be interconnected to the network <b>120</b>, as well as a resource manager (server) <b>405</b>, as described below. Note that for illustrative purposes, certain participant devices may be located within a conference room <b>130</b>, e.g., with phone <b>135</b>. Those skilled in the art will understand that any number of nodes, devices, links, etc. may be used in the computer network, and that the view shown herein is for simplicity.

p-0015In this environment, a number of participants may interact in an online, interactive, or collaborative setting. Such a setting can be for a meeting, training or education, support, or any other event that may require a number of participants to work together, interact, collaborate, or otherwise participate, such as web/video conferences, online meetings, etc. As used herein, the phrase “collaborative computing session” may be used to describe these settings/events, particularly where a number of participant computers/devices collaborate in an established session, as may be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Also, as used herein, a “session” describes a generally lasting communication between one or more participant devices <b>110</b> through the interaction server <b>130</b>. Those skilled in the art will understand that the session may be implemented/established using protocols and services provided by various layers (e.g., application, session, and/or transport layers) of a network protocol stack according to the well-known OSI model. Conversely, a “meeting” describes a personal layer of communication overlaid upon the session where participants/users communicate with each other. Moreover, while the terms “session” and “meeting” may generally be used interchangeably herein to denote a collaboration of people or devices, particular instances of their use may denote a particular distinction (e.g., a session may start with attendees joining/connecting to the servers, while a meeting may not start until a host/presenter joins the session), as may be understood by those skilled in the art.

p-0016In particular, each participant (e.g., hosts/presenters and/or attendees) may operate a participant device. Each participant device (or client device, herein) <b>200</b> may comprise an electronic device with capability for visual and/or auditory presentation. Thus, a participant device can be, for example, a desktop personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a workstation, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless telephone, a smart phone, an Internet television, and the like. Each participant device <b>200</b> supports communication by a respective participant, in the form of suitable input device (e.g., keyboard, mouse, stylus, keypad, etc.) and output device (e.g., monitor, display, speech, voice, or other device supporting the presentation of audible/visual information). Each participant device may be interconnected with a suitable communications network <b>120</b> such as, for example, the Internet, and may appear as a client computer thereon.

p-0017In one embodiment, each participant device <b>200</b> may operate under the control of a suitable operating system (OS) (e.g., WINDOWS, UNIX, etc.) to run software applications (e.g., in the form of code modules) which may be installed, received, or downloaded. At least some of these software applications may support specific functions, such as, for example, functions related to the online, interactive meeting (a collaborative computing session), such as conventional web browser programs that allow convenient access and navigation of the Internet (e.g., the World Wide Web).

p-0018The online meeting (collaborative computing session) of the various participants may be supported by an interaction server <b>400</b> which may be maintained or operated by one or more of the participants and/or a third-party service provider. The interaction server <b>400</b> may be a computer system that is connected to network <b>120</b>, and which may comprise and appear as one or more server computers thereon. Interaction server <b>400</b> may store information and/or content (e.g., audio, video, presentations, etc., such that the server is a source of the communication session), and application modules which can be provided to the participant devices <b>200</b>. In some embodiments, the application modules are downloadable to the participant devices <b>200</b> and may support various functions that may be required for an interactive meeting or collaborative effort among the participants. The participant devices <b>200</b> and the interaction server <b>400</b> may interact in a client/server architecture, which may provide high performance and security for a multi-participant collaborative environment.

p-0019Network <b>120</b> may comprise or be supported by one or more suitable communication networks, such as, for example, a telecommunications network that allows communication via one or more telecommunications lines/channels. In particular, the communication or data networks, such as the Internet, may be used to deliver content, such as for the collaborative computing sessions herein. The Internet is an interconnection of computer clients and servers located throughout the world and exchanging information according to Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Internetwork Packet eXchange/Sequence Packet eXchange (IPX/SPX), AppleTalk, or other suitable protocol. The Internet supports the distributed application known as the “World Wide Web.” Web servers maintain websites, each comprising one or more web pages at which information is made available for viewing and audio/hearing. Each website or web page may be supported by documents formatted in any suitable conventional markup language (e.g., HTML or XML). Information may be communicated from a web server to a client using a suitable protocol, such as, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

p-0020<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> illustrates a schematic block diagram of an example participant/client device <b>200</b> that may be used with one or more embodiments described herein, e.g., for collaborative computing as participant/client devices. Illustratively, device <b>200</b> may be implemented or incorporated in any suitable computer such as, for example, a personal computer (PC), laptop, workstation, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, mainframe, file server, workstation, or other suitable data processing facility supported by storage (either internal, e.g., electronic memory, or external, e.g., magnetic/optical disk), and operating under the control of any suitable OS.

p-0021In particular, the device <b>200</b> may comprise one or more network interfaces <b>210</b>, one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces <b>215</b>, one or more processors <b>220</b>, and a memory <b>240</b> interconnected by a system bus <b>250</b>. The network interfaces <b>210</b> contain the mechanical, electrical, and signaling circuitry for communicating data over physical/wireless links coupled to the network <b>120</b>. The network interface(s) may be configured to transmit and/or receive data using a variety of different communication protocols suitable for the network (e.g., wired or wireless). Also, I/O interfaces <b>215</b> contain the mechanical, electrical, and signaling circuitry for communicating with one or more user interface devices <b>216</b>, such as a mouse or keyboard, and a monitor/screen <b>217</b>, etc.

p-0022The memory <b>240</b> comprises a plurality of storage locations that are addressable by the processor(s) <b>220</b> for storing software programs associated with the embodiments described herein. A portion of the memory may (though need not) be arranged as a cache configured to store one or more data structures and/or code modules associated with embodiments described herein. The processor(s) <b>220</b> may comprise necessary elements or logic adapted to execute the software programs and manipulate the data structures. An operating system <b>242</b>, portions of which are typically resident in memory <b>240</b> and executed by the processor(s), functionally organizes the device by, inter alia, invoking operations in support of software processes and/or services executing on the device (e.g., for collaborative computing sessions as used herein). In particular, these software processes and/or services may comprise one or more applications <b>241</b> or “apps,” such as email, web browsers <b>249</b> (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc.), schedule management applications <b>247</b> (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, etc.), games, and so on, and, in particular, an online collaborative computing process <b>248</b>, as described herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other types of processors and memory, including various computer-readable media, may be used to store and execute program instructions pertaining to the technique described herein.

p-0023The online collaborative computing process <b>245</b> may contain computer executable instructions executed by the processor <b>220</b> to generally perform functions to manage or control various processes or aspects during the course of an online meeting or collaborative computing session in which the participant (user) may interact with other users. For instance, an activity manager may manage meeting-related actions (e.g., starting a session, ending a session, locking a session, etc.), manage participant-related actions (e.g., designating a participant as a session host, assigning a participant the presenter privileges, expelling a participant, establishing participant privileges, etc.), manage session-related actions (e.g., starting a sharing session, closing a sharing session, setting privileges within that sharing session, etc.), and support an interface with the user or participant, and provide a container for embedding one or more application code modules.

p-0024Also, a communications component of process <b>245</b> may support communication between system <b>200</b> and an outside network <b>120</b> (e.g., the Internet), such as through network interfaces <b>210</b>. The communications component thus allows data and information to be exchanged with or retrieved from other systems or facilities (e.g., participant devices <b>200</b> or interaction server <b>400</b>), for example, during an online meeting or other collaborative computing session. In particular, the communications component may provide a communication platform for any one or more process instances of process <b>245</b>. For instance, the activity manager may rely on the communications component to establish and maintain the client connection to the interaction server <b>400</b> on which the activity session is hosted. Any application code modules (not shown) may also use the established client connection to provide real-time data that is sent and received by each participant.

p-0025Various functionality for supporting a collaborative computing session, such as an online meeting, may be provided by the one or more application code modules, generally described herein as being components of the online collaborative computing process <b>245</b>. These application code modules may be stored/maintained (e.g., by a cache), and may support, for example, basic communication framework, file sharing (e.g., for text, images, video, audio), remote access, user authentication, meeting scheduling, address book, files and folders, invoices, billing, scheduling, telephone or video conferencing, authentication, database management, word processing, application sharing, accounting, etc. For example, code modules may comprise (not specifically shown) a text-based chat module, a polling module, a video module, a voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) module, a question-answer (QA) module, a file transfer module, a presentation module, an application/desktop view/share module, and an Internet telephony module.

p-0026Additionally, <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> illustrates a schematic block diagram of an example network-attached display device <b>300</b> that may be used in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Illustratively, display device <b>300</b> may be implemented or incorporated in any suitable device with visual capability, for example, a projector, a television (TV), a flat panel display, a flat screen TV, etc. In particular, the network-attached display device <b>300</b> may also comprise one or more network interfaces <b>310</b>, one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces <b>315</b>, a processor <b>320</b>, and a memory <b>340</b> interconnected by a system bus <b>350</b>. The network interfaces <b>310</b> contain the mechanical, electrical, and signaling circuitry for communicating data over physical/wireless links coupled to the network <b>120</b>. The network interface(s) may be configured to transmit and/or receive data using a variety of different communication protocols suitable for the network (e.g., wired or wireless). Also, I/O interfaces <b>315</b> contain the mechanical, electrical, and signaling circuitry for communicating with one or more user interface devices <b>316</b>, such as, e.g., a keypad, a specific online collaborative computing session “button” <b>317</b>, a remote control <b>318</b>, and speakers <b>319</b>. A visual display generator <b>360</b> may be configured to render and visually display images (e.g., a graphics card), and may comprise circuitry necessary to do so (e.g., processors, applications, memory, lights, lenses, screens, etc.).

p-0027The memory <b>340</b> comprises a plurality of storage locations that are addressable by the processor <b>320</b> for storing software programs associated with the embodiments described herein. A portion of the memory may be arranged as a cache configured to store one or more data structures, such as an illustrative scheduling data structure <b>347</b> and a sign in cache <b>343</b> associated with embodiments described herein. The processor <b>320</b> may comprise necessary elements or logic adapted to execute the software programs and manipulate the data structures. An operating system <b>342</b> may, though need not, be used to functionally organize the display device. Software processes and/or services within the display device's memory may comprise an online collaborative computing process <b>348</b>, which may be specifically tailored for use within a network-attached display device <b>300</b>, as described herein.

p-0028<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> illustrates an example implementation for a computer system that may operate as interaction server <b>400</b> and/or resource manager/server <b>405</b> according to one or more embodiments described herein (referred to collectively as server <b>400</b> for generally shared features). Note that while the illustrative embodiment described shows a single server, a collection of servers (e.g., localized and/or distributed) may also operate to perform the functions described herein. For example, “server <b>400</b>” may comprise a separate server for each type of action (e.g., managing users, managing content, etc.), where the servers communicate with each other to produce the end result. Thus, “server <b>400</b>” may comprise, either as a single server or as a collection of servers, one or more memories <b>440</b>, one or more processors <b>420</b>, one or more network interfaces <b>410</b> (e.g., adapted to communicate traffic for a communication session), etc., as may be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

p-0029In particular, referring to the environment shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> as it relates to an interaction server <b>400</b>, a number of processing facilities, including a web zone and one or more meeting zones for interaction with one or more client browsers. Collectively, the web zone and one or more meeting zones may be referred to simply as “online collaborative computing session services/process” <b>448</b>. Specifically, a web zone may comprise one or more server machines that share a common web database. In the web zone, a web server may have a unique IP address (which may be associated with a particular website) and may respond to, e.g., Hyper-Text Transport Protocol (HTTP) requests coming to that IP address from client browsers. The web server serves or supports web pages, while a web database may contain static information for the website including site specific data, web pages, and user data. Also, a meeting zone is illustratively a collection of servers and databases that help perform synchronous activity of an online collaborative meeting. In a meeting zone, the meeting managers may be servers which communicate with other servers in the meeting zone (e.g., collaboration server, log server, ping server, etc.) to keep track of the online meetings in progress in the meeting zone. Meeting managers may log meeting information into a meeting database. The ping server works with meeting managers to determine a collaboration server that is most suitable for hosting a particular meeting; it may act as a load balancer for the meeting service. Collaboration servers may handle all real time control and communication during an online collaborative meeting. The application servers may support specific features that may be available as part of an online collaborative meeting, such as, for example, telephony, polling, chatting, video, voice over IP, document review, application sharing, and file sharing (e.g., “sub-sessions”). Also, a license manager may keep track of and enforce licensing conditions and charges for the meeting. Further, the log server may keep track of meeting logs, and the meeting database may maintain at least a portion of the transient data required to conduct and keep track of online meetings. This data may include, for example, site and user information that would be required to establish and conduct a meeting.

p-0030Notably, according to one or more embodiments described herein, an online collaborative computing session may comprise one or more “sub-sessions,” such as a different sub-session for various components or features of the session itself. For instance, these sub-sessions may comprise, e.g., voice, data, desktop sharing, document sharing (portable document), video, chat, file transfer, remote access, etc. Communication and/or collaboration between participants may thus be achieved with one or more of the above sub-sessions enabled. For example, if a chat sub-session is enabled then an attendee can send a chat message to one or more other attendees while with desktop sharing sub-session enabled the presenter can share his/her desktop with all attendees, etc.

p-0031As <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> relates to an online collaborative computing resource manager or server <b>405</b> (e.g., “middleware”), additional processes/applications may be used for specific purposes as described herein. For example, a resource scheduling process <b>447</b> may contain computer executable instructions executed by the processor <b>420</b> to generally perform functions related to scheduling resources for the online collaborative computing sessions as described herein, illustratively maintaining an associated data structure <b>443</b> including a list of resources and/or their current assignments, associated information, etc., as described in more detail below. Notably, servers <b>400</b> and <b>405</b> may be embodied as a single device, or, as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, may be separately housed devices specifically tailored for individual usage.

p-0032B) Network-Attached Display Device as Attendee

p-0033As noted above, when participating in a meeting, whether in a physical conference room or over the internet through an online collaborative computing session, it may be beneficial to use a display device such as a projector to show images to a plurality of attendees. Generally, this has been accomplished through a physical connection between a participant's computer <b>200</b> and the display device in order to relay the image on the computer to the display device. As stated above, however, this may pose problems for certain users, such as those needing an adapter to connect to standard projectors, and when multiple presenters may be located within a same conference room. In particular, this causes problems when presenters change during the meeting, creating an unnecessarily time consuming exchange of the wires connected to the projector, in addition to the maintenance of presenter rights for the online collaborative computing session. Furthermore, generally setting up a projector in a conference room, particularly for online meetings, often requires cumbersome and inefficient manual configuration.

p-0034According to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, therefore, a network-attached display device (e.g., projector) <b>300</b> may actually join an online collaborative computing session as an attendee, such as by signing into the session using information obtained in a variety of ways. The display device may then receive data for the online collaborative computing session as an attendee over the computer network and may render and visually display images associated with being an attendee of the online collaborative computing session.

p-0035In other words, the embodiments herein describe a network (e.g., IP) enabled display device that is capable of receiving meeting information (e.g., scheduling), and capable of directly joining an online meeting without requiring an attached PC/laptop. That is, the display device may be an attendee of an online collaborative computing session as a resource (e.g., appliance) to the session/meeting without requiring a specific associated user, being able to autonomously and securely join a session (e.g., meeting or conference). Notably, in this essence, a network-attached display device that joins a session as an attendee is an extension of conventional IP-based projectors which merely receive data over an IP connection to be displayed, and which are not an active (i.e., “signed in” or “joined”) attendee/resource to an online collaborative computing session.

p-0036Operationally, a network-attached display device <b>300</b> may be scheduled as an attendee for an online collaborative computing session (e.g., in advance of a session or meeting), or may alternatively be added as a resource on-demand (ad-hoc) as needed. In particular, to schedule a display device as a resource in advance, two illustrative scenarios exist. First, various schedule management applications <b>247</b> may be configured to schedule, based on a received user request, a conference room <b>130</b> and its associated display device <b>300</b>, as well as associate the scheduled time with a particular online collaborative computing session. That is, an application <b>247</b> may be configured to schedule the conference room, and may be extended (e.g., a plug-in) to include the ability to schedule/associate a corresponding online session. As a second scenario, an online collaborative computing session application <b>248</b> may first be used to schedule the online session, and then a display device may be added as a resource/attendee to the session. In this scenario, the display device <b>300</b> may be pre-registered with the resource manager <b>405</b> (e.g., resource list <b>443</b>) or the online collaborative computing session server <b>400</b> as a selectable resource (e.g., having identifying information, such as an IP address or conference room name), or the selected display device may be manually identified (e.g., entering an IP address or device name).

p-0037In addition to scheduling the display device in advance of the actual online collaborative computing session, display device may also be added as a resource on-demand (ad-hoc), such as where one or more users simply walk into a conference room and sit down to use the projector in that room. Various techniques may be used to control the joining of a meeting on the fly in this manner, such as by manually entering the online collaborative computing session information at the display device (e.g., meeting IDs, passwords, etc., as described below) through a user interface <b>316</b>, selecting from a list of ongoing online sessions (as described below), or through smartphone wireless transfer, such as “dusting” or “throwing” session information from the phone (e.g., currently participating the online session) to an appropriately configured display device <b>300</b>.

p-0038Regardless of whether the network attached display device <b>300</b> is associated with a particular online collaborative computing session prior to the session or during the session (e.g., ad-hoc), information is obtained that allows the computer network-attached display device <b>300</b> to receive data for an online collaborative computing session as an attendee. In other words, information needed by the display device to “join” the online session may be gathered for signing the device into the associated session. This information may comprise, among other things, a session identifier (ID), security information (passwords, keys, etc.), meeting names, IP addresses of the display device and/or servers, capabilities of the display device, calendar (date, time) information, etc. Notably, according to one or more embodiments herein, an indication of actual user attendees may also be linked to the display device through the obtained information, such as signifying which users are participating in the online collaborative computing session is through the display device. That is, in many situations, a conventional computer <b>200</b> may be identified as a participant to an online session based on the user's identification (e.g., “John Doe”) within an attendee list. Accordingly, then, when registering the display device with a particular online collaborative computing session, it may also be beneficial to provide a list of associated users, for the benefit of other participants in the session (e.g., “John Doe, Jane Doe, and Judy Smith,” or simply “ABC company” or “sales team,” etc.).

p-0039In one embodiment, a resource manager <b>405</b> (e.g., middleware) may receive the information as a “proxy” for the scheduled display device <b>300</b>, such as by receiving the request to include the display device as an attendee in the online collaborative computing session. For example, a resource scheduling application <b>447</b> of manager/server <b>405</b> may receive the information from a user's scheduling application <b>247</b> (or an associated server for the scheduling application). In one embodiment, the manager/server <b>405</b> may then “push” (e.g., transmit) the information to the display device <b>300</b> (stored in sign-in cache/scheduling data structure <b>343</b>/<b>347</b>), or alternatively may store the information itself. In yet another embodiment, the display device <b>300</b> may itself receive the information directly, if so configured, such as by receiving manually entered information, as noted above.

p-0040Using the obtained information (session ID, scheduling, security, etc.), the network-attached display device <b>300</b> may then be signed into the online collaborative computing session as an attendee. Illustratively, having received the pushed or manually entered information, the display device may actively join the session (sign into the session) by submitting the information to the interaction (session) server <b>400</b> for authentication and/or registration into the online collaborative computing session (e.g., a meeting). Alternatively, the resource manager/server <b>405</b> may sign in the display device remotely, thus joining the display device into the online collaborative computing session to passively receive data as an attendee.

p-0041According to one or more embodiments, there need not be any user intervention at the display device to obtain the information or sign the display device into the online collaborative computing session. For instance, prior to receiving any data associated with the online session, the display device may transition to a “power on and ready” state in response to an impending online collaborative computing session in which the display device is scheduled to be an attendee (e.g., based on a scheduled time of the session), and may sign into the session to begin receiving data. Alternatively, a user may have to turn on the display device and/or be prompted for acceptance of signing the display device into the online collaborative computing session, such as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5A</figref>. As shown, a welcome message <b>500</b> may illustratively relay a meeting subject/name <b>505</b>, a time <b>510</b>, and an accept/decline icon <b>515</b>. In other embodiment, the welcome message may replace the accept/decline icon <b>515</b> with a message to press a physical button <b>317</b> located on the projector as acceptance of the online session. A user may then select acceptance through pressing a user interface <b>316</b>, the button <b>317</b>, or a button or selection through the remote control <b>318</b>, and the display device may then sign into the online collaborative computing session as an attendee.

p-0042Note that as mentioned above, information to allow the display device to receive data for a plurality of online collaborative computing sessions as an attendee of each online collaborative computing session may be obtained. For instance, the network-attached display device <b>300</b> may be a resource available in a suite of conference rooms (e.g., within a building) where multiple meetings are scheduled. As such, people/users may be able to enter any conference room <b>130</b> and select from a plurality of pre-scheduled meetings into which they desire the display device of that conference room to join as an attendee. In this instance, the display device may prompt for selection of a particular online collaborative computing session into which the display device is to sign in as an attendee, e.g., from those stored in scheduling data structure <b>347</b>. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5B</figref> illustrates an example display showing a selectable list of three possible meetings, <b>520</b>, <b>525</b>, and <b>530</b>, into which the display device may become an attendee. Again, a user may select a particular session through a user interface <b>316</b>, a set of buttons <b>317</b>, or a button or selection through the remote control <b>318</b>, and the display device may then sign into the selected online collaborative computing session as an attendee, using the associated information (e.g., stored in sign-in cache <b>343</b> of the device), accordingly.

p-0043Once the network-attached display device <b>300</b> has joined the session as an attendee, a presenter of the session's content (e.g., a meeting's host) may share images with the participants of the session, such as through desktop sharing or application sharing through online collaborative computing session process <b>248</b>, and the images may be displayed on attendee devices, accordingly. Specifically, the display device may receive the data for the online collaborative computing session as an attendee over the computer network, and, through visual display generator <b>360</b>, may render the images associated with the session in order to visually display them (e.g., project them onto a wall/screen). Note that while the data received by the display device attendee may be the same data received by all attendees of the online collaborative computing session, it may be different under certain circumstances. For instance, where a screen image is to appear different based on a “type” of attendee (e.g., user interfaced versus viewing attendee resource only), then various icons, options, etc., may be removed from data streams sent specifically to display device resources. Also, resolution may be controlled by the source of the content (e.g., server <b>400</b>), such as based on pre-registered device capabilities or otherwise.

p-0044Further, based on device capabilities, the server <b>400</b> may source only images to display devices, and not audio (e.g., sending audio over a separate phone channel or not at all), or may source both images and audio to the display devices. When audio is transmitted and received, the display device may render the audio associated with the online collaborative computing session from the received data, and may play the audio on speakers <b>319</b> associated with the display device. As noted, the audio may be sent separately to conference room <b>130</b> over a phone channel to phone <b>135</b> (e.g., associated in resource list <b>443</b> or otherwise configured). In such an instance, it may also be possible to allow the phone <b>135</b> to act as an audio resource, such that users within the conference room <b>130</b> may be able to speak into the phone and be heard as part of the ongoing online collaborative computing session. When a “who is talking” feature is enabled for the session, an icon may indicate that a user/group associated with the display device <b>300</b> is talking. That is, the display device <b>300</b> and phone <b>135</b> may be registered as shared resources (or, less efficiently, as separate resources to generally a same group of users), such that other participants within the online collaborative computing session are aware of the attendees with the phone as well as the projector, as mentioned above.

p-0045Notably, the techniques herein generally eliminate the need for a wired connection between a participant's computer <b>200</b> and the display device (e.g., projector) <b>300</b>, particularly a connection between the computer <b>200</b> and both the network <b>120</b> and the display device <b>300</b> for presenters where all attendees of the online collaborative computing session are not physically located within a same conference room <b>130</b>. Now, the presenter computer, physically located within a same room as the display device, can transmit (source) the data for the online collaborative computing session over the computer network <b>120</b> via the online collaborative computing session to the display device as an attendee of the online collaborative computing session. When presenters change (e.g., sometimes referred to as “passing the ball”), the shared content is dynamically displayed on the network-attached display device (e.g., the conference room projector) as well as over the online collaborative computing session to other remote participants not in the room (or in the room and viewing the content on their own computers <b>200</b>).

p-0046<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> illustrates a simplified example procedure for allowing a network-attached display device join an online collaborative computing session as an attendee in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein. The procedure <b>600</b> starts at step <b>605</b>, and continues to step <b>610</b>, where a network-attached display device <b>300</b> may optionally be scheduled as an attendee for an online collaborative computing session, as described above. In step <b>615</b>, information is obtained to allow the display device to receive data for the online collaborative computing session as an attendee. For instance, as mentioned above, the information may be received from a server <b>400</b>, or may be manually entered at the display device (e.g., user interface <b>316</b>).

p-0047In response to an impending session to which the display device is to attend, various optional features may be enabled on the display device, accordingly. For instance, in step <b>620</b>, the display device may transition to a “power on and ready” state to prepare for the online collaborative computing session, which, as noted, may imply leaving a standby state. Also, in step <b>625</b>, the display device may prompt for selection of a particular online collaborative computing session, such as where there are multiple sessions available. In addition, in step <b>630</b>, it may be desired to prompt for acceptance to join online collaborative computing session, as described above.

p-0048Once the display device <b>300</b> is signed into the online collaborative computing session (“joins” the session) as an attendee using the obtained information in step <b>635</b>, then in step <b>640</b>, once the session has started, the display device may receive attendee data for the session. As such, the display device in step <b>645</b> may render images (e.g., and audio) associated with the online collaborative computing session from the received data, and in step <b>650</b> may visually display the attendee-based images (e.g., and play audio) associated with the online collaborative computing session. The procedure <b>600</b> may end in step <b>655</b> upon termination of the online collaborative computing session (e.g., signing the display device out of the session or based on a signal from server <b>400</b>).

p-0049<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref>, on the other hand, illustrates an example procedure for using a network-attached display device as an attendee to an online collaborative computing session in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein, that is, from the perspective of display device users. The procedure <b>700</b> starts at step <b>705</b>, and continues to step <b>710</b>, where a meeting host schedules an online meeting, such as by setting up an invitation, scheduling time, inviting guests, etc., through illustrative online collaborative computing session application <b>248</b>. In addition, in step <b>715</b> a meeting participant, e.g., the host scheduling the meeting or other participant, may schedule a conference room and its associated network-attached projector (display device <b>300</b>), such as through scheduling application <b>247</b> or application <b>248</b>. A resource manager (e.g., server <b>400</b>) may receive the scheduling information in step <b>720</b>, illustratively acting as a “proxy” for the scheduled conference room/projector, and may push the scheduling information to projector in step <b>725</b>.

p-0050Prior to the scheduled meeting time (generally), the meeting host joins the meeting from an associated application in step <b>730</b> (e.g., online collaborative computing session application <b>248</b>, web browser <b>249</b>, etc.). Also, generally prior to the scheduled meeting time, in step <b>735</b> the conference room projector may power on (if necessary) and may display a prompt: “Please push the ‘join’ button to join the meeting: [Meeting subject].” Once the user presses a ‘join’ button in step <b>740</b>, e.g., on the projector or via a remote control, the projector may join the scheduled meeting as attendee in step <b>745</b> as described in detail above.

p-0051During the course of the meeting, presenters may share images from their computers in step <b>750</b>, such as via their desktop, applications, etc. through an associated meeting application <b>248</b>. Accordingly, the projector (device <b>300</b>) in step <b>755</b> displays those meeting images as through the projector were an attendee of the meeting. Should a new presenter assume control of the meeting in step <b>760</b>, e.g., known as “passing the ball,” then the new presenter sources new images in step <b>750</b>, and the projector continues to display the meeting images in step <b>755</b> as an attendee, regardless of the presenter source. In this manner, regardless of whether all the participants to the meeting are in the same conference room, presenters need not physically connect to the projector, and presenters may alternate without having to reconfigure any connections to the projector. Procedure <b>700</b> may end once the meeting has concluded in step <b>765</b>.

p-0052The novel techniques described herein allow a network-attached display device join an online collaborative computing session as an attendee. By having the display device (e.g., projector) join the session as an attendee itself, the novel techniques allow for shared content of the online collaborative computing session to be shown by the display device to one or more users, as well as to other attendees (e.g., on local PCs). In particular, the techniques described above eliminates the need for a meeting presenter to share content both via a network connection (to the online collaborative computing session) and via a local projector. Further, the techniques prevent conference room presenters from having to move from one place to another within the conference room in order to physically plug their laptop into the display device (e.g., projector) by eliminating the need to connect to the display device via a wired connection. This feature is particularly useful where a presenter's laptop/PC has a different display connection than the display device, such as Apple Mac users requiring a custom adapter (dongle). Also, the dynamic aspects of one or more embodiments described herein, such as the transfer of information necessary for the display device to join the session, alleviate the need for cumbersome and inefficient manual configuration.

p-0053While there have been shown and described illustrative embodiments that allow a network-attached display device join an online collaborative computing session as an attendee, it is to be understood that various other adaptations and modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the embodiments herein. For example, the embodiments have been shown and described herein primarily directed to projectors. However, the embodiments herein in their broader sense are not so limited, and may, in fact, be used with other types of network-attached display devices, such as TVs, flat panels, flat screens, etc., as mentioned above. Moreover, while the circuitry involved in the display device's joining a session is shown as being housed within the display device, one or more alternative embodiments herein may also utilize a separately housed display device “agent” circuitry (not a PC/laptop) locally attached to the display device, such that the “network-attached display device <b>300</b>” that signs into a meeting is the joint collaboration of a display agent and an actually displaying device.

p-0054The foregoing description has been directed to specific embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that other variations and modifications may be made to the described embodiments, with the attainment of some or all of their advantages. For instance, it is expressly contemplated that the components and/or elements described herein can be implemented as software being stored on a tangible computer-readable medium (e.g., disks/CDs/etc.) having program instructions executing on a computer, hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. Accordingly this description is to be taken only by way of example and not to otherwise limit the scope of the embodiments herein. Therefore, it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the embodiments herein.