Peer to Peer sharing by iChat in Apple Patent Application

In a new patent application Apple details putting peer-to-peer sharing capabilities in iChat. Not so much to set information free but as a means of selling more songs through the iTunes music store. Users can 'share' the songs/movies they are listening to/watching with each other (presumably only if the RIAA says it's OK). iChat would allow you to be more aware of what other iChat users were up to (open documents, places being surfed etc). A brave new world where Apple writes applications to sell more songs and movies?

Here's how Apple describes it: In one example of the system, two users exchange text messages through iChat, while the sender user also listens to an MP3 with iTunes. The receiver user notices active content information concerning the sender user’s active media content (i.e., the MP3 in use) on the receiver user’s iTunes and turns the conversation towards that song. The receiver user consequentially decides to preview the music, initiating a stream from the sender peer to the recipient peer. Ultimately, the sender user purchases a copy from the iTunes Music Store. Everyone is happy and Apple sells another billion songs. It’s difficult to see how useful this is (though it save stalkers a lot of hassles).

Hear that song on iChat, buy it on iTunes

Apple perhaps has (had) plans for iChat to become more than just a IM client. Apple argues that IM is too simple and with computers becoming more like digital entertainment devices it’d be nice to see what your friends are up to on their computers (what movie they’re watching, music they’re listening to and what webpage they’re reading) and even allowing limited sharing of what they’re doing (perhaps a 30 sec preview of the music or movie streamed to you).

You could also get extra data about a song or movie and get access to information or meta-data such as the song’s name, artist, album art, liner notes, or the like. The point of this seems to be less design to help users but Apple thinking it might enable it to sell more music and movies.

It’s a scary future if Apple starts designing all its software to sell music and movies.

Another point of interest is the way it talks about Apple selling both music and movies- movies are obviously integral to Apple’s plans.

Share your desktop via iChat?

The sharing of active content is interesting- it “includes files that a user is currently accessing, such as music files the user is currently listening to, movies the user is currently watching, or the like. Identity-based activity, as used herein, includes broader activities of a particular user such as web-based auctions and transactions. Thus, if a user is listening to a music file on his computer, those contacts he may be currently instantly messaging cannot hear the same file at the same time.” I’m not sure I want to share my eBay options with everyone on my buddy list or if they’d even be interested.

How much sharing will be allowed isn’t really clear- it’d be great to share music with a friend via iChat but Apple had a similar function in early versions on iTunes but has subsequently crippled it only allow sharing on the same network. Remains to be seen what Apple will do with this- they need another 100+ features for Leopard so maybe they’ll implement it.

Selected Excerpts:

[0075] In summary, the present invention allows the users of instant messenger to share active content with other users in the system 100, and to facilitate commerce. The chat module 210 uses a robust application and network communication architecture to share active content information with other peers in the system 100. Moreover, the sender peer 110 can send substantially synchronous streams or previews of active content to the recipient peer 120, which automatically activates the stream in a compatible application module 220. Furthermore, the content enhancement server 130 provides preview streams of active content, supplemental active content information, and enables transactions related to shared active content.

[0006] However, these instant messaging applications are limited to sharing simple and direct text communications between contacts whereas computer uses are expanding beyond the conventional text-based functions. Convergence between computers and digital entertainment devices has led to computers that serve as an entertainment center to play music, watch movies, and enjoy other multimedia content. Additionally, computer users are spending more time with online activities such as playing games and conducting transactions. This content and activity, although potentially of interest to a contact, is not easily shared with those contacts.

[0007] Existing instant messaging applications limit real time content and information shared between a user and a contact to, for example, text messages, simple graphic files, and static file transfers. Significantly, current instant messaging applications do not allow users of a peer to directly and easily share content active on a user’s computer or other activities of a user on the Internet. Active desktop content and web-based activities of a contact are not communicated in conjunction with current applications. Active content, as used herein, includes files that a user is currently accessing, such as music files the user is currently listening to, movies the user is currently watching, or the like. Identity-based activity, as used herein, includes broader activities of a particular user such as web-based auctions and transactions. Thus, if a user is listening to a music file on his computer, those contacts he may be currently instantly messaging cannot hear the same file at the same time.

[0013] The present invention meets these needs by allowing instant messaging applications to track and share identity-based activity of a user with the user’s contacts. Advantageously, the present invention provides an enhanced communication experience between a user and remote contacts that includes entertainment and online activities.
[0014] In one embodiment, a content daemon on a sender peer tracks active content of a user and identity-based activity. Active content includes files that a user is currently accessing, such as music files the user is currently listening to, movies the user is currently watching, or the like. Identity-based activity includes broader activities of a specific user, such as web-based auctions or transactions conducted by a user logged-in to a chat module, and active content previously viewed by the user. The chat module shares identity-based activity with a remotely located recipient peer through a network by sending information collected by the content daemon. The recipient chat module displays identity-based activity and/or related information to the contact.

[0016] In yet embodiment, a content enhancement server includes a content supplement database to provide supplements to identity-based activity information to the recipient peer. Supplemental information can include descriptive information about the content, meta-data, or additional information, such as name, creator, content descriptions, related files and so forth (e.g., a CD containing the active media, a graphic file of the artist, a preview, or transactional information to obtain a copy). In another embodiment, the content supplement database stores previews of content for streaming to the recipient peer. The content enhancement server also includes a content transaction module to enable a transaction based on the shared content information. The content enhancement server, for example, enables a purchase a copy of a shared music file. In another embodiment, the content transaction module serves as a gateway to third-party databases with available products by using application program interfaces to search the third-party databases and generate a list of available products.

[0005] One problem with existing instant messaging applications is that they limit the real time information shared between a user and a contact to, for example, text messages, simple graphic files, and static file transfers. Significantly, current instant messaging applications do not allow users of a peer to directly and easily share information about active content on the peer. The instant messaging applications lack the software architecture to track active content in applications on a common peer, and lack the network communications architecture to share active content with other peers on the network.

[0006] Active content includes files that a user is currently accessing, such as music files the user is currently listening to, movies the user is currently watching, and other multimedia content the user is currently experiencing, or the like. Active files can also include other files that are open on the user’s computer and in use by an application, such as a multimedia player like Apple Computer’s iTunes.TM.. Thus, if a user is listening to a music file on his computer, those contacts he may be currently instant messaging cannot hear that same file at the same time. Likewise, if the user were watching a movie, the instant messaging contacts would not be able to view the movie as well.

[0008] Furthermore, there is no network architecture to automatically enhance the recipient’s use of the user’s active content information. Typically, a recipient of a static content file has to undertake additional manual steps to obtain such additional information. Again, if a user is listening to a music file, the user’s instant messaging contacts, even those currently in a chat session, would not have direct access to information or meta-data such as the song’s name, artist, album art, liner notes, or the like. More generally, there is no way for a one user of an instant messaging application to retrieve supplemental information about the active content in use on another user’s computer from a database. Similarly, such instant messaging contacts of the user cannot today easily or directly purchase or preview a copy of active content within the instant messenger.

[0031] In one example of the system 100, two users, one at the sender peer 110 and one at the recipient peer 120 exchange text messages through iChat, while the sender user also listens to an MP3 with iTunes. The receiver user notices active content information concerning the sender user’s active media content (i.e., the MP3 in use) on the receiver user’s iTunes and turns the conversation towards that song. The receiver user consequentially decides to preview the music, initiating a stream from the sender peer 110 to the recipient peer 120. Ultimately, the sender user purchases a copy from the iTunes Music Store.

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