Method and apparatus for managing program activation through use of a favorite program button menu

Claim 2

A computer readable storage device having program code embodied therein for causing a computer to perform the steps comprising: organizing a diverse plurality of programs into homogeneous groups based on a plurality of subject matter classifications constituting a hierarchy wherein each program is executed independently of the program code that organizes the hierarchy identifying a plurality of the programs within each subject matter classification as favorite programs; displaying a representation of each of the favorite programs within a subject matter classification; selecting one of the favorite program representations in response to a user command; and activating the program indicated by the selected representation.

Claim 3

The storage device of claim 1 and further causing a computer to perform the step of displaying a representation of a program that has been frequently activated by the user as a favorite program.

Claim 4

The storage device of claim 1 and further causing a computer to perform the step of adding a program specifically identified as a favorite program by the user as a favorite program.

Claim 5

The storage device of claim 1 and further causing a computer to perform the step of adding to a subject matter classification for each program that is not already identified as a favorite program and which is specifically identified as a favorite program by the user and, for each program so added, deleting from the subject matter classification the least activated program.

Claim 6

The storage device of claim 1 and further causing a computer to perform the step of removing from a subject matter classification each program that is identified as a favorite program and which has been infrequently activated by the user.

Claim 7

The storage device of claim 1 and further causing a computer to perform the step of removing from a subject matter classification each program that is identified to be deleted.

Claim 8

The storage device of claim 1 and further causing a computer to perform the steps of: storing an identification for each of a plurality of diverse programs which have been frequently activated by the user in an activation array; and automatically activating each of the programs identified in the activation array.

Claim 9

The storage device of claim 1 and further causing a computer to perform the steps of: storing an identification for each of a plurality of diverse user-selected programs in an activation array; and automatically activating each of the programs identified in the activation array.

Claim 10

A computer comprising a monitor, a user input device, and a program manager capable of managing the activation of programs from multiple sources of diverse programming, including video and computer program applications, the program manager comprising: an array storing the individual identifications of diverse programs from the multiple sources of diverse programming into homogeneous groups based on a plurality of subject matter classifications constituting a hierarchy wherein each program is executed independently of the program manager a classification selection module for selecting a first subject matter classification based on user input; a display module displaying representations of the diverse programs grouped in the first subject matter classification; and a rotation module for identifying a second subject matter classification as being next in relative order to the first subject matter classification.

Claim 11

A computer comprising a monitor, a user input device, and a program manager capable of managing the activation of programs from multiple sources of diverse programming, including video and computer program applications, the program manager comprising: an array storing the individual identifications of diverse programs from the multiple sources of diverse programming into homogeneous groups based on a plurality of subject matter classifications constituting a hierarchy wherein each program is executed independently of the program manager a classification selection module for selecting a first subject matter classification based on user input; a display module displaying representations of the diverse programs grouped in the first subject matter classification; and a rotation module for identifying a second subject matter classification as being next in relative order to the first subject matter classification.

Claim 12

The computer of claim 9 wherein the user input device provides for navigating through the displayed representations and selecting at least one of the diverse programs to be processed by the computer.

Claim 13

The computer of claim 9 wherein at least one of the sources of diverse programming transmits video signals.

Claim 14

The computer of claim 9 wherein the program manager further comprises an add module for adding a program identification to the array for each program that is not already represented in the array and which has been frequently activated.

Claim 15

The computer of claim 9 wherein the program manager further comprises an add module for adding a program identification to the array for each program identified by a user as a favorite program.

Claim 16

The computer of claim 9 wherein the program manager further comprises an add module for adding a program identification to the array for each program identified as a favorite program and, for each program added, deleting from the array a least frequently activated program.

Claim 17

The computer of claim 9 wherein the program manager further comprises a delete module for deleting a program identification from the array for each program which has been infrequently activated.

Claim 18

The computer of claim 9 wherein the program manager further comprises a remove module for removing a program identification from the array each program identified by a user as removable.

Claim 19

The computer of claim 9 wherein the program manager further comprises an automatic activation module for automatically activating a plurality of diverse programs which have been frequently activated by a user.

Claim 20

The computer of claim 9 wherein the program manager further comprises an automatic activation module for automatically activating each of the programs which have been previously identified by a user.

Claim 21

The program manager of claim 9 wherein the representation of the hierarchy is a menu and a user identifies their selection by entering a menu option.

Claim 22

The program manager of claim 9 wherein the representation of the hierarchy is a set of icons and a user identifies their selection by selecting one of the icons using the user input device.

Claim 23

The program manager of claim 9 wherein the representation of the hierarchy is a list and a user identifies their selection by selecting one of the list elements using the user input device.