WO2008050042A2

WO2008050042A2 - Method and system for managing computing capabilities of a terminal

Info

Publication number: WO2008050042A2
Application number: PCT/FR2007/052171
Authority: WO
Inventors: Cédric CHARBONNIER; Ronan Le Roux; Edouard Marques; Axel Ferrazzini; Diego Anza
Original assignee: France Telecom
Priority date: 2006-10-26
Filing date: 2007-10-16
Publication date: 2008-05-02
Also published as: WO2008050042A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of managing hardware and software capabilities of terminals (1, 2, 3), characterized in that it comprises the generation and storage on a central management server (71) of a computer-related document comprising data pertaining to the computing capabilities of at least one determined terminal and the allocating to the computer-related document of an identifier corresponding to said terminal.

Description

Method and system for managing the IT capabilities of a terminal

Dom nity of the invention

The present invention relates to the field of the adaptation of services, particularly those relating to the provision of content, depending on the computer capabilities, hardware and / or software, terminals to optimize the rendering of these services for each terminal.

Prior art

The current diversity of mobile terminals in terms of hardware capabilities (such as the size, resolution or type (color / monochrome) of the screen) or software (supported coded, installed applications, etc.) is so great that by For example, multimedia content and messaging services require detailed knowledge of the capabilities of all terminals in the market in order to adapt to them and to optimize the rendering of content that is offered to them. This adaptation sometimes involves a transformation of the data format (for example, choosing a "markup" language and a version adapted to the terminal, transcoding contents to adapt them to screen sizes and supported codecs, selecting adapted content types terminal characteristics, etc.).

With the emergence of new communicating terminals that can access multimedia services (eg PDA Wi Fi ™, TV decoder, digital walkman, etc.), the diversity of terminal capabilities potentially targeted by these multimedia services is constantly increasing.

It seems obvious in this context, where in addition, multimedia services are becoming more sophisticated, that adapting the service to the capabilities of each terminal requires obtaining a reliable and detailed description of the characteristics of the terminal.

There are currently several techniques for knowing the characteristics of the terminals. One of the most used is that defined by the specification "UAProf"("User Agent Profile"). The "UAProf" specification defines an XML ("Extensible Markup Language") syntax to describe the characteristics of a terminal. However, this technique has disadvantages that limit its development. Indeed, the "UAProf" specification allows only a limited number of characteristics of a terminal to be taken into account. It is also based on a distributed type of architecture in which the terminal manufacturers have the responsibility to inform the documents "UAProf" and maintain public servers. The information available is often inaccurate or incomplete, and may even sometimes be wrong. Moreover, with the "UAProf" technique, only the static characteristics of the terminal at the factory outlet are taken into account for use limited to HTTP type services (WAP, Web, MMS, etc.).

Because of these limitations, proprietary solutions have emerged, including mobile operators, to provide richer information (for example, known bugs for terminals) and reliable information (information is tested and verified) in a database. controlled environment.

Nevertheless, these proprietary solutions still have disadvantages. For example, they are always static, that is, they do not take into account software modules that could be added or updated on the terminal after it was shipped from the factory, or specific settings. that the user and / or the operator could achieve on the same terminal. In addition, even if the data are tested and validated by dedicated teams of the mobile operator, the data is manually entered in databases without error management tools, the databases can be filled with incorrect data and even after validation. Finally, access to this information is limited to services provided by the mobile operator without the possibility of providing them to third parties.

In addition, the data necessary for service / content platforms other than those managed by the operator, for the adaptation of services / content to the capabilities of the different terminals, are currently stored locally in these platforms. Terminal capacity data is, therefore, dispersed across a plurality of platforms, each of which includes only those data necessary to adapt the service / content concerned. Since the operator has no control over the sources of data used by these platforms, the reliability of the data stored in these platforms can not be guaranteed.

The reliability of the data (validity and updating of data) relating to the capabilities of a terminal is of great importance since the provision of a service / content based on incorrect and / or incomplete information will result in the dissemination of the service / content unsuitable and will lead to the rejection of this service / content by the user of the terminal.

Obi et and succinct description of the invention

The present invention aims, but is not limited, to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to propose a solution for both storing information describing the computing capabilities of each terminal (individually and not by manufacturer / model) including those which are likely to evolve over time (installation of software modules, updates, settings), to make this information more reliable in a controlled environment, and to allow access to this information to any application that needs this information to adapt a service / content, applications that can belong to both a mobile operator and a third party.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a method for managing the hardware and software capabilities of terminals, characterized in that it comprises the generation and storage on a central management server of a computer document comprising data relating to computing capabilities. , namely the hardware and / or software capabilities of a given terminal and the attribution to this computer document of an identifier corresponding to the terminal.

Thus, the method of the invention allows centralized storage and management of the computer capacity data of at least one terminal, such as its hardware and / or software capabilities. This centralization makes it possible at the same time to be able to implement a control of the reliability of the stored data and to propose to any content / service provider to have a personalized information base. for each terminal, that is to say, to know for a given terminal all the changes made in addition to its basic capabilities (factory output).

According to one aspect of the invention, at least a portion of the data stored in the computer document comes from one or more sources and in that said data is written in the computer document according to a degree of reliability of the sources transmitting said data.

In this way, only data from reliable sources are written into the document, mechanisms for evaluating the validity of the data can be implemented in case of doubt about the reliability of a source and, consequently, the reliability of the data. provided data. This guarantees a high level of reliability of the data present in the accessible computer document.

According to another aspect of the invention, the computer document is generated in a given format and the data entered in the document are previously converted into said determined format. Thus, the computer document can be produced in a standardized (i.e. non-proprietary) format, allowing any remote system to access the capability data of each terminal via a standardized interface.

Each registration or modification of data in the computer document may be recorded, each record comprising at least the identity of the source of the data and the date of the registration so as to allow the identification of a source of incorrect data. . It is thus possible to go back to the sending source of the incorrect data in order, for example, to act on the latter to correct the data in question or to reject this source if no correction is possible.

According to one aspect of the invention, at least part of the computer document (that corresponding to the information likely to vary over time) is further stored on the corresponding terminal, the method comprising a synchronization step between the computer document stored on the central server and said part of the computer document stored on the terminal. It is thus possible for the central management server to know the changes made to the terminal by the user himself by synchronizing the computer document stored on said server with that stored on the terminal and integrating the modifications made locally on the terminal. Therefore, the computer document made available from the central management server also takes into account this type of modification.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer address is assigned to each computer document stored on the central management server thus allowing any remote device wishing to know the current capabilities of a terminal to access the computer document containing the information relating to to these abilities.

When a request is sent by a terminal to a content and / or services platform, the computer address of the electronic document containing the data relating to the computing capabilities of the terminal is inserted into the request.

When the terminal does not have the necessary capabilities to exploit the content and / or service requested in the request, the method may further include a step of adapting the capabilities of said terminal so as to enable it to exploit the content and / or requested service, data relating to the computer capabilities corresponding to the adaptation of the terminal being sent to the central management server for updating the corresponding computer document.

The present invention also relates to a center for managing the computer capabilities (hardware and / or software) of terminals, characterized in that it comprises at least one central server for managing the capacities, and in that said server comprises means for generating and storing a computer document comprising data relating to the computer capabilities of a given terminal and the attribution to said computer document of an identifier corresponding to said terminal.

As for the method described above, by performing a centralized storage and management of the capacity data for each terminal, the management center according to the invention provides a database of information customized for each terminal while ensuring the reliability of the data stored in this database.

According to one aspect of the invention, at least a portion of the data stored in the computer document comes from one or more sources, the central capacity management server comprising means for verifying the degree of reliability of the source or sources of said data before registration in the computer document.

The central capacity management server may comprise means for generating the computer document in a given format and means for converting the data entered in the document into said determined format.

The central capacity management server may further comprise means for recording each registration or modification of data in the computer document, each record comprising at least the identity of the source of the data and the date of registration.

According to one aspect of the invention, at least part of the computer document is further stored on the corresponding terminal, the central capacity management server comprising means for synchronizing the computer document stored on the server with said portion of the stored computer document. on the terminal.

According to another aspect of the invention, the central capacity management server comprises means for allocating a computer address to the stored computer document so as to be accessible remotely. In this case, the central capacity management server comprises means for transmitting said computer address to the terminal identified in the document so that, when a request is sent by the terminal to a platform of content and / or services, the computer address of the electronic document containing the data relating to the computing capabilities of the terminal is inserted in the request.

The invention also concerns a computer program intended to be executed on a central capacity management server of a management center for the computer capabilities (hardware and / or software) of terminals, characterized in that it comprises instructions to generate and store a computer document including related data the computer capabilities of a given terminal and the attribution to said computer document of an identifier corresponding to said terminal.

According to one aspect of the invention, at least a portion of the data stored in the computer document is from one or more sources, the program including instructions for verifying the reliability of the source or sources of said data prior to registration. in the computer document.

The program may further include instructions for generating the computer document in a specified format and instructions for converting the data listed in the document into said determined format.

In another aspect, the program includes instructions for recording each registration or modification of data in the computer document, each record including at least the identity of the source of the data and the date of registration.

In yet another aspect, at least a portion of the computer document is further stored on the corresponding terminal, the program comprising instructions for synchronizing the computer document stored on the central capacity management server with said portion of the computer document stored on the terminal.

The program may include instructions for assigning a computer address to the stored computer document so as to be remotely accessible. It may also include instructions for transmitting said computer address to the terminal identified in the document so that, when a request is sent by the terminal to a content and / or services platform, the electronic address of the electronic document containing the data relating to the computer capabilities of the terminal is inserted in the request.

The invention further relates to a data processing device capable of storing data relating to computer capabilities (hardware and / or software) of at least one terminal, characterized in that it comprises means for transmitting said data relating to to the computing capabilities of the terminal.

Thus, with such processing devices, the management and storage center of the present invention has sources supply of computer capacity data to collect data specific to the individual changes of the terminal in addition to its basic capabilities (factory output) common to all terminals of the same family. The data processing device may consist, for example, of a remote server on which the data are made available. The device may also be constituted by the terminal itself which then forms an advantageous source of data supply since it makes it possible to know all the capabilities present on the terminal and in particular those that are manually or dynamically modified from the terminal. terminal.

Brief description of the drawings

The features and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the following description, given by way of non-limiting indication, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a network architecture in which is implemented a system and a method for managing the hardware and software capabilities of terminals according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for managing the hardware and software capabilities of terminals according to a mode of Embodiments of the invention, Figures 3 and 4 illustrate examples of use of the method of the invention.

Detailed description of the methods of carrying out the invention

The present invention provides a solution for centrally storing and managing data relating to computer, hardware and software capabilities of terminals that allows any service provider / content to obtain from a single point and for each registered terminal. data on its capabilities, with a high level of reliability both in terms of the sources used for data provision and the changes in these data. data over time (eg updates or program / hardware installations).

Figure 1 illustrates an architecture in which the invention can be implemented. This architecture comprises a plurality of terminals 1 to 3 which may be of different types such as a PC 1, a personal digital assistant communicating 2 (PDA) or a mobile phone 3. In general, the invention applies to any type of terminal that can receive services / content offered remotely via a communication network. By way of nonlimiting examples, the system of FIG. 1 comprises service delivery platforms / video contents, WAP ("Wireless Application Protocol") (content of the webpage type) and MMS ("Multimedia Messaging Service") ( exchange multimedia messages) respectively represented by a video content server 4, a content server WAP 5 and an MMS content server or MMSC center 6. The terminals 1 to 3 have access to these content platforms via an R communication network which can be of any kind depending on the type of terminal used, such as a fixed network (eg IP network (I nternet Protocol)) or a mobile network (eg UMTS ("Universal Mobile Telecommunication System")).

According to the invention, the system further comprises a terminal capacity management and storage center 7 which comprises processing means illustrated in FIG. 1 by a central capacity management server 71 in connection with a storage unit. 72 which may or may not be integrated into the server 71. The server 71 makes it possible, on the one hand, to retrieve or receive data relating to the capabilities of a terminal from at least one data processing device represented in FIG. in the present example by different external sources and, secondly, to provide the service / content delivery platforms the capacity data stored for each terminal. The server 71 is further programmed to allow the implementation of reliability mechanisms during the data supply. Still as non-limiting examples, the system of FIG. 1 comprises three external sources of data supply of terminal capabilities, namely a data source of the terminal manufacturers 8, a source of data of a provider of data. WAP 9 content and an MMS content provider data source 10. The source 8 allows the terminal capacity management and storage center server 7 to obtain or receive from the terminal manufacturer data relating to the hardware capabilities. of the terminal, such as the type and size of screen, and the software capabilities of the terminal, such as the type and version of the terminal component management software ("firmware") installed, software or "coded" allowing read files in audio and video formats, the access protocol supported by the terminal (GSM, GPRS, UMTS, IP, etc.). The content provider data source WAP 9 allows the server 71 of the center 7 to obtain or receive data, for example on the type and version of the WAP browser present on the terminal while the data source provider of MMS 10 content is used to obtain or receive data on the capabilities of the terminal to compose, send and receive multimedia messages.

As explained in detail below, the terminal considered itself also constitutes a source of data supply to allow in particular to take into account the changes made directly on the terminal.

Any other source for obtaining or receiving data on the software or hardware capabilities of a terminal may be part of the system of the invention.

According to the invention, the terminal capacity management and storage center 7 generates, stores and maintains a computer document for each terminal containing all the data relating to its capabilities. To facilitate the management of the data of each terminal, the computer documents are preferably stored in the storage unit 72 in the form of a database, the content of the documents being itself organized into a data structure, which allows define locations for each set of parameters relating to a given terminal capacity in an identical manner for each document. In other words, the storage unit 72 contains a database gathering the documents containing the capacity data for each terminal, the data being classified in each document according to a given data structure. For example, the generation and management of these computerized documents can be achieved using the known "OMA Device Management" technology which is a technology developed under the OMA ("Open Mobile Alliance") standard and which makes it possible to manage entire lifecycle of a remote terminal, from a server in general belonging to the mobile operator. This technology is described in particular in the document accessible under the following address: http: // www. openmobilealliance.org/ release_program / dm_v1_2. html

This technology has a synchronization protocol and associated security mechanisms that are able to maintain consistency in a tree-like data structure called "DM Tree" in the terminology "OMA Device Management", which is replicated on the terminal side and the server side. The data structure of the "DM Tree" has been designed to allow the addition of "Management Object" of any kind. A "Management Object" is a data structure containing a set of parameters relating to a given capacity of the terminal. For example, the settings of the MMS client are grouped in a single "Management Object".

The "DM Tree" therefore contains an image of the various settings of the terminal, ranging from the simplest parameters such as the type of access to the network (APN, proxy, etc.) to the detailed parameters of each application in the terminal (client MMS, PoC client, Broadcast client, etc.).

The "Device Management" technology includes functionalities allowing the remote update ("over the air") of the software of management of the components or "firmware" of a terminal. An implementation of this feature has been defined in the OMA ("Firmware Update Management Object" (FUMO)). Other "Management Objects" are continuously developed to take into account all the relevant parameters of a terminal in terms of its capabilities such as, for example, "Management Object" to manage the software modules installed / updated / uninstalled on a terminal regardless of firmware updates (SCOMO: Software COmponent Management Object).

Whether based on "OMA Device Management" technology or equivalent technology, the functionalities for generating and managing electronic documents in a structured form are installed in the central capacity management server 71 of the center 7 which thus constitutes the main and privileged organ for the generation and management of a personalized capacity document for each terminal, the server 71 being able to follow all other operations that may have an impact on the capabilities of a terminal of interest to service providers / content.

To generate a computer document, it is possible to base on the basic properties corresponding to the version of "firmware" installed, to add the properties corresponding to each installed software module, and to make modifications corresponding to other settings that could have been made (user settings etc.). When an addition or modification made directly from the terminal, that is to say without passing through the server 71, the terminal itself updates the part of the computer document it stores locally with the capacity data corresponding to the addition / modification made. This new data will then be integrated into the computer document stored on the server 71 during a synchronization between the part of the document stored on the terminal and the document stored on the server, this synchronization can be initiated by the terminal or the content provider. / served these periodically or not.

When generating a computer document, a <Terminall D> identifier corresponding to the identity of the terminal concerned is assigned to the computer document. This makes it possible to have for each terminal a personalized computer document containing the particular capabilities of the terminal and to take into account all the software and / or hardware changes made to it over time (taking into account the addition or modification of data relating to the capabilities of a terminal).

In order to make the computer documents generated and stored in the center 7 accessible by remote devices, a computer address is associated with each document. For example, we associate with each computer document a logical address URI ("Uniform Resource Identifier") such as http: //dm.orange.corrι/devchars/ <Terminal! D> which provides access on the server 71 to the computer document of the terminal identified in this address.

Thus, any remote device, such as a service provider platform / content, can access the computer document of a given terminal and know its software and hardware capabilities with a high level of reliability both in terms of validity than the completeness of the available capacity data.

The reliability of a piece of data can be evaluated according to the source and / or the method used to obtain the capacity information. A method of obtaining information is indifferently the means of communication used to obtain the capacity information, namely a paper mail with a questionnaire, an electronic message, a telephone conversation; a sending of a questionnaire to return for example participation in a game, etc. a passage from a customer to a point of sale. The reliability assessment may also take into account the timing of the questionnaire being sent and / or received.

In order to facilitate the access and exploitation by the service provider / content applications of the data present in the computer documents, the computer documents are preferably made in an open format, that is to say standardized as, for example , the XML ("Extensible Markup Language") or RDF ("Resource Description Framework") format.

An example of the steps implemented when writing data relating to the software and / or hardware capabilities of a terminal in a computer document according to the invention is described in connection with FIG. 2. The writing of these data can intervene either in the creation of a new computer document corresponding to the registration of a new terminal on the central capacity management server 71, or during a modification of the data in an already existing computer document on the server 71 ( modification and / or addition of data during terminal capacity updates) (step S1). In the case of a data write initiated during the creation of a computer document, it is previously created by defining a data structure in the defined format (for example in a standardized format) and associating it with a unique identifier and address as described above. The computer address (URI) is transmitted to the terminal so that the latter integrates it into its service / content requests so as to allow the service servers / destination contents of the requests to access the capacity data stored in the computer document. of the terminal.

The next step (step S2) is to supply the document with data relating to the capabilities of the terminal concerned. The sources of supply for this data are multiple. These sources may be the terminal itself as previously described or automatic sources of supply such as terminal manufacturer sites ("base" data supply for hardware and software resources provided by the manufacturer) or third party sites that propose to download particular applications on the terminals. In addition, the sources of supply can also be "manual" sources constituted by groups of persons charged to enter the data manually in the computer document.

When retrieving data from remote sites (e.g. data received from terminal manufacturer sites), the server 71 includes means for supporting the different formats in which this data may be transmitted.

Whatever the source used to supply the computer document, the reliability of the latter is first evaluated before taking into account the data provided (step S3). This control step can be carried out by associating with each source a degree of reliability and by conditioning the taking into account of the data as a function of the reliability of the source. Depending on the degree of reliability of the source, three alternatives are possible: refuse to take into account the data (step S4), accept the data (step S5), or request new tests from a validation team (step S6) ). In the latter case, if the test is positive, the data are accepted (step S5) otherwise they are refused (step S61). When the data is accepted, it is inserted in the computer document by converting it if necessary into the document format (as in the case of data from remote sites in a different format) (step S7).

After each data entry in the computer document performed automatically or manually, information to keep track of this entry is recorded (step SS). The traceability information recorded may include the type of data, the date of data entry and the identification of the source of the data entered. A report with the traceability data is also sent to the terminal capacity management and storage center administrator 7 (step S9).

As described above, each computer document is accessible by a computer address (for example URI). This address can be configured in the terminal automatically by the central capacity management server 71 so that the different user agents ("user agent") available in the terminal can refer to it in their requests to the content providers. and services. Thus, the service / content providers receive with the request the address that allows them to access the terminal capabilities document and to obtain from it the capacity data necessary to provide the service / content in the form the most optimized terminal capabilities.

For example, the browser (web browser) or the MMS client of the terminal can insert this address in the HTTP request so that the portal or the MMS server can use the document in order to adapt content if necessary. . Similarly, the presence user agent may publish this address in the presence attributes, and thus allow the address to be disseminated, for example, to other terminals for peer-to-peer ("peer") services. to-peer ") or servers for" push "applications as illustrated below.

Examples of use of the capacity data according to the invention are now described. FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which a user equipped with a mobile telephone 30 wishes to display video content available from the server 31 of a video content provider. According to the invention, the data relating to the hardware capabilities of the terminal are stored in a management and storage center 32 of the same type as previously described and comprising a central capacity management server 321 in connection with a document storage unit. computer (not shown).

In the example considered, it is assumed that the mobile phone 30 supports the "OMA Device Management" technology which notably allows the updating of the "firmware" and the management of the installed software modules (for example OMA DM, OMA SCOMO and OMA FUMO ) In the computer document (here "DM Tree") we find:

- The firmware version installed (a)

- The names, parameters and version of the installed applications (b)

- User defined parameters (c)

This document is stored both in the center 32 and locally on the telephone 30. The document ("DM Tree") is synchronized in real time, or in "pull" mode (terminal to server) after there is had a modification locally on the terminal, either in "push" mode (server to terminal).

The information (a) to know that the terminal supports at least the features of the "firmware" installed. The information (b) makes it possible to know which new functionalities, mechanisms, formats or codings are supported by the terminal in addition to those of origin. The information (c) makes it possible to know the user preferences so as to offer him a service adapted to his wishes.

The user browses the site of the service provider / content present on the server 31 and chooses, for example, to view a video. The user then sends a request to view a video from the service provider. This request contains the computer address (URI) for accessing the computer document of the capabilities of the terminal stored at the center 32 (step S10), this address having been defined in advance by the server 31 and communicated to the phone during the initial configuration of the phone during its first connection to the server 31 (bootstrapping phase described in particular under the address http://www.openmobilealliance.org/ftp/Public_documents/DM/Permanent_ documents / OMA-TS-DM_Bootstrap-V1 _2-2006101 1 -C.zip).

Once the process of choice and payment has been completed, the service provider / content must then deliver the video to the user, ensuring that the format of the video is supported by the terminal and that it matches the preferences user defined. The service provider wants to verify that the requested video format is supported by the terminal. I l sends a request to the server 321 of the center 32 to retrieve the characteristics of the terminal and thus obtain the desired information (step S11). If necessary, the server 321 synchronizes its electronic document ("DM Tree") with that located at the terminal (step S11 ').

The server 321 then sends back the capabilities data of the terminal to the service provider / contents (step S12). The supplier then has the information (a), (b) and (c) described above.

The service provider / content then determines the audio / video codecs, encoding rates, and resolution of the video to be used and ensures that it matches the user preferences and what is supported by the terminal. The most suitable video content is then transmitted to the terminal (step S13).

Figure 4 illustrates another example of implementation similar to that described in Figure 3 where a user equipped with a mobile phone 30 wishes to view video content available from the server 31 of a video content provider. The example described in Figure 4 differs from that of Figure 3 in that the mobile phone 30 does not have the capabilities necessary to use the service as, for example, the codec able to play the proposed video content. In this case, the video content provider can make the appropriate decisions to remedy it by, for example, asking the operator to send to the mobile phone ("push") the correct application or code and / or to put update the "firmware" of the terminal. This possible update is also carried out via the management and storage center 32.

The steps S20 to S22 are respectively identical to the steps S10 to S12 described above in relation to FIG.

Once the video content provider server 31 has received the capacity data of the mobile phone 30 from the center 32, the server 31 finds that the phone 30 does not include adequate coding software and sends 321 32 center 32 server software corresponding to the code coded to install on the phone so that it can play the video (step S23).

The server 321 sends ("push") the code software to the phone 30, updates the computer document ("DM Tree") containing the data relating to the capabilities of the telephone 30 and synchronizes with the computer document of the telephone 30. taking into account the new encoded code (step S14).

The server 321 notifies the server 31 of the video content provider that the installation of the codec (step S15) that delivers the video content to the telephone 30, knowing that the latter is now able to display it correctly (step S16).

Other applications of the present invention are conceivable.

In the case where a user sends an MMS multimedia message to another user. The MMSC center retrieves from the terminal management and storage center server, the capacity data of the terminal to which the multimedia message is intended. I l verifies that the recipient's terminal is MMS compatible and that the content of the message is adapted to the characteristics of the terminal. Where appropriate, the MMSC center may:

- adapt the content (for example transform an image in "jpg" format into an image in "wbmp" format),

- send a link that will allow the recipient to read the message from another means of access (eg via a PC connected to the Internet), or

- send an explicit error message.

According to another example, the user has subscribed to a service that sends him ("push") short sports news in real time, such as information on the progress of the football world cup matches, and this, what whatever the terminal it is using at every moment.

The content provider wants to be able to offer a service optimized to the capabilities of the terminal, for example to offer high-definition videos lasting 5 minutes or more on a PC type computer with an ADSL connection, while for mobiles, he would like reduce the quality (higher compression and smaller screen size) and use abridged versions (less than 2 minutes) depending on the capabilities of each terminal.

In this case, the content provider subscribes to a new presence attribute of the user giving the computer address (URI) which allows him to obtain the capabilities of the terminal used at any time by the user.

At the moment when the content has to be sent, the content provider obtains the characteristics of the terminal that is currently being used by the user thanks to the URI that he has been able to obtain by using the presence information, which allows to propose the most appropriate content.

Still according to another example, an online games provider wants to alert users who download and install a game when their battery charge level falls below a certain threshold, which could pose a risk of failure of the game. the operation. Through the use of a script which is responsible for putting back information on the battery level to the management center server and capacity storage regularly or under certain conditions such as below a determined threshold, the provider service can know the state of charge of the battery at any time, and warn the user if necessary.

Claims

REVEN DI CATI ONS

1. A method for managing the hardware and software capabilities of terminals (1, 2, 3), characterized in that it comprises the generation and storage on a central management server (71) of a computer document comprising relative data. the computer capabilities of at least one determined terminal and the attribution to said computer document of an identifier corresponding to said terminal.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a portion of the data stored in the computer document comes from one or more sources (8, 9, 10) and in that said data are entered in the computer document. according to a degree of reliability of the source or sources of said data.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the computer document is generated in a given format and in that the data entered in the document are previously converted into said determined format.

4. Method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that each registration or modification of data in the computer document is recorded, each record comprising at least the identity of the source of the data and the date of registration.

5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least a portion of the computer document is further stored on the corresponding terminal (1; 2; 3), the method comprising a synchronization step between the computer document stored on the central server (71) and said part of the computer document stored on the terminal (1; 2; 3).

6. Method according to claim 1 to 5, characterized in that a computer address is assigned to each computer document. stored on the central management server (71) so as to be accessible remotely.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that, during the transmission of a request by a terminal (30) to a content and / or service platform (31), the computer address of the electronic document containing the data relating to the computing capabilities of the terminal is inserted into the request.

8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises, when the terminal does not have the necessary capabilities to exploit the content and / or service requested in the request, a step of adapting the capabilities of said terminal so as to enabling it to exploit the requested content and / or service, data relating to the computer capabilities corresponding to the adaptation of the terminal being sent to the central management server (71).

9. Center (7) for managing hardware and software terminal capacities (1, 2, 3), characterized in that it comprises at least one central capacity management server (71), and in that said server comprises means for generating and storing a computer document comprising data relating to the computing capabilities of a given terminal and the attribution to said computer document of an identifier corresponding to said terminal.

10. Center according to claim 9, characterized in that at least a portion of the data stored in the computer document comes from one or more sources (8, 9, 10) and in that the central server capacity management ( 71) comprises means for checking the degree of reliability of the source or sources of said data before registration in the computer document.

11. Center according to claim 10, characterized in that the central capacity management server (71) comprises means for generating the computer document in a given format and means for converting the data entered in the document into said determined format.

12. Center according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the central capacity management server (71) comprises means for recording each entry or modification of data in the computer document, each record comprising at least the identity of the source of the data and the date of registration.

13. Center according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that at least a part of the computer document is further stored on the corresponding terminal (1; 2; 3), the central server of capacity management ( 71) comprising means for synchronizing the computer document stored on the server with said portion of the computer document stored on the terminal (1; 2; 3).

14. Center according to claim 9 to 13, characterized in that the central capacity management server (71) comprises means for allocating a computer address to the stored computer document so as to be accessible remotely.

15. Center according to claim 14, characterized in that the central capacity management server (71) comprises means for transmitting said computer address to the terminal (30) identified in the document so that, during the transmission a request by the terminal (30) to a content and / or services platform (31), the computer address of the electronic document containing the data relating to the hardware and software capabilities of the terminal (30) is inserted in the query.

Computer program for execution on a central capacity management server (71) of a terminal hardware and software capability management center (7) (1; 2; 3), characterized in that it comprises instructions for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

A data processing device capable of storing data relating to the computing capabilities of at least one terminal, characterized in that it comprises means for transmitting said data relating to the computer capabilities of the terminal to a data management center. hardware and software capabilities of terminals according to any of claims 9 to 15.