Information apparatus and software applications supporting output of digital content over a network to a registered output device

A method for outputting digital content from an information apparatus to an output device, the information apparatus includes:

• one or more processors;
• a user interface for interacting with a user;
• wireless communication circuitry that includes one or more wireless communication units for wireless communication;
• a memory or storage component;
• and
• one or more application software stored, at least partly, in the memory or storage component, the one or more application software is executable by the one or more processors to facilitate output of the digital content from the information apparatus;
• and wherein the method comprises:
• (1) establishing, using the wireless communication circuitry of the information apparatus, a wireless local area network connection to a wireless local area network;
• (2) discovering, by the information apparatus and over the wireless local area network connection established in (1), an output device that is available in the wireless local area network, and receiving, by the one or more application software of the information apparatus, output device information from the output device that is discovered to be available in the wireless local area network, the output device information received from the output device includes at least one of identification information, capability information, address information, status information, or attribute information, individually or in any combination, related to the output device;
• (3) obtaining, by the one or more application software of the information apparatus, security or authentication information for the information apparatus to access one or more servers over a network, the one or more servers operated, at least in part, by a service provided over the network;
• (4) accessing, by the one or more application software of the information apparatus, the one or more servers based, at least in part, on the security or authentication information obtained in (3);
• (5) sending, by the one or more application software of the information apparatus, an output device object from the information apparatus to the one or more servers that are accessed by the information apparatus in (4), the output device object includes at least part of the output device information that is received from the output device in (2), and the output device being discovered by the information apparatus in (2) to be available in the wireless local area network;
• (6) providing, by the one or more application software, at the information apparatus, a list of one or more output devices for user selection via the user interface of the information apparatus, the list of one or more output devices include the output device discovered in (2);
• (7) receiving, by the one or more application software of the information apparatus, an indication of a selected output device from among the list of one or more output devices provided for user selection in (6);
• and
• (8) obtaining, by the one or more application software, at the information apparatus, selected digital content for outputting at least part of the selected digital content at the selected output device in (7);
• and
• wherein the receiving of the output device information from the output device in (2) is subsequent to the information apparatus having discovered the output device in the wireless local area network;
• and
• wherein the output device object sent from the information apparatus to the one or more servers in (5) includes at least part of the output device information received from the output device that is discovered to be available in the wireless local area network in (2).

A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded therein software program executable, at least partly, by one or more processors of an information apparatus to perform an output method, the information apparatus includes:

• the one or more processors;
• a user interface for interacting with a user;
• and
• a communication interface for establishing a local area network connection to a local area network;
• and
• wherein the output method comprises:
• (1) accessing, by the software program, one or more servers operated, at least in part, by a service provided over a network, the accessing of the one or more servers is based, at least in part, on having obtained, by the software program, appropriate security or authentication information for accessing the service;
• (2) discovering, by the information apparatus, using the communication interface of the information apparatus, an output device that is in the local area network;
• (3) receiving, by the software program and via the communication interface of the information apparatus, output device information from the output device that has been discovered by the information apparatus in (2), the output device information includes at least one of identification information, capability information, address information, status information, or attribute information, individually or in any combination, related to the output device;
• (4) transmitting, using the software program, an output device object from the information apparatus to the one or more servers that are accessed by the information apparatus in (1), the output device object includes at least part of the output device information received from the output device in (3);
• and subsequent to having transmitted the output device object to the one or more servers, the output method further comprises:
• (5) obtaining, by the software program, at least a pointer or a reference to selected digital content for output at the output device that is discovered by the information apparatus in (2);
• (6) providing, by the software program, an output item or an output function control over the user interface of the information apparatus for user selection, the output item or the output function control is for outputting the selected digital content in (5);
• and
• (7) receiving, by the software program and via the user interface of the information apparatus, selection of the output item or the output function control in (6) for outputting at least part of the selected digital content at the output device discovered by the information apparatus in (2), and
• wherein the receiving of the output device information from the output device in (3) is subsequent to the information apparatus having discovered the output device in (2);
• and
• wherein the output device object transmitted from the information apparatus to the one or more servers in (4) includes at least part of the output device information received from the output device in (3).