Computer program storage medium, client computer, server, content distributing system and content distributing method

A client computer, comprising:

• means for displaying a list of usable contents from which a user may select a desired content;
• means for retrieving from a prescribed computer property information including an address of a content server for supplying the selected content and an access time for the content server;
• means for accessing the content server at a prescribed time based on the property information to download the selected content;
• and
• means for informing the user that the selected content has been downloaded.

A server, comprising:

• means for receiving authentication information when a request for a specified content is received from a client computer;
• means for transmitting the received authentication information to a prescribed computer and for receiving a result of an authentication process carried out in the prescribed computer;
• and
• means for transmitting the specified content to the client computer only when the result of the authentication process indicates authenticity.

A server, comprising:

• means for receiving information on a previous download time of a specified content when a request for the specified content is received from a client computer;
• means for selecting a content to be transmitted to the client computer based on the information on the previous download time;
• and
• means for transmitting the selected content to the client computer.

A content distributing system, comprising:

• a client computer;
• a server;
• and
• a communication network for connecting said client computer to said server;
• said client computer including:
• means for displaying a list of usable contents from which a user may select a desired content;
• means for retrieving from the server property information including an address of a content server for supplying the selected content and an access time for the content server;
• means for accessing the content server at a prescribed time based on the property information to download the selected content;
• and
• means for informing the user that the selected content has been downloaded;
• and
• the server including:
• means for storing the property information associated with each of the contents;
• and
• means for transmitting to the client computer the property information associated with the selected content.

A method of distributing a content from a content server through a communication network to a client computer, comprising:

• displaying a list of usable contents at the client computer from which a user may select a desired content;
• transmitting property information from a prescribed computer to the client computer, the property information including an address of the content server for supplying the selected content and an access time for the content server;
• and
• accessing the content server at a prescribed time based on the property information and downloading the selected content to the client computer.