Method and apparatus for monitoring internet traffic on an internet web page

A computer program product to enable a computer device to implement a method of monitoring Web page traffic, the computer device including a display device displaying a pointing icon, the pointing icon having a perceptible characteristic, the method comprising:

• a. determining whether the pointing icon points to a hypertext link including a first Internet address associated with a first Web page;
• b. automatically sending a first ping at a first time to the first Internet address in response to a determination that the pointing icon points to the hypertext link including the first Internet address associated with the first Web page;
• c. measuring a first response time to the first ping to determine a first level of Internet traffic on the first Web page;
• d. selecting from a set of ranges a first selected range including the first level of Internet traffic, the set of ranges including a first range associated with a first value of the perceptible characteristic, a second range associated with a second value of the perceptible characteristic, and a third range associated with a third value of the perceptible characteristic;
• e. displaying the pointing icon using the value of the perceptible characteristic associated with the first selected range for identifying an amount of Web page traffic associated with the hypertext link prior to the selection thereof via the pointing icon;
• f. automatically sending a second ping at a second time to the first Internet address if the pointing icon points to the hypertext link;
• g. measuring a second response time to the second ping to determine a second level of Internet traffic on the first Web page;
• h. selecting from the set of ranges a second selected range including the second level of Internet traffic;
• i. displaying the pointing icon using the value of the perceptible characteristic associated with the second selected range for identifying the amount of Web page traffic associated with the hypertext link prior to the selection thereof via the pointing icon.

A personal computer device allowing a user to connect to the Internet, comprising:

• a. a display device;
• b. a processor coupled to the display device and executing instructions;
• and
• c. a memory device coupled to the processor and storing instructions of a method comprising:
• 1. automatically sending a first ping at a first time to a first Internet address associated with a first Web page in response to a determination that a pointing icon points to a hypertext link including the first Internet address associated with the first Web page;
• 2. measuring a first response time to the first ping to determine a first level of Internet traffic on the first Web page;
• 3. assigning a first value to a perceptible characteristic of a first graphical object, the first value representing the first value;
• 4. displaying on the display device the first graphical object for identifying an amount of Web page traffic associated with the hypertext link prior to the selection thereof via the pointing icon;
• 5. automatically sending a second ping at a second time to the first Internet address;
• 6. measuring a second response time to the second ping to determine a second level of Internet traffic on the first Web page;
• 7. assigning a second value to the perceptible characteristic of the first graphical object, the second value representing the second level;
• 8. redisplaying on the display device the first graphical object for identifying the amount of Web page traffic associated with the hypertext link prior to the selection thereof via the pointing icon.

A computer program product to enable a computer device to implement a method of monitoring Web page traffic, the computer device including a display device displaying a pointing icon, the method comprising:

• a. determining whether the pointing icon points to a hypertext link including a Internet address associated with a Web page;
• b. automatically sending a ping to the Internet address in response to a determination that the pointing icon points to the hypertext link including the Internet address associated with the Web page;
• c. measuring a response time to the ping to determine a level of Internet traffic on the Web page;
• and
• d. displaying the level of Internet traffic on the Web page prior to the selection thereof via the pointing icon.