Personalized network-based services

Abstract

A network-based service where different sets of customized information are delivered to a user at different times to different destinations (i.e., different user devices) selected by the user. More particularly, a user accesses a network-based server, generally owned by a network service provider and defines a user profile which specifies the information or other content to be made available. The user may request that the information be delivered later automatically or be made available on demand. The user has flexibility in requesting a particular format to receive the information on demand. In case of the later delivery, the user requests specified times in a form of a schedule and specified destinations (i.e., user devices) for the delivery of the information. The user also has flexibility in selecting the format for the delivery of information. Sometimes, the format is dictated by the selection of a user device, e.g., the selection of a radio implies audio format, and the selection of a television implies video format. However, some user devices are capable of receiving information in more than one format, e.g., a computer may have the capability to receive information in audio, video, or text format. Depending on the implementation, one or more customized sets of information are delivered to one or more user devices as a function of the specified format or the specified time or both.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.