# US 7,080,322 B2 · Thematic response to a computer user's context, such as by a wearable personal computer > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,080,322 B2 - Document ID: US7080322B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 09/907,009 - Filed: 2001-07-16 - Published: 2001-11-22 - Granted: 2006-07-18 - Earliest claimed: 1998-12-18 - Assignees: Tangis Corporation - Inventors: Kenneth H. Abbott; Joshua M. Freedman; Dan Newell; James O. Robarts; Johnson Apacible - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7080322B2 ## CPC - G06F 1/163: {Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt} - G06F 3/011: {Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00)} - G06F 3/016: {Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user} - G06F 16/40: of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data (retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70) - G06F 21/00: Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity - G06N 20/00: Machine learning - G06F 2221/2149: Restricted operating environment - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06N: COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS ## Abstract Techniques are disclosed for creating, modifying, categorizing, modeling, distributing, purchasing, selling, and otherwise using themes and theme-related information. Themes can represent various types of contextual aspects or situations, and can model high-level concepts of activities or states not reflected in individual contextual attributes that each model a single aspect of the state of a user, their computing device, the surrounding physical environment, and/or the current cyber-environment. Such themes specify inter-relationships among a set of contextual attributes, and can have associated theme-related information such as theme-specific attributes, theme layouts used to present information and functionality, CSes that provide theme attribute values, and CCs that process theme information. Disclosed techniques can identify one or more themes that currently match the modeled context, select one of the matching themes as a current theme, and provide an appropriate response (e.g., by presenting appropriate information and/or providing appropriate functionality) based on the current theme. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for presenting information to a user of a wearable computing device based on at least one of multiple defined themes having defined relationships, a current context of the user being represented by a plurality of context attributes that each model an aspect of the context, each of the defined themes modeling a distinct contextual situation of the user that has multiple contextual aspects and each having associated information to be presented to the user when the modeled contextual situation of the theme matches a current contextual situation of the user, the modeling of a contextual situation by specifying multiple context attributes and by specifying one or more possible values associated with each of the specified context attributes, comprising: receiving an indication of the multiple defined themes; receiving an indication of a current contextual situation of the user including current values for each of the plurality of context attributes; determining at least two of the multiple defined themes that model contextual situations matching the current contextual situation in such a manner that for each of the determined themes, the included current values for each of the context attributes specified for that theme matches one of the specified possible values associated with that context attribute; determining one or more previously defined relationships that exist between at least some of the multiple determined themes; determining one of the multiple determined themes having a highest priority based on the one or more determined relationships of that one theme to at least some of the other determined themes; and presenting to the user the associated information for the one determined theme, so that the user receives information that is appropriate to a contextual situation in which the user is situated. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the determined relationships include at least some of the determined themes being hierarchically related to other of the determined themes, and wherein the one theme is determined to have the highest priority based on a position of the one theme within one of the hierarchical relationships. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 wherein the one hierarchical relationship represents specificity of themes such that themes at one level of the hierarchy are more specific than themes at a next level of the hierarchy, and wherein the position of the one theme within the one hierarchical relationship is such that the one theme is a most specific of the determined themes. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 wherein the one hierarchical relationship represents specificity of themes such that themes at one level of the hierarchy are more specific than themes at a next level of the hierarchy, and wherein the position of the one theme within the one hierarchical relationship is such that the one theme is a least specific of the determined themes. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 wherein themes at one level of a hierarchy based on the one hierarchical relationship have different priorities than themes at a next level of the hierarchy, and wherein the one determined theme is determined to have the highest priority based on the position of the one theme within the one hierarchical relationship being at a level having a higher priority than the levels of the other determined themes. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the determined relationships between at least some of the multiple determined themes include at least some of the determined themes having one or more associated theme categories, and wherein the one theme is determined based on a theme category associated with the one theme. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6 wherein each of the theme categories has an associated priority, and wherein the one determined theme is determined to have the highest priority based on having an associated theme category with a higher priority than the theme categories associated with the other determined themes. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the determined relationships include at least some of the determined themes being members of one or more groups of related themes, and wherein the one theme is determined based on being a member of one of the groups. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8 wherein each of the groups has an associated priority, and wherein the one determined theme is determined to have the highest priority based on being a member of a group with a higher priority than the groups for which the other determined themes are members. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the determined relationships between at least some of the multiple determined themes are based on relationships between the contextual situations modeled by the themes. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 including, before the determining of the multiple defined themes that model contextual situations matching the current contextual situation, defining the relationships that exists between the multiple determined themes. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 including, before the receiving of the indication of the multiple defined themes: defining a new theme based on indications received from the user; and defining at least one relationship of the new defined theme to other defined themes, and wherein the new defined theme is one of the indicated multiple defined themes. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 including, before the receiving of the indication of the multiple defined themes, receiving one of the multiple defined themes from another computing device and defining at least one relationship of the received defined theme to other defined themes. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 including monitoring the user of the wearable computing device or a surrounding environment of that user in order to produce the included current context attribute values of the current contextual situation. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the one defined theme has an associated theme layout that specifies information appropriate to the contextual situation modeled by that theme and that specifies a manner of presenting the specified information, and wherein the presenting of the associated information includes presenting the appropriate information in the specified manner. ### Claim 16 A computer-implemented method for distributing themes to one or more computing devices for use by those computing devices in providing responses that are appropriate to contextual situations, the method comprising: receiving an indication of a plurality of accessible themes, each of the accessible themes representing a contextual situation and associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the represented contextual situation, each of the contextual situations represented with multiple context attributes related to that contextual situation and with criteria for determining values of those context attributes that match that contextual situation; receiving an indication of at least one computing device, each of the indicated computing devices being a body-mounted device of a user; and for each of the indicated body-mounted computing devices, automatically identifying a group of multiple of the accessible themes as being appropriate for that body-mounted computing device based at least in part on relationship information that indicates that the multiple themes belong to the group; and automatically distributing each of the identified themes of the group to that body-mounted computing device for use by that computing device in providing information to the user of that computing device, so that the body-mounted computing device provides information to the user based on one of the distributed identified themes of the group when the contextual situation represented by that identified theme is automatically determined to best match a contextual situation of the user, the providing of the information performed in such a manner as to be based on the type of response associated with that identified theme. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the relationship information indicates a hierarchical relationship of the multiple themes in the group. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17 wherein the identifying of an accessible theme as being appropriate is based on a position of that theme within the hierarchical relationship of that theme to other themes. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17 wherein the hierarchical relationship of one of the identified accessible themes to other themes is based on degrees of specificity of the themes that are part of the hierarchical relationship, and wherein the one accessible theme is identified as appropriate based on the degree of specificity of the one accessible theme. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17 wherein the hierarchical relationship of one of the identified accessible themes to other themes is based on priorities of the themes that are part of the hierarchical relationship, and wherein the one accessible theme is identified as appropriate based on the priority of the one accessible theme. ### Claim 21 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17 wherein one of the identified accessible themes that is part of a first hierarchical relationship inherits information from other themes that are part of the first hierarchical relationship based on a position of the one accessible theme within the first hierarchical relationship, and wherein the distributing of the one accessible theme includes distributing the inherited information. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21 wherein the inherited information includes at least one of the context attributes for the contextual situation represented by the one accessible theme. ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21 wherein the inherited information includes at least some of the criteria for determining values of the context attribute for the contextual situation represented by the one accessible theme. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21 wherein the inherited information includes the type of response associated with the one accessible theme. ### Claim 25 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the relationship information indicates a category associated with each of the multiple themes in the group. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the identifying of an accessible theme as being appropriate is based on a category of that theme. ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the category associated with one of the identified accessible themes is one of a group comprising entertainment, convenience, productivity, and safety. ### Claim 28 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the category associated with one of the identified accessible themes is one of a group comprising categories related to people, categories related to objects, categories related to locations, and categories related to situations. ### Claim 29 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the category associated with one of the identified accessible themes is related to content of information provided by the themes that are part of the category. ### Claim 30 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the category associated with one of the identified accessible themes is related to types of intentions of users to which the themes that are part of the category provide their associated responses. ### Claim 31 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the category associated with one of the identified accessible themes is related to abilities of users to which the themes that are part of the category provide their associated responses. ### Claim 32 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the category associated with one of the identified accessible themes is related to computing devices that use the themes that are part of the category to provide the associated responses. ### Claim 33 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the category associated with one of the identified accessible themes is related to personal preferences of users to which the themes that are part of the category provide their associated responses. ### Claim 34 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25 wherein the categories have associated priorities, and wherein the identifying of an accessible theme as appropriate is based on the priority of the category of that theme. ### Claim 35 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the relationship information indicates that each of the multiple themes is a member of one or more selected predefined groups of related themes. ### Claim 36 (depends on 35) The method of claim 35 wherein the identifying of an accessible theme as being appropriate is based on that theme being a member of a group. ### Claim 37 (depends on 35) The method of claim 35 wherein one of the identified accessible themes is a member of a group of related themes that correspond to a group to users such that the responses associated with the group member themes are appropriate to be provided to those users. ### Claim 38 (depends on 37) The method of claim 37 wherein the group of users are employees of an employer. ### Claim 39 (depends on 37) The method of claim 37 wherein the group of users are customers of a retailer. ### Claim 40 (depends on 37) The method of claim 37 wherein the group of users are users in a common geographic location. ### Claim 41 (depends on 37) The method of claim 37 wherein the group of users are users engaged in a common activity. ### Claim 42 (depends on 35) The method of claim 35 wherein the groups have associated priorities, and wherein the identifying of an accessible theme as being appropriate is based on the priority of the group of which that theme is a member. ### Claim 43 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the relationship information indicates that the multiple accessible themes represent related contextual situations. ### Claim 44 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the relationship information indicates that at least one of the multiple accessible themes is composed of a combination of at least portions of other of the multiple themes. ### Claim 45 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the identifying of the group of multiple accessible themes includes identifying a first of the multiple accessible themes as appropriate and identifying the other multiple accessible themes based on a relationship of the first accessible theme to the other accessible themes. ### Claim 46 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 including, before the identifying of the accessible themes, associating relationship information with each of the identified accessible themes. ### Claim 47 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 including, before the receiving of the indication of the accessible themes, defining at least one of the identified accessible themes based on received indications and associating the relationship information with that theme. ### Claim 48 (depends on 16) The method, of claim 16 wherein the receiving of the indication of the accessible themes includes receiving those themes from another computing device, and including associating relationship information with each of the received themes. ### Claim 49 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the identifying of the accessible themes includes determining relationship information for each of the identified accessible themes and associating the determined relationship information with those themes. ### Claim 50 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the received indication of a computing device includes an indication of a contextual situation related to that computing device, and wherein the identifying of a theme as being appropriate for that computing device includes identifying themes that represent contextual situations that are related to the indicated contextual situation. ### Claim 51 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the received indication of a computing device includes an indication of a user of that computing device, and wherein the identifying of a theme as being appropriate for that computing device includes identifying themes having an associated type of response that is appropriate for the indicated user. ### Claim 52 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the distributing of one of the identified accessible themes includes distributing a theme layout associated with that theme that specifies information to be presented to a user of a computing device that is using the distributed theme layout. ### Claim 53 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein the distributing of one of the identified accessible themes includes distributing other themes to which that theme is related. ### Claim 54 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the context attributes for one of the identified accessible themes represents information about a user of a computing device using that theme. ### Claim 55 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the context attributes for one of the identified accessible themes represents information about a computing device using that theme. ### Claim 56 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the context attributes for one of the identified accessible themes represents information about a physical environment. ### Claim 57 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the context attributes for one of the identified accessible themes represents information about a cyber-environment of a user of a computing device. ### Claim 58 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 including receiving indications of multiple computing devices having users that are members of a group, and distributing at least one accessible theme that is identified as being appropriate for that group to each of the computing devices. ### Claim 59 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the indicated body-mounted computing devices is a wearable computer. ### Claim 60 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the indicated body-mounted computing devices is a cellular phone. ### Claim 61 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the indicated body-mounted computing devices is a mobile phone. ### Claim 62 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the indicated body-mounted computing devices is a handheld device mounted in a holster on a user of the handheld device. ### Claim 63 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the indicated body-mounted computing devices is a thin client device. ### Claim 64 A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing device to distribute themes to one or more other computing devices for use in providing responses that are appropriate to contextual situations, by performing a method comprising: receiving an indication of a plurality of accessible themes, each of the accessible themes representing a contextual situation and associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the represented contextual situation; and for each of at least one body-mounted computing device of a user, identifying multiple of the accessible themes as being appropriate for that computing device based at least in part on predefined relationships of one or more of the identified multiple themes to other themes; and distributing each of the identified themes to that computing device for use by that computing device in providing to the user the type of response associated with that identified theme when the contextual situation represented by that identified theme occurs. ### Claim 65 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein the computer-readable medium is a data transmission medium transmitting a generated data signal containing the contents. ### Claim 66 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computer system. ### Claim 67 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein each of the themes represents a contextual situation with multiple context attributes related to that contextual situation and with criteria for determining values of those context attributes that match that contextual situation, wherein each predefined relationship of one or more of the identified multiple themes to other themes includes the one or more identified multiple themes and the other themes belonging to a group of themes, and wherein each providing of a type of response associated with an identified theme includes providing information to a user of a computing device. ### Claim 68 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein, for each at least some of the predefined relationships of one or more of the identified multiple themes to other themes, the predefined relationship of those themes includes a hierarchical relationship of those themes. ### Claim 69 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein, for each at least some of the predefined relationships of one or more of the identified multiple themes to other themes, the predefined relationship of those themes includes a category associated with each of those themes. ### Claim 70 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein, for each at least some of the predefined relationships of one or more of the identified multiple themes to other themes, the predefined relationship of those themes includes that those themes are all members of one or more predefined groups of related themes. ### Claim 71 (depends on 70) The computer-readable medium of claim 70 wherein one of the predefined groups of related themes corresponds to a group of users such that the responses associated with those themes are appropriate to be provided to those users. ### Claim 72 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein the receiving of the indication of the accessible themes includes receiving those themes from another computing device, and including associating relationship information with each of the received themes. ### Claim 73 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein the method further comprises receiving an indication of a user of a body-mounted computing device, and wherein the identifying of a theme as being appropriate for that computing device includes identifying themes having an associated type of response that is appropriate for the indicated user. ### Claim 74 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein the distributing of one of the identified accessible themes includes distributing a theme layout associated with that theme that specifies information to be presented to a user of a computing device that is using the distributed theme layout. ### Claim 75 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein one or more of the at least one body-mounted computing devices are each a wearable computer. ### Claim 76 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein one or more of the at least one body-mounted computing devices are each a cellular phone. ### Claim 77 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein one or more of the at least one body-mounted computing devices are each a mobile phone. ### Claim 78 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein one or more of the at least one body-mounted computing devices are each a handheld device mounted in a holster on a user of the handheld device. ### Claim 79 (depends on 64) The computer-readable medium of claim 64 wherein one or more of the at least one body-mounted computing devices are each a thin client device. ### Claim 80 A computing device for distributing themes to one or more other computing devices for use in providing responses that are appropriate to contextual situations, comprising: a memory: an input component capable of receiving an indication of at least one accessible theme, each of the accessible themes representing a contextual situation and associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the represented contextual situation, each of the contextual situations represented with multiple context attributes related to that contextual situation and with criteria for determining values of those context attributes that match that contextual situation; and a theme distribution component that when executed in the memory is capable of, for an indicated body-supported computing device of a user, automatically identifying at least one of the accessible themes as being appropriate for that computing device based on relationship information associated with that theme that indicates a relationship to other themes and automatically distributing the identified themes to that computing device for use in providing to the user the type of response associated with an identified theme when the contextual situation represented by that identified theme occurs. ### Claim 81 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the theme distribution component includes software instructions for execution in the memory of the computing device. ### Claim 82 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the computing device is a wearable computer. ### Claim 83 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the relationship of the at least one themes to the other themes includes the at least one themes and the other themes belonging to a predefined group of themes, and wherein each providing of a type of response associated with an identified theme includes providing information to a user of a computing device. ### Claim 84 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the relationship of the at least one themes to the other themes includes a hierarchical relationship of the at least one themes and the other themes. ### Claim 85 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the relationship of the at least one themes to the other themes is based at least in part on a category associated with each of the at least one themes and the other themes. ### Claim 86 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the relationship of the at least one themes to the other themes includes that the at least one themes and the other themes are all members of one or more predefined groups of related themes. ### Claim 87 (depends on 86) The computing device of claim 86 wherein one of the predefined groups of related themes corresponds to a group of users such that the responses associated with those themes are appropriate to be provided to those users. ### Claim 88 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the receiving of the indication of the accessible themes includes receiving those themes from another computing device. ### Claim 89 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 further comprising a component capable of receiving an indication of a user of a body-mounted computing device, and wherein the identifying of the at least one themes as being appropriate for that computing device includes identifying themes having an associated type of response that is appropriate for the indicated user. ### Claim 90 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the distributing of one of the identified themes includes distributing a theme layout associated with that theme that specifies information to be presented to a user of a computing device that is using the distributed theme layout. ### Claim 91 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the indicated body-mounted computing device is a wearable computer. ### Claim 92 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the indicated body-mounted computing device is a cellular phone. ### Claim 93 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the indicated body-mounted computing device is a mobile phone. ### Claim 94 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the indicated body-mounted computing device is a handheld device mounted in a holster on a user of the handheld device. ### Claim 95 (depends on 80) The computing device of claim 80 wherein the indicated body-mounted computing device is a thin client device. ### Claim 96 A computer system for distributing themes to one or more computing devices for use by those computing devices in providing responses that are appropriate to contextual situations, comprising: a memory: means for receiving an indication of at least one accessible theme, each of the accessible themes representing a contextual situation and associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the represented contextual situation, each of the contextual situations represented with multiple context attributes related to that contextual situation and with criteria for determining values of those context attributes that match that contextual situation; and means for automatically identifying at least one of the accessible themes as being appropriate for a body-supported computing device of a user based on relationship information associated with that theme that indicates a relationship to other themes and for automatically distributing each of the identified themes to that computing device for use by that computing device in providing to the user the type of response associated with that identified theme when the contextual situation represented by that identified theme occurs. ### Claim 97 (depends on 96) The computer system of claim 96 wherein the relationship of the at least one themes to the other themes includes a hierarchical relationship of the at least one themes and the other themes. ### Claim 98 (depends on 96) The computer system of claim 96 wherein the relationship of the at least one themes to the other themes is based at least in part on a category associated with each of the at least one themes and the other themes. ### Claim 99 (depends on 96) The computer system of claim 96 wherein the relationship of the at least one themes to the other themes includes that the at least one themes and the other themes are all members of one or more predefined groups of related themes. ### Claim 100 A computer-implemented method for providing to a user of a portable computing device an appropriate response to a contextual situation based on multiple categories of themes, the method comprising: receiving an indication of multiple theme categories that each correspond to distinct types of contextual situations, each of the theme categories having multiple associated themes each associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the corresponding type of contextual situation for that theme category; receiving an indication of a current contextual situation of the user; selecting one of the categories of themes based on the current contextual situation being of a type to which the selected category of themes corresponds; identifying one of the multiple themes of the selected category whose associated type of response is appropriate to the current contextual situation; and providing the associated type of response for the identified theme to the user. ### Claim 101 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein each of the themes includes indications of multiple context attributes and criteria for determining matching values of those context attributes, wherein the current contextual situation includes current values for at least some of the context attributes, and wherein the identifying of the one theme is based on the included current values of the current contextual situation containing values for the indicated context attributes for the one theme that the indicated criteria for the one theme determines to be matching values. ### Claim 102 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the identifying of the one theme is based on a priority that is determined for the one theme. ### Claim 103 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the provided type of response includes presenting information to the user that is appropriate to the current contextual situation. ### Claim 104 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 including identifying multiple of the themes of the selected category whose associated type of response is appropriate to the current contextual situation, and providing the associated type of response for each of the identified themes. ### Claim 105 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 including selecting multiple categories of themes based on the current contextual situation being of a type to which each of the selected categories of themes corresponds, and providing for at least one of the themes for each of the selected categories the type of response associated with that theme. ### Claim 106 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the selected category of themes corresponds to a type of user, and wherein the selecting of the one category is further based at least in part on the user of the portable computing device. ### Claim 107 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the method is performed by the portable computing device, and wherein the receiving of the indication of the multiple theme categories includes receiving at least one theme for each of one or more of those theme categories from another computing device. ### Claim 108 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the method is performed by a computing system remote from the portable computing device, and wherein the providing of the associated type of response to the user includes sending information to the portable computing device. ### Claim 109 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the portable computing device is mounted in a holster on the user. ### Claim 110 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the portable computing device is a cellular phone. ### Claim 111 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the portable computing device is a mobile phone. ### Claim 112 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the portable computing device is a handheld device. ### Claim 113 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the portable computing device is a thin client device. ### Claim 114 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the portable computing device is a wearable computer. ### Claim 115 (depends on 100) The method of claim 100 wherein the portable computing device is a body-supported computing device. ### Claim 116 A computer-readable medium containing instructions that when executed cause a computing device to provide an appropriate response to a contextual situation based on multiple categories of themes, by performing a method comprising: receiving an indication of multiple theme categories that each correspond to types of contextual situations, each of the theme categories having multiple associated themes each associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the corresponding type of contextual situation for that theme category; receiving an indication of a current contextual situation; selecting one of the categories of themes based on the current contextual situation being of a type to which the selected category of themes corresponds; identifying one of the multiple themes of the selected category whose associated type of response is appropriate to the current contextual situation; and providing the associated type of response for the identified theme. ### Claim 117 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the providing of the associated type of response for the identified theme includes presenting information to a user of the computing device. ### Claim 118 (depends on 117) The computer-readable medium of claim 117 wherein the current contextual situation is a contextual situation of the user. ### Claim 119 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the providing of the associated type of response for the identified theme includes providing information to a user of another computing device. ### Claim 120 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the providing of the associated type of response for the identified theme includes providing information to another computing device. ### Claim 121 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein each of the themes includes indications of multiple context attributes and criteria for determining matching values of those context attributes, wherein the current contextual situation includes current values for at least some of the context attributes, and wherein the identifying of the one theme is based on the included current values of the current contextual situation containing values for the indicated context attributes for the one theme that are determined to be matching values based on the indicated criteria for the one theme. ### Claim 122 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the computing device is a wearable computer. ### Claim 123 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the computing device is a body-supported computing device. ### Claim 124 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the computing device is mounted in a holster on a user of the computing device. ### Claim 125 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the computing device is a cellular phone. ### Claim 126 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the computing device is a mobile phone. ### Claim 127 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the computing device is a handheld device. ### Claim 128 (depends on 116) The computer-readable medium of claim 116 wherein the computing device is a thin client device. ### Claim 129 A portable computing device for providing to a user an appropriate response to a contextual situation based on multiple categories of themes, comprising: a memory: an input component capable of receiving an indication of multiple theme categories that each correspond to types of contextual situations, each of the theme categories having multiple associated themes each associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the corresponding type of contextual situation for that theme category, and of receiving an indication of a current contextual situation of the user; and a theme response component that when executed in the memory is capable of selecting one of the categories of themes based on the current contextual situation being of a type to which the selected category of themes corresponds, of identifying one of the multiple themes of the selected category whose associated type of response is appropriate to the current contextual situation, and of providing the associated type of response for the identified theme to the user. ### Claim 130 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the providing of the associated type of response for the identified theme includes presenting information to the user. ### Claim 131 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the user is a user of the portable computing device. ### Claim 132 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the user is a user of another computing device, and wherein the providing of the associated type of response for the identified theme includes providing information to the another computing device. ### Claim 133 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein each of the themes includes indications of multiple context attributes and criteria for determining matching values of those context attributes, wherein the current contextual situation includes current values for at least some of the context attributes, and wherein the identifying of the one theme is based on the included current values of the current contextual situation containing values for the indicated context attributes for the one theme that are determined to be matching values based on the indicated criteria for the one theme. ### Claim 134 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the portable computing device is a wearable computer. ### Claim 135 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the portable computing device is a body-supported computing device. ### Claim 136 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the portable computing device is a cellular phone. ### Claim 137 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the portable computing device is a mobile phone. ### Claim 138 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the portable computing device is a handheld device. ### Claim 139 (depends on 129) The computing device of claim 129 wherein the portable computing device is a thin client device. ### Claim 140 A method in a computing device for providing to a user an appropriate response to a contextual situation based on multiple groups of themes, the method comprising: receiving an indication of multiple theme groups that each correspond to distinct types of users, each of the theme groups having multiple themes as members that are each associated with a type of response that is appropriate to the corresponding type of user for that theme group; receiving an indication of a current user; selecting one of the groups of themes based on the current user being of a type to which the selected group of themes corresponds; identifying one or more of the multiple themes of the selected group whose associated type of response is appropriate to the current user; and providing the associated types of response for the identified themes to the current user. ### Claim 141 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the received indication of the current user includes an indication of a current contextual situation of the user, and wherein the identifying of the one or more themes is based on the indicated current contextual situation. ### Claim 142 (depends on 141) The method of claim 141 wherein each of the themes includes indications of multiple context attributes and criteria for determining matching values of those context attributes, wherein the current contextual situation includes current values for at least some of the context attributes, and wherein the identifying of the one or more themes is based on the included current values of the current contextual situation containing values for the indicated context attributes for each of those themes that the indicated criteria for that theme determines to be matching values. ### Claim 143 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the identifying of the one or more themes is based on priorities that are determined for each of those themes. ### Claim 144 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the provided types of response each include presenting information to the user. ### Claim 145 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 including selecting multiple groups of themes based on the current user being of a type to which each of the selected groups of themes corresponds, and providing for at least one of the themes for each of the selected groups the type of response associated with that theme. ### Claim 146 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 including receiving indications of multiple users, and wherein the selecting of one of the multiple groups of themes is further based on all of the indicated multiple users belonging to a group of users to which the selected group of themes corresponds. ### Claim 147 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the current user is a user of the computing device. ### Claim 148 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the current user is a user of another computing device, and wherein the providing of the associated types of response for the identified themes includes providing information to the another computing device. ### Claim 149 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the computing device is a wearable computer. ### Claim 150 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the computing device is a cellular phone. ### Claim 151 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the computing device is a mobile phone. ### Claim 152 (depends on 140) The method of claim 140 wherein the computing device is a handheld device. ### Claim 153 A method in a computing device for providing to a user an appropriate response to a contextual situation based on multiple themes that are hierarchically related, the method comprising: receiving an indication of multiple themes that each correspond to types of contextual situations and that are each associated with a type of response that is appropriate to that corresponding type of contextual situation, each of the themes being hierarchically related to other of the multiple themes; receiving an indication of a current contextual situation of the user; identifying multiple of the indicated themes such that the current contextual situation is of a type to which those identified themes correspond; selecting one of the identified themes based on the hierarchical relationship of that theme to other of the multiple themes; and providing the associated type of response for the selected theme to the user. ### Claim 154 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein each of the themes includes indications of multiple context attributes and criteria for determining matching values of those context attributes, wherein the current contextual situation includes current values for at least some of the context attributes, and wherein the identifying of the multiple themes is based on the included current values of the current contextual situation containing values for the indicated context attributes for each of the identified themes that the indicated criteria for that theme determines to be matching values. ### Claim 155 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the selecting of the one theme is based on a priority that is determined for the one theme based on the hierarchical relationship. ### Claim 156 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the provided type of response includes presenting information to the user that is appropriate to the current contextual situation. ### Claim 157 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 including selecting multiple of the identified themes based on the hierarchical relationships of those themes to other of the multiple themes, and providing the associated type of response for each of the selected themes. ### Claim 158 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the hierarchical relationship of the selected one theme to the other themes is based on degrees of specificity of the themes that are part of the hierarchical relationship, and wherein the one theme is selected based on the degree of specificity of the one theme. ### Claim 159 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the user is a user of the computing device. ### Claim 160 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the user is a user of another computing device, and wherein the providing of the associated type of response for the selected theme includes providing information to the another computing device. ### Claim 161 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the computing device is a wearable computer. ### Claim 162 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the computing device is a cellular phone. ### Claim 163 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the computing device is a mobile phone. ### Claim 164 (depends on 153) The method of claim 153 wherein the computing device is a handheld device.