Method and system for providing complete internet anywhere with partial server processing

#Certain embodiments of the invention relate to Internet browsing. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to providing complete Internet anywhere with partial server processing.

#With the continuous growth of on-line businesses, social networks, and other on-line services and applications, a user may want a larger number of places or locations from which to access the Internet in a manner that is flexible and/or suits the user's lifestyle. Most users currently connect to the Internet using a web browser running on a personal computer. While only a portion of homes have a computer, most homes have a television, and in many instances, multiple televisions. Therefore, rather than using a computer to access the Internet, a user may find it more convenient to use the flat screen televisions and/or monitors in homes for the same purpose. To do so, a set-top-box (STB) connected to, for example, a flat screen television may be provided with web browsing software and protocols, and Internet connectivity, which may enable the user to easily access the Internet or check their electronic mail (email), for example, from a convenient and comfortable location such as their living room.

#There may be instances, however, in which the STB may not be configured to support and/or capable of processing certain content in a web page. Moreover, there may be instances in which the latency associated with rendering or displaying certain content in a web page may be long because of the processing capabilities of the STB. This may affect the overall experience of the user.

#FIG. 1A is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary home or office configured to access Internet services via a set-top-box (STB), in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

#FIG. 1B is a diagram that illustrates another exemplary home or office configured to access Internet services via an STB, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

#FIG. 1C is a diagram that illustrates yet another exemplary home or office configured to access Internet services via an STB using a switched digital video (SDV) scheme, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

#Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for providing complete Internet anywhere with partial server processing. In various embodiments of the invention, a method and/or system are described in which a request may be sent from a set-top-box (STB) to a server communicatively coupled with the STB to process a portion of a web page that is unsupported by a web browser running on the STB. The STB may receive a data stream from the server, wherein the server may generate the data stream by processing the unsupported portion of the web page. The web page may be composited in the web browser based on the received data stream. The various embodiments of the invention described herein may be utilized to implement complete Internet access anywhere in a home, or a place of work, or a public space, for example, where a user may want to obtain such access to the Internet.

#FIG. 1A is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary home or office configured to access Internet services via a set-top-box (STB), in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a location 100 within which may be disposed a television 110, an STB 120, a local server 130, and a broadband connection 140. Also shown in FIG. 1A is a server computing cloud 150 coupled to the location 100 via a broadband connection 145.

#The location 100 may be a home, a business, a school, a library, and/or other like setting in which a user may want to access the Internet and/or check their electronic mail (email). The position or placement of the television set 110, the STB 120, and/or the local server 130 within the location 100 may be based on user convenience and/or lifestyle. For example, when location 100 is a home (for example, a house, an apartment), the television 110 and the STB 120 may be located in a bedroom, a family room, or an entertainment room. In another example, when location 100 is a business or a public building, the television 110 and the STB 120 may be located in a conference room. The local server 130 may be located nearby (for example, in the same room) the television set 110 and the STB 120 or may be located remotely (for example, in another room or nearby building) from the television set 110 and the STB 120. In some embodiments of the invention, the broadband connection 140 may provide a wired connection that communicatively couples two or more devices within the location 100 utilizing a coaxial cable, for example. In other embodiments of the invention, in addition to wired connectivity, a portion of the broadband connection 140 may provide a wireless connection between two or more devices within the location 100.