Apple patent app details revolutionary Universal Appliance
Thursday, February 14, 2008 - 10:06 AM EST
"On February 14, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apples patent application titled Universal Appliance. Apples patent generally relates to a universal appliance that combines the benefits of a fixed-function CE device with the generality of a PC. The universal appliance includes a host environment which could support one or more fixed functions and virtual machines capable of running Microsofts Windows OS amongst others such as Linux," Neo reports for MacNN.
"In some implementations, a universal appliance service provider other than Apple, such as your local cable provider could deliver this device. Apples revolutionary appliance could be seen as a Web 2.0 device - being that it will easily allow Skype and Flickr to play a role in this device and could allow a user to super customize the interface with Widgets of their choosing. Apples work with Google is evident in that theres an interface component geared to dish up advertising which could be seen as a marketing implementation that a cable provider could use to help subsidize the device. The universal appliance will integrate a phone handset, could play games, run applications and offer other vital consumer oriented applications such as live television or provide options to obtain content from iTunes or other third party developers," Neo reports.
Apples Summary
A universal appliance combines the benefits of a fixed-function CE device with the generality of a PC. The universal appliance includes a host environment which can support one or more fixed functions and virtual machines that can provide general computing capabilities (e.g., a Windows OS). The operation of the virtual machine is isolated from the host environment supporting the fixed functions, so if a virtual machine becomes unstable or is otherwise compromised (e.g., infected with a virus), the underlying fixed functions are not affected.
The user can select fixed functions and virtual machines for operation on the universal appliance. In some implementations, software environments, including the fixed functions and virtual machines, can be delivered by a universal appliance service provider over a network or other communication medium. The software environments for fixed functions and virtual machines can also be delivered by a removable or portable medium (e.g., a USB flash drive, compact disk, media player, mobile phone). After the software is delivered it can be automatically installed, thus avoiding the need for manual installation by the user. A universal interface can be provided with the universal appliance that adjusts automatically to display one or more user interface elements for the selected fixed functions and/or virtual machines in an aesthetic manner. Twenty-four hour server functions can be provided with the universal appliance to allow for automatic data backup, remote access to personal data and an Internet telephone that can accept calls 24 hours a day.
