Data prioritization and distribution limitation system and method

Abstract

A method of communicating between a handheld computer and other local area computing devices having wireless communication capability includes providing a handheld computer and identifying a plurality of other local area computing devices having wireless communication capability. The method further includes creating an identifier for one or more of the plurality of other local area computing devices and listing each identifier on a display. The list is sorted in order of at least one of distance and direction from the handheld computer.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of communicating between a handheld computer and other local area computing devices having wireless communication capability, comprising the steps of: 
 providing a handheld computer;    identifying a plurality of other local area computing devices having wireless communication capability;    creating an identifier for one or more of the plurality of other local area computing devices; and    listing each identifier on a display, wherein the list is sorted in order of at least one of distance and direction from the handheld computer.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hand held computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local area computing devices utilizing a Bluetooth standard.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hand held computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local area computing devices utilizing an IEEE 802.11 standard.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hand held computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local wireless devices utilizing RF signals.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the handheld computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local wireless devices utilizing infrared signals.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information necessary to sort the list by at least one of distance and direction is provided by electronic pinging between the handheld computer and the plurality of other local area computing devices.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of choosing one or more of the listed identifiers and sharing information with the local area computing device corresponding to the chosen identifier.  
     
     
         8 . A method of sharing information between a handheld computer and a group of local area computing devices having wireless communication capability, comprising the steps of: 
 specifying a distance;    identifying one or more local area computing devices having wireless communication capability within the specified distance from the handheld computer; and    transmitting a wireless message to the one or more local area computing devices having wireless communication capability within the specified distance.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the display is a touch screen display.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the wireless message is transmitted utilizing a Bluetooth standard.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the wireless message is transmitted utilizing an IEEE 802.11 standard.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the wireless message is transmitted utilizing RF signals.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the wireless message is transmitted utilizing infrared signals.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the information necessary to transmit the wireless message only within the specified distance is provided by electronic pinging between the handheld computer and the one or more local area computing devices.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising the step of receiving a wireless message from the one or more local area computing devices having wireless communication capability within the specified distance.  
     
     
         16 . A local area wireless communication device, comprising: 
 a housing;    a processor supported by the housing;    a memory coupled to the processor;    a transmitter supported by the housing; and    a display;    wherein the processor instructs the display to list a plurality of other computing devices located within range of the transmitter, sorted in order of at least one of the distance and the direction from the wireless communication device.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the display is a touch screen display.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the local area wireless communication device is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local area computing devices utilizing a Bluetooth standard.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the local area wireless communication device is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local area computing devices utilizing an IEEE 802.11 standard.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the local area wireless communication device is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local wireless devices utilizing RF signals.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the local area wireless communication device is configured to communicate with the plurality of other local wireless devices utilizing infrared signals.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the information necessary to sort the list by at least one of distance and direction is provided by electronic pinging between the local area wireless communication device and the plurality of other local area computing devices.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the wireless communication device is a handheld computer.  
     
     
         24 . A user interface for a handheld computer, comprising: a display providing a list of indicators corresponding to a plurality of local area computing devices with which communication is possible; wherein the list is sorted by at least one of distance and direction from the handheld computer.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the display is a touch screen.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the handheld computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of local area computing devices utilizing a Bluetooth standard.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the handheld computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of local area computing devices utilizing an IEEE 802.11 standard.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the handheld computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of local wireless devices utilizing RF signals.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the handheld computer is configured to communicate with the plurality of local wireless devices utilizing infrared signals.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the information necessary to sort the list by distance is provided by electronic pinging between the handheld computer and the plurality of local area computing devices.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the information necessary to sort the list by at least one of distance and direction is provided by electronic pinging between the handheld computer and the plurality of other local area computing devices.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising the step of choosing one or more of the listed identifiers and sharing information with the local area computing device corresponding to the chosen identifier.