Tangible icon representing network objects

Abstract

A tangible icon is permanently encoded with a URL of a first network object. Links (“shortcuts”) to other network objects are assigned as the contents of the first network object. A person in possession of the tangible icon can gain access to the other network objects without having to remember or enter their URLs, but need only present the physical icon to a reader. The system and method uses the URL encoded on the tangible icon to access the network object and to resolve the links contained therein to provide the contents of the linked objects. The number and size of the other network objects the user can access are virtually unlimited. The user gains access to the current version of an object.

1 . A system for providing access to objects on a computer network comprising: 
 a provider server on the computer network;    a phicon comprising a machine-readable tag having a resource identifier encoded thereon, wherein said resource identifier identifies a memory location at the provider server;    a phicon-reading appliance for reading the resource identifier encoded on the machine-readable tag on the phicon;    a data processor connected to the phicon-reading appliance and connected to the computer network, said data processor for receiving the read resource identifier from the phicon-reading appliance and for accessing a network object in the provider server at the memory location identified by the read resource identifier, wherein said network object is capable of containing a plurality of pointers providing access to a plurality of data objects having arbitrary sizes;    a means operable on said data processor for placing at least one pointer in the network object, said at least one pointer identifying at least one data object;    a means for presenting the at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer to a user; and    a means by which a user may interact with the presented at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer.    
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the means operable on said data processor comprises at least one of software, hardware, and firmware.  
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the means for presenting comprises: 
 a means operable on said data processor for creating a graphical user interface (GUI) in which at least one manipulatable display icon represents at least one of the network object, the at least one pointer, and the at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer, wherein manipulating said at least one manipulatable display icon effects the subject the at least one manipulatable display icon represents; and    a display for displaying the GUI.    
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein moving, on the GUI, an icon representing at least one data object into, on top of, or otherwise inside an icon representing the network object causes at least one pointer identifying the at least one data object to be created within the network object.  
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the means by which the user may interact with the presented at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer comprises: 
 a means operable on said data processor for modifying the at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer.    
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the means operable on said data processor for modifying can also change a size of the at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer.  
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the means by which the user may interact with the presented at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer comprises: 
 a means operable on said data processor for deleting at least one of the network object, the at least one pointer, and the at least one data object identified by the at least one pointer.    
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a means operable on said data processor for adding at least one other pointer to the network object.    
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one data object comprises at least one of software, a document file, a spread sheet file, a video file, an image file, an audio file, and a hyperlink to another data object.  
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 means operable on said data processor for presenting the network object.    
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 means operable on said data processor for presenting the at least one pointer.    
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the phicon is first initialized when presented to the phicon-reading appliance by (i) contacting the provider server using the resource identifier read from the phicon by the phicon-reading appliance, and (ii) creating the network object at the memory location identified by the resource identifier.  
   
   
       14 . A phicon comprising: 
 a machine-readable tag having a resource identifier encoded thereon, said resource identifier identifying a memory location at a provider server, wherein: 
 said resource identifier encoded in said machine-readable tag may be read by a phicon-reading appliance; and  
 when said resource identifier is read by said phicon-reading appliance, a network object at the memory location identified by the resource identifier is accessed, said network object being capable of containing a plurality of pointers providing access to a plurality of data objects having arbitrary sizes, and at least one manipulable display icon representing at least one of said network object, a pointer in said network object, and/or a data object identified by a pointer in said network object is presented on a Graphical User Interface (GUI);  
   whereby said phicon can provide access to an arbitrary number of data objects of arbitrary size in arbitrary memory locations.    
   
   
       15 . The phicon of  claim 14 , when said resource identifier is read for the first time by said phicon-reading appliance, said network object is created at the memory location identified by the resource identifier in the provider server.  
   
   
       16 . The phicon of  claim 14 , when said resource identifier is read for the first time by said phicon-reading appliance, said network object already exists at the memory location identified by the resource identifier in the provider server.  
   
   
       17 . The phicon of  claim 14 , wherein the phicon is first initialized when presented to a phicon-reading appliance by (i) contacting the provider server using the resource identifier read from the phicon by the phicon-reading appliance, and (ii) creating the network object at the memory location identified by the resource identifier.  
   
   
       18 . A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, said computer program being operative for creating a Graphical User Interface (GUI) on a display, comprising: 
 processor-executable instructions for creating at least one manipulatable display icon in the GUI, wherein the at least one manipulatable display icon represents at least one network object, at least one pointer, and/or at least one data object, and wherein manipulating said at least one manipulatable display icon in the GUI effects the subject represented by the at least one manipulatable display icon;    wherein each of the at least one network object is at a unique memory location on a provider server, said memory location being identified by a machine-readable tag on a phicon, and each of the at least one network object is capable of containing a plurality of pointers providing access to a plurality of data objects having arbitrary sizes; and    wherein, when a phicon-reading appliance reads a machine-readable tag on a phicon, the GUI created by said computer program is displayed on a display and at least one manipulatable display icon is displayed in the GUI, said at least one manipulatable display icon representing at least one of a network object at the memory location identified by the machine-readable tag on the phicon, at least one pointer in said network object, and/or at least one data object identified by a pointer in said network object;    whereby, when a user moves an icon representing at least one data object into, on top of, or otherwise inside an icon representing a network object in the GUI, a pointer identifying said at least one data object is created within said network object.    
   
   
       19 . A server for providing access to data objects using a phicon comprising: 
 a plurality of memory locations, each memory location being identified by a resource identifier encoded in a machine-readable tag on the phicon, each memory location capable of having a network object, said network object being capable of containing a plurality of pointers providing access to a plurality of data objects having arbitrary sizes; and    means for communicating via a connection to the computer network, wherein a phicon-reading appliance for reading the resource identifier encoded on the machine-readable tag on the phicon can be connected to a data processor which can be connected to the computer network, and wherein said data processor can receive the read resource identifier from the phicon-reading appliance and access a network object in the server at the memory location identified by the read resource identifier;    wherein a user using the phicon can access an arbitrary number of data objects of arbitrary size in arbitrary memory locations on the computer network by means of said phicon-reading appliance, said data processor, and said server.    
   
   
       20 . The server of  claim 19 , wherein the server initializes the phicon by using the resource identifier read from the phicon by the phicon-reading appliance, and creating the network object at the memory location identified by the resource identifier.