Method and system for accessing web pages based on playback of recordings

Abstract

Entertainment content complementary to a musical recording is delivered to a user's computer by a computer network link. The user employs a browser to access the computer network. A plug-in for the browser is able to control an audio CD or other device for playing the musical recording. A script stored on the remote computer accessed over the network is downloaded. The script synchronizes the delivery of the complementary entertainment content with the play of the musical recording.

1 . A system for transferring information associated with playback of a recording, the system comprising:
 a first device to reproduce a recording, to obtain information from the recording used to play back contents of the recording perceived by the user and to collect sets of use data, each set associated with playing of the recording during at least one period of time;   a second device to store the sets of use data; and   a network coupled to said first and second devices to transfer the sets of use data from said first device to said second device.   
     
     
         2 . A system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the information used to identify the recording was not stored for the purpose of identifying the recording. 
     
     
         3 . A method of obtaining information associated with playback of recordings at a first device connectable to a second device via a network, the network comprising:
 collecting, at the first device, use data not previously associated with a recording fixed in a medium possessed by a user and identified using information provided with the recording to play back the recording, not provided to identify the recording; and   transferring the use data from the first device to the second device via the network   
     
     
         4 . A method as recited in  claim 3 , wherein said collecting occurs during playback of the recording. 
     
     
         5 . A method as recited in  claim 4 , wherein the use data are related to at least one of how the recording is played back and operations performed by a user during playback of the recording. 
     
     
         6 . A method as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the use data are related to at least one of play time of the recording and at least one portion of the recording played during playback. 
     
     
         7 . A method as recited in  claim 6 , further comprising:
 obtaining user demographic data; and   sending the user demographic data to the second device.   
     
     
         8 . A method as recited in  claim 7 , further comprising supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network. 
     
     
         9 . A method as recited in  claim 8 , further comprising selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data. 
     
     
         10 . A method as recited in  claim 3 , further comprising registering a user of the first device to obtain a user identifier, and
 wherein said transferring further includes transferring the user identifier with the use data to the second device.   
     
     
         11 . A method as recited in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 obtaining user demographic data; and   sending the user demographic data to the second device.   
     
     
         12 . A method as recited in  claim 11 , further comprising supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network. 
     
     
         13 . A method as recited in  claim 12 , further comprising selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data. 
     
     
         14 . A method as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the use data include frequency data indicating number of times the recording is played at the first device. 
     
     
         15 . A method as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the recording contains segments, and
 wherein the frequency data indicate the number of times the segments are played at the first device.   
     
     
         16 . A method as recited in  claim 3 , wherein the recording is a digital file containing digitized audio signals. 
     
     
         17 . A method as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the digital file contains audio data compressed using MPEG encoding. 
     
     
         18 . A method as recited in  claim 3 , wherein the use data include total time of use of the recording. 
     
     
         19 . A method as recited in  claim 18 , wherein the use data include time of use of the first device. 
     
     
         20 . A method as recited in  claim 3 , wherein said collecting collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and
 wherein said transferring includes providing identification of the user.   
     
     
         21 . A method as recited in  claim 20 , further comprising storing the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user. 
     
     
         22 . A method of obtaining information associated with playback of recordings containing segments at a first device connectable to a second device via a network, the method comprising:
 identifying at least one segment of a recording, fixed in a medium possessed by a user, based on information associated with the recording and stored in the medium for a purpose other than identifying the recording;   collecting, at the first device, use data not previously associated with the recording, the use data including segment data identifying the at least one segment played at the first device; and   transferring the use data from the first device to the second device via the network.   
     
     
         23 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the use data include a number of times the at least one segment has been played at the first device. 
     
     
         24 . A method as recited in  claim 23 , wherein the use data include how much of the at least one segment has been played each time. 
     
     
         25 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the use data include how much of the at least one segment has been played. 
     
     
         26 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the use data include how often the at least one segment has been played. 
     
     
         27 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the medium is a compact disc with audio content, the segments are tracks on the compact disc and the use data indicate playback of the tracks on the compact disc. 
     
     
         28 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , further comprising identifying the recording based on length of the segments to obtain a recording identifier, and
 wherein said transferring includes sending the recording identifier to the second device.   
     
     
         29 . A method as recited in  claim 28 , wherein the medium is a disc and the length of the segments is obtained from table of contents information on the disc. 
     
     
         30 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , further comprising:
 automatically generating a recording identifier from the segment data; and   sending the recording identifier with the use data from the first device to the second device.   
     
     
         31 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein said collecting is performed regardless of whether the first and second devices are connected,
 wherein said process further includes establishing a connection between the first and second devices, and   wherein said transferring transfers all of the use data collected while the first and second devices were not connected, from the first device to the second device via the network after the first and second devices are connected.   
     
     
         32 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the recording is fixed in a medium possessed by a user of the first device. 
     
     
         33 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein said collecting collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and
 wherein said transferring includes providing identification of the user.   
     
     
         34 . A method as recited in  claim 33 , further comprising storing the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user. 
     
     
         35 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the medium is a compact disc, each segment is a portion of a track on the compact disc determined by track number and playing time within the track, and the segment data indicate playback of the segments on the compact disc. 
     
     
         36 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the information used to identify the recording is stored in the medium prior to possession of the medium by the user. 
     
     
         37 . A system for obtaining information based on playback of at least one recording at a first device connected to a second device via a network, the system comprising:
 identification means for identifying a recording fixed in a medium possessed by a user based on information associated with the recording and stored in the medium for a purpose other than identifying the recording;   collection means for collecting use data related to at least one of a portion of the recording and play time of the recording;   connection means for establishing a connection between the first and second devices;   transmission means for sending the use data from the first device to the second device via the network; and   storage means for storing the use data at the second device.   
     
     
         38 . A system as recited in  claim 37 , wherein the use data relate to a plurality of recordings, and
 wherein the use data include frequency of use of the recordings.   
     
     
         39 . A system as recited in  claim 37 , wherein said collecting means collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and
 wherein said sending means further sends data identifying the user.   
     
     
         40 . A system as recited in  claim 39 , wherein said storing means stores the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user. 
     
     
         41 . A computer-readable storage storing instructions to control a processor to perform a process comprising:
 collecting, at a first device, use data not previously associated with a recording fixed in a medium possessed by a user and identified using information provided with the recording to play back contents of the recording perceived by the user; and   transferring the use data from the first device to a second device connected to the first device via a network.   
     
     
         42 . A computer readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein said process further comprises:
 obtaining user demographic data; and   sending the user demographic data to the second device.   
     
     
         43 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 42 , wherein said process further comprises obtaining as the use data, information regarding playing of at least one portion of the recording. 
     
     
         44 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 43 , wherein said process further comprises supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network. 
     
     
         45 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 44 , wherein said process further comprises selecting the complementary content based on the use data and the user demographic data. 
     
     
         46 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein the first device is a computer,
 wherein said collecting detects at least one computer program loaded in the computer, and   wherein the use data transferred to the second device include identification of the at least one computer program loaded into the computer.   
     
     
         47 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 46 , wherein said collecting detects frequency of use of the at least one computer program loaded in the computer, and
 wherein the use data transferred to the second device include the frequency of use of the at least one computer program loaded in the computer.   
     
     
         48 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein said process further comprises registering a user of the first device to obtain a user identifier, and
 wherein said transferring further includes transferring the user identifier with the use data to the second device.   
     
     
         49 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 48 , wherein said process further comprises:
 obtaining user demographic data; and   sending the user demographic data to the second device.   
     
     
         50 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 49 , wherein said process further comprises supplying complementary content for the recording to the first device via the network based on the use data and the user demographic data. 
     
     
         51 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein the recording contains segments,
 wherein said process further comprises identifying at least one segment of the recording, and   wherein the use data include segment data identifying the at least one segment played at the first device.   
     
     
         52 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 51 , wherein the segment data include a number of times the at least one segment has been played at the first device. 
     
     
         53 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 52 , wherein the segment data include how much of the at least one segment has been played each time. 
     
     
         54 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 51 , wherein the segment data include how much of the at least one segment has been played. 
     
     
         55 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 51 , wherein the segment data include how often the at least one segment has been played. 
     
     
         56 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein said process further comprises:
 automatically generating a recording identifier from information included in the recording; and   sending the recording identifier with the use data from the first device to the second device.   
     
     
         57 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 56 , wherein the recording includes at least two segments, and wherein said generating generates the recording identifier based on length of the segments. 
     
     
         58 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein said collecting is performed regardless of whether the first and second devices are connected,
 wherein said process further includes establishing a connection between the first and second devices, and   wherein said transferring transfers all of the use data collected while the first and second devices were not connected, from the first device to the second device via the network after the first and second devices are connected.   
     
     
         59 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein said collecting collects the use data for a plurality of recordings fixed in at least one medium possessed by the user, and
 wherein said transferring includes providing identification of the user.   
     
     
         60 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 59 , further comprising storing the use data at the second device to provide an indication of the recordings played by the user. 
     
     
         61 . A computer-readable storage as recited in  claim 41 , wherein the information used to identify the recording was not stored for the purpose of identifying the recording.