Virtual file system remote search

Abstract

Methods and devices for connecting a mobile device with different data storage devices located either locally or remotely are provided. The device may apply one or more rules to create a hierarchical virtualization of the several data storage devices. The virtualization may then be provided to the user as a single, hierarchical file system. Further, a monitoring system may monitor the file system to determine if any new applications have been installed or if applications are currently being executed. If a connection is made to a secure network, the system may provide the information derived from the monitoring to the secure network. The secure network can then analyze the information to determine if any of the applications should be uninstalled from the device or should be stopped while the device is connected to the network.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 gathering search terms and search tags from a search entered by a user into a file system;   parsing the search terms and search tags;   executing a search, on a storage device associated with the device, with the search terms;   determining if results of the search are satisfactory;   if results of the search are satisfactory, providing the search results; and   if results of the search are not satisfactory, conducting a second search on a different storage.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the different storage is a local storage, a network storage, or a distant storage. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 if results of the search are not satisfactory, comparing the parsed search tags with the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage; and   determining if there is a match between the search tag and a type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising if there is a match between the search tag and the type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage, conducting the second search on the match storage. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining if results of the second search are satisfactory;   if results of the second search are satisfactory, providing the search results; and   if results of the second search are not satisfactory, requesting more information from the user.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 if there is not a match between the search tag and the type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage, applying one or more priority rules to determine which of the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage to search; and   based on the priority rules, conducting a third search on one of the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 determining if results of the third search are satisfactory;   if results of the third search are satisfactory, providing the search results; and   if results of the third search are not satisfactory, requesting more information from the user.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the priority rules include indications of one or more of a connection speed, a connection cost, or a data bandwidth limitation. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the tag indicates a target for the search. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the search results are provided in a user interface on the device. 
     
     
         11 . A device, comprising:
 a first screen, the first screen including a first gesture capture region;   a second screen, wherein the second screen faces an opposite direction from the first screen when the device is closed, and wherein an image capture lens is associated with the second screen;   a memory;   a processor in communication with the memory, the first screen, and the second screen, the processor operable to:
 gather search terms and search tags from a search entered by a user into a file system; 
 parse the search terms and search tags; 
 execute a search, on a storage device associated with the device, with the search terms; 
 determine if results of the search are satisfactory; 
 if results of the search are satisfactory, provide the search results; and 
 if results of the search are not satisfactory, conduct a second search on a different storage. 
   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the different storage is a local storage, a network storage, or a distant storage. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 12 , the processor further operable to:
 if results of the search are not satisfactory, compare the parsed search tags with the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage;   determining if there is a match between the search tag and a type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage;   if there is a match between the search tag and the type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage, conduct the second search on the match storage;   if there is not a match between the search tag and the type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage, apply one or more priority rules to determine which of the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage to search; and   based on the priority rules, conduct a third search on one of the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage.   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
 determine if results of the second search are satisfactory;   if results of the second search are satisfactory, provide the search results; and   if results of the second search are not satisfactory, request more information from the user.   
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
 determine if results of the third search are satisfactory;   if results of the third search are satisfactory, provide the search results; and   if results of the third search are not satisfactory, request more information from the user.   
     
     
         16 . A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, the computer executable instructions causing a processor of a device to execute a method for providing a remote device filter, the computer-executable instructions comprising:
 instructions to gather search terms and search tags from a search entered by a user into a file system;   instructions to parse the search terms and search tags;   instructions to execute a search, on a storage device associated with the device, with the search terms;   instructions to determine if results of the search are satisfactory;   if results of the search are satisfactory, instructions to provide the search results; and   if results of the search are not satisfactory, instructions to conduct a second search on a different storage.   
     
     
         17 . The computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the different storage is a local storage, a network storage, or a distant storage. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 17 , the computer-executable instructions further comprising:
 instructions to if results of the search are not satisfactory, compare the parsed search tags with the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage;   instructions to determining if there is a match between the search tag and a type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage;   if there is a match between the search tag and the type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage, instructions to conduct the second search on the match storage;   if there is not a match between the search tag and the type of device for the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage, instructions to apply one or more priority rules to determine which of the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage to search; and   based on the priority rules, instructions to conduct a third search on one of the local storage, the network storage, or the distant storage.   
     
     
         19 . The computer readable medium of  claim 18 , the computer-executable instructions further comprising:
 instructions to determine if results of the second search are satisfactory;   if results of the second search are satisfactory, instructions to provide the search results;   if results of the second search are not satisfactory, instructions to request more information from the user;   instructions to determine if results of the third search are satisfactory;   if results of the third search are satisfactory, instructions to provide the search results; and   if results of the third search are not satisfactory, instructions to request more information from the user.   
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the priority rules include indications of one or more of a connection speed, a connection cost, or a data bandwidth limitation.