Managing lifecycles of television gadgets and applications

Abstract

The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes identifying metadata related to television programming. The method further includes sending search requests that include the identified metadata to a search system for selecting at least one portable program module. The method further includes in response to a first one of the search requests, receiving first search results from the search system that identify the selected portable program module and outputting a representation of the selected portable program module to a display device for presentation concurrently with the television programming. The method further includes in response to a second one of the search requests, receiving second search results from the search system that no longer identify the selected portable program module and ceasing the output of the representation of the selected portable program module.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for managing a lifecycle of portable program modules, the method comprising:
 causing, using a computing device that includes a hardware processor, a representation of a first application to be presented, wherein the first application is related to a first media content item that is currently being presented;   determining that the first media content item being presented has changed to a second media content item; and   causing the representation of the first application to cease being presented and replacing the representation of the first application with a second application that is related to the second media content item being presented.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first application is related to a first object identified in a first media content item and wherein the second application is related to a second object identified in the second media content item. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining that a first plurality of applications related to the first media content item that is being presented, which includes the first application, is available for download on the computing device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining that a second plurality of applications related to the second media content that is being presented, which includes the second application, is available for download on the computing device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining that the first application does not relate to the second media content item being presented. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining first metadata related to the first media content item being presented;   sending a first search request that includes at least a portion of the first metadata to a search system; and   in response to the first search request, receiving first search results from the search system that identifies the first application, wherein the first application corresponds to the first metadata.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining second metadata related to the second media content item being presented;   sending a second search request that includes at least a portion of the second metadata to the search system; and   in response to the second search request, receiving second search results from the search system indicating that the first application is not related to the second media content item and that the second application is related to the second media content item.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 extracting captioning information from the first media content item being presented;   transmitting a query to an application source that includes a plurality of applications, wherein the query includes at least a portion of the extracted captioning information; and   receiving the representation of the first application based on the query.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first media content item and the second media content item are presented on a presentation device that is associated with the computing device. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining first metadata related to the first media content item being presented; and   searching through locally stored applications on the computing device for the first application that has been installed on the computing device.   
     
     
         11 . A system for managing a lifecycle of portable program modules, the system comprising:
 a computing device that includes a hardware processor, wherein the hardware processor:
 causes a representation of a first application to be presented, wherein the first application is related to a first media content item that is currently being presented; 
 determines that the first media content item being presented has changed to a second media content item; and 
 causes the representation of the first application to cease being presented and replacing the representation of the first application with a second application that is related to the second media content item being presented. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first application is related to a first object identified in a first media content item and wherein the second application is related to a second object identified in the second media content item. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the hardware processor further determines that a first plurality of applications related to the first media content item that is being presented, which includes the first application, is available for download on the computing device. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the hardware processor further determines that a second plurality of applications related to the second media content that is being presented, which includes the second application, is available for download on the computing device. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the hardware processor further determines that the first application does not relate to the second media content item being presented. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the hardware processor further:
 determines first metadata related to the first media content item being presented;   sends a first search request that includes at least a portion of the first metadata to a search system; and   in response to the first search request, receives first search results from the search system that identifies the first application, wherein the first application corresponds to the first metadata.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the hardware processor further:
 determines second metadata related to the second media content item being presented;   sends a second search request that includes at least a portion of the second metadata to the search system; and   in response to the second search request, receives second search results from the search system indicating that the first application is not related to the second media content item and that the second application is related to the second media content item.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the hardware processor further:
 extracts captioning information from the first media content item being presented;   transmits a query to an application source that includes a plurality of applications, wherein the query includes at least a portion of the extracted captioning information; and   receives the representation of the first application based on the query.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first media content item and the second media content item are presented on a presentation device that is associated with the computing device. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the hardware processor further:
 determines first metadata related to the first media content item being presented; and   searches through locally stored applications on the computing device for the first application that has been installed on the computing device.   
     
     
         21 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for managing a lifecycle of portable program modules, the method comprising:
 causing, using a computing device that includes a hardware processor, a representation of a first application to be presented, wherein the first application is related to a first media content item that is currently being presented;   determining that the first media content item being presented has changed to a second media content item; and   causing the representation of the first application to cease being presented and replacing the representation of the first application with a second application that is related to the second media content item being presented.