Patents by Inventor Alan Joshua Shapiro

Alan Joshua Shapiro has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9753934
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for modifying a first storage medium having a plurality of files, the method including providing a first modification tool; operatively coupling the first storage medium to the modification tool, wherein the operatively coupling includes bypassing a first operating system used to access the plurality of files; and dematerializing, using the first modification tool, at least a first file to form one or more dematerialized files. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a modification system for modifying a first storage medium having a plurality of files, the system including a first modification tool that includes an attachment module configured to operatively couple the modification tool to the first storage medium such that a first operating system used to access the plurality of files is bypassed; and a dematerialization module configured to dematerialize at least a first file to form one or more dematerialized files.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Publication number: 20160188583
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for modifying a first storage medium having a plurality of files, the method including providing a first modification tool; operatively coupling the first storage medium to the modification tool, wherein the operatively coupling includes bypassing a first operating system used to access the plurality of files; and dematerializing, using the first modification tool, at least a first file to form one or more dematerialized files. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a modification system for modifying a first storage medium having a plurality of files, the system including a first modification tool that includes an attachment module configured to operatively couple the modification tool to the first storage medium such that a first operating system used to access the plurality of files is bypassed; and a dematerialization module configured to dematerialize at least a first file to form one or more dematerialized files.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2016
    Publication date: June 30, 2016
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 9286308
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for modifying a first storage medium having a plurality of files, the method including providing a first modification tool; operatively coupling the first storage medium to the modification tool, wherein the operatively coupling includes bypassing a first operating system used to access the plurality of files; and dematerializing, using the first modification tool, at least a first file to form one or more dematerialized files. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a modification system for modifying a first storage medium having a plurality of files, the system including a first modification tool that includes an attachment module configured to operatively couple the modification tool to the first storage medium such that a first operating system used to access the plurality of files is bypassed; and a dematerialization module configured to dematerialize at least a first file to form one or more dematerialized files.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Inventors: Alan Joshua Shapiro, Robert Gezelter
  • Patent number: 9176971
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for obtaining a storage medium with a deeply customizable set of installed content. Soft assets (e.g., programs, songs, videos, etc.) that form the content are selected from among a much larger set of preinstalled soft assets previously stored on storage media, such as disk drives. In some embodiments, based on a user's selections, the non-selected assets are permanently erased from a storage medium, while the remaining assets are available as installed (wherein substantially no further processing is required to install them). In some embodiments, a new device uses the storage medium to provide its user with a fully functional device without the need to separately install the soft assets from a plurality of sources (e.g., from program-distribution CDROMS and the like). Some embodiments include the storage medium having the soft assets installed, and including a program that elicits selections from a user and erases non-selected assets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 9171005
    Abstract: A process that ensures the virtual destruction of data files a user wishes to erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive, flash drive, or removable disk. This approach is appropriate for managing custom distributions from a large file sets as it is roughly linear in compute complexity to the number of files erased but is capped when many files are batch erased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8935658
    Abstract: A computer system and method for software delivery that include articles of manufacture having two or more installed, functional software applications organized in a protoset, the protoset configured to enable creation of one or more subsets (also called reduced metasets) from the two or more installed, functional software applications, each of the one or more subsets configured to be operable with a predefined computer system independent of the protoset; and a protoset module configured to operate on the protoset to enable creation of the one or more subsets of the two or more installed, functional software applications, the module responsive to one or more requests for the creation of the one or more reduced metasets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Publication number: 20140324798
    Abstract: A process that ensures the virtual destruction of data files a user wishes to erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive, flash drive, or removable disk. This approach is appropriate for managing custom distributions from a large file sets as it is roughly linear in compute complexity to the number of files erased but is capped when many files are batch erased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Publication number: 20140237444
    Abstract: A computer system and method for software delivery that include articles of manufacture having two or more installed, functional software applications organized in a protoset, the protoset configured to enable creation of one or more subsets (also called reduced metasets) from the two or more installed, functional software applications, each of the one or more subsets configured to be operable with a predefined computer system independent of the protoset; and a protoset module configured to operate on the protoset to enable creation of the one or more subsets of the two or more installed, functional software applications, the module responsive to one or more requests for the creation of the one or more reduced metasets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8782089
    Abstract: A process that ensures the virtual destruction of data files a user wishes to erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive, flash drive, or removable disk. This approach is appropriate for managing custom distributions from a large file sets as it is roughly linear in compute complexity to the number of files erased but is capped when many files are batch erased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8661406
    Abstract: A computer system and method for software delivery that include articles of manufacture having two or more installed, functional software applications organized in a protoset, the protoset configured to enable creation of one or more subsets (also called reduced metasets) from the two or more installed, functional software applications, each of the one or more subsets configured to be operable with a predefined computer system independent of the protoset; and a protoset module configured to operate on the protoset to enable creation of the one or more subsets of the two or more installed, functional software applications, the module responsive to one or more requests for the creation of the one or more reduced metasets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Publication number: 20130339408
    Abstract: A process that ensures the virtual destruction of data files a user wishes to erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive, flash drive, or removable disk. This approach is appropriate for managing custom distributions from a large file sets as it is roughly linear in compute complexity to the number of files erased but is capped when many files are batch erased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2013
    Publication date: December 19, 2013
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8521781
    Abstract: A process that ensures the virtual destruction of data files a user wishes to erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive, flash drive, or removable disk. This approach is appropriate for managing custom distributions from a large file sets as it is roughly linear in compute complexity to the number of files erased but is capped when many files are batch erased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Publication number: 20130067460
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for obtaining a storage medium with a deeply customizable set of installed content. Soft assets (e.g., programs, songs, videos, etc.) that form the content are selected from among a much larger set of preinstalled soft assets previously stored on storage media, such as disk drives. In some embodiments, based on a user's selections, the non-selected assets are permanently erased from a storage medium, while the remaining assets are available as installed (wherein substantially no further processing is required to install them). In some embodiments, a new device uses the storage medium to provide its user with a fully functional device without the need to separately install the soft assets from a plurality of sources (e.g., from program-distribution CDROMS and the like). Some embodiments include the storage medium having the soft assets installed, and including a program that elicits selections from a user and erases non-selected assets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Publication date: March 14, 2013
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8321859
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for obtaining a storage medium with a deeply customizable set of installed content. Soft assets (e.g., programs, songs, videos, etc.) that form the content are selected from among a much larger set of preinstalled soft assets previously stored on storage media, such as disk drives. In some embodiments, based on a user's selections, the non-selected assets are permanently erased from a storage medium, while the remaining assets are available as installed (wherein substantially no further processing is required to install them). In some embodiments, a new device uses the storage medium to provide its user with a fully functional device without the need to separately install the soft assets from a plurality of sources (e.g., from program-distribution CDROMS and the like). Some embodiments include the storage medium having the soft assets installed, and including a program that elicits selections from a user and erases non-selected assets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Publication number: 20120297378
    Abstract: A computer system and method for software delivery that include articles of manufacture having two or more installed, functional software applications organized in a protoset, the protoset configured to enable creation of one or more subsets (also called reduced metasets) from the two or more installed, functional software applications, each of the one or more subsets configured to be operable with a predefined computer system independent of the protoset; and a protoset module configured to operate on the protoset to enable creation of the one or more subsets of the two or more installed, functional software applications, the module responsive to one or more requests for the creation of the one or more reduced metasets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2012
    Publication date: November 22, 2012
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8286159
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for obtaining a storage medium with a deeply customizable set of installed content. Soft assets (e.g., programs, songs, videos, etc.) that form the content are selected from among a much larger set of preinstalled soft assets previously stored on storage media, such as disk drives. In some embodiments, based on a user's selections, the non-selected assets are permanently erased from a storage medium, while the remaining assets are available as installed (wherein substantially no further processing is required to install them). In some embodiments, a new device uses the storage medium to provide its user with a fully functional device without the need to separately install the soft assets from a plurality of sources (e.g., from program-distribution CDROMS and the like). Some embodiments include the storage medium having the soft assets installed, and including a program that elicits selections from a user and erases non-selected assets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8266615
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for obtaining a storage medium with a deeply customizable set of installed content. Soft assets (e.g., programs, songs, videos, etc.) that form the content are selected from among a much larger set of preinstalled soft assets previously stored on storage media, such as disk drives. In some embodiments, based on a user's selections, the non-selected assets are permanently erased from a storage medium, while the remaining assets are available as installed (wherein substantially no further processing is required to install them). In some embodiments, a new device uses the storage medium to provide its user with a fully functional device without the need to separately install the soft assets from a plurality of sources (e.g., from program-distribution CDROMS and the like). Some embodiments include the storage medium having the soft assets installed, and including a program that elicits selections from a user and erases non-selected assets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8245185
    Abstract: A computer system and method for software delivery that include articles of manufacture having two or more installed, functional software applications organized in a protoset, the protoset configured to enable creation of one or more subsets (also called reduced metasets) from the two or more installed, functional software applications, each of the one or more subsets configured to be operable with a predefined computer system independent of the protoset; and a protoset module configured to operate on the protoset to enable creation of the one or more subsets of the two or more installed, functional software applications, the module responsive to one or more requests for the creation of the one or more reduced metasets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Publication number: 20120096456
    Abstract: A process that ensures the virtual destruction of data files a user wishes to erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive, flash drive, or removable disk. This approach is appropriate for managing custom distributions from a large file sets as it is roughly linear in compute complexity to the number of files erased but is capped when many files are batch erased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2011
    Publication date: April 19, 2012
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro
  • Patent number: 8099437
    Abstract: A process that ensures the virtual destruction of data files a user wishes to erase from a storage medium, such as a hard drive, flash drive, or removable disk. This approach is appropriate for managing custom distributions from a large file sets as it is roughly linear in compute complexity to the number of files erased but is capped when many files are batch erased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Inventor: Alan Joshua Shapiro