Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides for a personal electronic repository, or electronic “shoebox,” that receives electronic information from disparate sources and automatically organizes that information in such a way as to enable the owner to readily view the collection of electronic information, find a desired piece of information, act upon a piece of information, etc., all in a secure and controlled way. As opposed to email, which is episodic in nature, the personal electronic repository is thematic in nature. Furthermore, as opposed to personal information management, which is factual in nature, the personal electronic repository is well-suited for information that is transactional in nature. A further characteristic of the shoebox is its long-term nature. Email can be archived, but few individuals expend a concerted effort towards that goal. Personal information management records are fleeting—when a user changes a calendar item or ticks off a to-do item, it's gone.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides a semi- or fully-automated process that allows an electronic collection of software titles previously made ready for installation to be Try/Buy enabled. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the process involves, for each of a potentially large number of software programs, identifying how the software program has been made ready for installation, and consulting a table or database to determine how, based on the installation particulars, to unpack and repack the setup file set, or program archives The program archive is unpacked, executable modules are identified, and one or more of thee modules are chosen for Try/Buy wrapping. Repacking may be performed by modifying the program archive or by entirely rebuilding the program archive. The setup ruleset remains unchanged. A secondary executable setup file is therefore optionally provided to perform an additional setup steps that may be required for proper Try/Buy operation.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides a mechanism allowing a software developer to present advertisements through a software program. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an advertisement module is attached to the software program. The function of the advertisement module is to retrieve advertisements from an advertisement server and to display them to the user. The advertisements are varied to retain the interest of the user. Furthermore, information about the user may be sent to the advertisement server, allowing advertisements to be targeted to the user. Such information may include the category of the software program and the user's usage of the software program, for example. Associated with the ad server are a rules engine and a usage database.