Importance

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Abstract

An authoring system and procedure for organizing photos (and other physical object types) are provided. Using the authoring system, an author organizes a set of physical objects into a particular story through an interface. Each physical object is associated with a specific identifier, such as a barcode, and the author uses an input device to scan identifiers of selected physical objects that are to be included within the particular story. The authoring process is performed off-line. Using the input device, the author adds her own commentary as part of building the story. For example, she can associate an audio clip with a particular physical object that makes up the story or with the entire story itself. In one embodiment, the input device includes a microphone for receiving voice input, as well as a barcode reader for scanning a particular barcode of a selected physical object. The author also selects one or more presentation styles that will be used to display the entire story. In one embodiment, each story and its related components are stored within the input device. After the author generates one or more stories via the input device, the author's input is transformed into one or more stories that are displayed on a computer (e.g., via a world wide web page) such that others may view the authored stories. Each story may include reproductions of the physical objects that were included in the particular story. For example, digitized copies of several related photos are displayed sequentially. The authors annotations (e.g., audio clips) are also displayed or played along with the physical object reproductions.

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First Claim