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.
