Prior art

The most relevant prior art identified for US patent 7509178 from the provided patent text is US 5,371,551.

Here is the analysis for US 5,371,551:

Full Citation:
US 5,371,551 A, Logan et al.

Publication/Filing Date:
Publication Date: 1994-12-06

Brief Description:
US 5,371,551 teaches a system and method that allows for concurrent downloading and playing of digital content. It utilizes a buffer to provide a time delay in viewing stored images with pause, reverse, and thumbnail functions. The patent also describes that read-out rates may differ from input rates to accommodate limited storage capacity. Within the context of US7509178, it is specifically noted that US 5,371,551 describes how "downloading and playing may proceed concurrently by placing the downloaded information into a memory buffer to which the downloaded program segment is written as it is concurrently read for reproduction."

Potential Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:
The claims for US patent 7509178 were not provided in the authoritative text. Therefore, a definitive claim-by-claim anticipation analysis cannot be performed.

However, based on the description of US7509178, any claims directed to a system or method that involves the concurrent downloading and real-time playback of audio program segments (or other digital content) by writing downloaded information into a memory buffer while concurrently reading from that buffer for reproduction would be potentially anticipated by US 5,371,551. The core concept of simultaneous download and playback from a buffer, as explicitly referenced in US7509178, is the point of potential anticipation.