Abstract: Monitoring of any conventional telephone conference in which a requisite set of conference attendees respectively at a corresponding set of telephone stations are connected into a telephone conference. In association with the telephone conference, a communication network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations for displaying received network documents available from sources on the network in which there is an interactive display station associated with each of said set of telephone stations with a displayed document including an indicator representing each attendee having means for indicating whether the attendee's telephone station is connected into the conference, and means for indicating whether the attendee is speaking.

Abstract: Enabling users of systems maintaining periodically sampled error logs to selectively make real-time responses to certain error conditions. An error management system which comprises an implementation for monitoring error conditions and responsive to the monitoring for recording the error conditions in an error log together with an implementation for periodically sampling said error log for said error conditions. The user is enabled to sense one or more of the error conditions prior to the periodic sampling of the condition in the error log to thereby bypass the error log sampling to provide for a possible real-time response to a sensed error condition. The implementations for monitoring, for recording, for sampling and for the real-time sensing are preferably in the server computer.

Abstract: the transmission to and the storage in a customer server computer connected to a network of a plurality of client computers, a Hypertext Markup Language document that includes an embedded program applet for selectively accessing each of the application programs being distributed, and an embedded installation applet for accessing a program for installing the application programs being distributed on said client computers. When a user at one oF the client computers wishes to have one of the application programs installed, the user requests the document, preferably a Web page (i.e. an HTML implemented document), to be displayed, the user selects one of the application programs for installation by clicking on the displayed Web page hyperlink. In response to such a selection, the installation applet is sent to and stored on the client computer that selected said application program.

Abstract: Periodically clearing databases of stored conflicting replicated documents in a regular automatic way which comprises a combination of defining a prioritized sequence of predetermined attribute values to be applied to distinguish between the stored documents in each of said replication conflicts and periodically applying said sequence of predetermined attribute values to said plurality of replication conflicts to resolve each conflict by eliminating all but one of the documents in said conflict for insufficient value of a predetermined attribute. This prioritized sequence of attribute values may be applied at regular periodic intervals.

Abstract: An event notification channel is provided in a computer controlled object oriented programming system having at least one event supplier object and a plurality of event consumer objects which may be run continuously without interruption and without loss of event notification to any consumer object irrespective of whether any of the consumer objects are off line for filter modification or any other maintenance purpose. The channel transmits events from supplier objects to a plurality of filter objects, each respectively associated with one of the plurality of consumer objects for passing only selected events to the associated consumer object. The system includes a plurality of proxy consumer objects, each associated with one of said consumer objects and between said filter object and said supplier object, whereby said proxy consumer object may receive supplier transmitted events on behalf of its associated consumer object.

Abstract: Enhancing access for physically impaired users to selectable items in a hierarchical arrangement through the preliminary testing of a user response time in moving a user controlled on-screen pointer from a start point over an equal distance to each of a plurality of said selectable items of different sizes in combination with implements responsive to this preliminary testing means for sizing a set of items in said hierarchical arrangement to provide said user with enhanced access to said items in said set.

Abstract: A method for limiting access of each of a plurality of operators having assigned activities in an overall workflow distribution, to computer resources needed to respectively complete each activity through a computer controlled interactive display interface. A workflow distribution process with a plurality of users or participants at a plurality of computer controlled display stations. At the workflow management source, an implementation for respectively assigning activities to each of a plurality of operators and for designating for each of the activities, at least one computer resource necessary to respectively complete each of the activities. A set of elements, each representing a designated computer resource accessible to a user to carry out an assigned activity is displayed. An implementation for determining the completion of each of the assigned activities, and for removing from the display the elements representing the designated computer resources when an activity is completed.

Abstract: In an interactive display interface, an implementation for setting up around each of the selectable items, e.g. icons, a perimeter zone or halo at a predetermined distance from the perimeter of the item or icon. Thus, when an icon with such a halo is approached by an on-screen pointer, e.g. cursor, there are means for moving an adjacent icon which is within this halo to a screen position beyond this predetermined distance, i.e halo. The moved adjacent icons are subsequently returned to their original positions after a set period of time or after the pointer or cursor has moved beyond the approached icon. One aspect of this invention is directed to an icon state wherein said adjacent icons and selectable icons overlap each other and, thus, it is difficult for the user to distinguish which icon he wishes to select.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program are provided for a virtual three-dimensional workspace wherein certain three-dimensional objects represent or serve as proxies for a variety of user interactive application programs. Such objects may be selected or triggered by the user to bring forth planar two-dimensional interactive user interfaces having images resembling those of their respective representative 3D objects so that a user may intuitively note the resemblance and select the appropriate object to result in the planar two-dimensional interactive interface appearing in front of the three-dimensional workspace. This two-dimensional planar interface remains active and unaffected by changes to its representative three-dimensional object during the course of navigation or otherwise.

Abstract: There is provided a user friendly display interface system for the interactive handling and sorting out of windows in complex window hierarchical graphical user interfaces. The system provides for the storage of a hierarchy of windows which are displayable to overlap each other in a selected order whereby a plurality of said windows are partially visible. Apparatus is provided for displaying on a display screen a plurality of these partially overlapping windows. A different audio identifier is provided and stored for each of these windows. Further apparatus is provided for moving around and positioning a pointing device, such as a cursor on the display screen, in combination with means responsive to the pointing device for announcing the audio identifier for each window which said pointing device enters. The pointing device may be a user controlled cursor, a stylus or even a finger in touch sensitive display systems. The audio identifier may conveniently be the name in the title bar of the window.

Abstract: A data processor controlled user interactive display system for displaying hypertext documents, each including a sequence of display screen pages received at a receiving display station from a communications network such as the World Wide Web. Automatic sizing of the cache for received pages at the receiving display station is provided. This cache includes portions of the station's disk storage means and random access memory means for storing data representative of received screen pages. The size of the portions of disk storage and random access storage means needed for the cache are determined by prior monitoring of the quantities of disk storage and of random access memory used in said cache during prior transmission of screen pages to said receiving display station. The size of portions of disk storage and random access memory allocated to the present cache are based upon said prior monitoring. These sizing functions are most effectively included in a network interactive browser.

Abstract: A computer controlled object oriented programming system for distributive program development over networks such as the internet with implement for interfacing a plurality of programming objects with each other to provide combination objects combining programming functions of said objects, each object including predetermined interface data defining a required common interface with the other programming objects as well as a framework of events and attributes and methods for manipulating the attributes. These objects may be combined with each other via their common interfaces to form combination objects, and such combination objects may in turn be further combined with other objects and combination objects to form objects of increasing complexity which function as complete programs. General purpose operations and functions are added to existent object oriented programs in an object attribute independent process. Also, this addition may be done dynamically to such existent programs.

Abstract: A method for limiting access to the proprietary resources of an outsourcer or distributor to the participants/operators having assigned outsourced activities requiring such resources. Access is limited only to the assigned activity execution and prevented from misuse of the resources for unauthorized purposes. Reliable tracking of the lent out resources is provided and access is terminated simply when the associated activity has been completed.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program are provided for an interactive data processor controlled display interface wherein the user may dynamically select a plurality of objects (tools) and combine these tools into a combination tool which simultaneously performs the combined interactive functions of the individual tools. The invention is particularly effective when the combined functions being performed are graphic in nature and the results of the combination are shown on the display.

Abstract: In a searching or browsing session for Web pages on the World Wide Web (Web), a system for precluding repetitive accessing of documents linked to hyperlinks in a plurality of hypertext documents is presented. The system is directed to a Web communication network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive receiving display stations for displaying received hypertext documents of at least one display page containing text, images and a plurality of embedded hyperlinks, each hyperlink being user selectable to access and display a respective linked hypertext document. The system includes user interactive means for discounting hyperlinks in received Web documents and means for keeping track of each discounted hyperlink in each received or accessed document. The system further includes means for precluding the accessing of any document linked to a previously discounted hyperlink.

Abstract: Embedded links or hotspots in source Web pages are upgraded to reflect the new Universal Resource Locations (URLs) of moved target Web Pages. In a World Wide Web communication network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations for displaying Web pages transmitted to receiving display stations from Uniform Resource Locations (URLs) remote from said stations, said Web pages being linkable with each other through embedded links in source Web page, a system is provided for updating said embedded links in source Web pages when the URL of a target Web page is moved.

Abstract: A simplified graphical user interface display unit which enables the user to view and change cache size relative to received cached documents and also to enable the user to track a sequence of received documents or a sequence of other computer controlled events. A data processor controlled receiving display station for receiving Web documents has apparatus for storing a sequence of received Web documents, tracking the sequence cf stored Web documents in combination with a displayed graphical unit including: a sequence of nondescriptive markers corresponding to the sequence of stored Web documents and a user interactive implementation for stepping sequentially through the sequence of markers.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program are provided for a virtual three-dimensional workspace wherein a two-dimensional workplane has been created in which two-dimensional images of said three-dimensional objects are carried so that when the viewer or user navigates within the three-dimensional workspace to points in the workspace where certain three-dimensional objects are no longer visible or available in the workspace, the viewer or user may still interactively perform functions relative to the no longer visible three-dimensional objects through interaction with the respective two-dimensional images of the three-dimensional objects which are still available in the workplane which is unaffected by the navigation.

Abstract: There is provided a system for dynamically resynchronizing a storage system made up of a plurality of mirrored logical volumes respectively divided into a plurality of mirrored logical data partitions in the event of a system failure. Immediately after the correction of the problem causing the failure, meals start to resynchronize the plurality of logical volumes but without waiting for the resynchronization to be completed; means access data from a data partition in one of said logical volumes. Then there are means for determining whether the portion of the logical volume containing the accessed partition has already been resynchronized, together with means responsive to these determining means for replacing the corresponding data in the other mirrored partitions in the logical volume with the accessed data, in the event that the portion of the logical volume has not been resynchronized.

Abstract: Progressions between current and succeeding World Wide Web (Web) pages are provided which are user friendly and may be easily variable by both designers and users of Web pages in computer managed communication networks such as the Web. There are provided control tags, in a transmitted page selected to succeed a currently displayed page, for controlling display functions in said currently displayed page in combination with means responsive to these control tags for implementing said display functions. In the implementation, control tags in the current page are selectively activatable in response to control tags in the succeeding page. In accordance with a preferred aspect of the invention, the current page further includes data for selectively determining whether the current page is controllable by said succeeding page. This data my be a list of URLs (Uniform Resource Linkages) of succeeding pages only by which the current page may be controlled.