Abstract: Utilization of stored of personalized information and communication preferences in a profile in a STB in a structured format or via cookies allows at least a combination of feature rich telephony applications, with the personalized data stored in STBs facilitating feature rich communications sessions. Providing advanced multimedia communications applications using personalized data resident in STBs could allow an entity to provide, for example, many previously unavailable services, and therefore provide considerable new business potential. The personal information stored in the STB can convey many exemplary benefits, such as communication preferences, alternate contact modalities, payment preferences, priority preferences, trusted contacts, personal information, as well as multimedia messaging, etc. The integration of the personal information with the intelligent personal agent also enhances the user experience.

Abstract: Utilization of stored of personalized information and communication preferences in a profile in a STB in a structured format or via cookies allows at least a combination of feature rich telephony applications, with the personalized data stored in STBs facilitating feature rich communications sessions. Providing advanced multimedia communications applications using personalized data resident in STBs could allow an entity to provide, for example, many previously unavailable services, and therefore provide considerable new business potential. The personal information stored in the STB can convey many exemplary benefits, such as communication preferences, alternate contact modalities, payment preferences, priority preferences, trusted contacts, personal information, as well as multimedia messaging, etc. The integration of the personal information with the intelligent personal agent also enhances the user experience.

Abstract: Utilization of stored of personalized information and communication preferences in a profile in a STB in a structured format or via cookies allows at least a combination of feature rich telephony applications, with the personalized data stored in STBs facilitating feature rich communications sessions. Providing advanced multimedia communications applications using personalized data resident in STBs could allow an entity to provide, for example, many previously unavailable services, and therefore provide considerable new business potential. The personal information stored in the STB can convey many exemplary benefits, such as communication preferences, alternate contact modalities, payment preferences, priority preferences, trusted contacts, personal information, as well as multimedia messaging, etc. The integration of the personal information with the intelligent personal agent also enhances the user experience.

Abstract: The proposed invention provides a user-friendly way for people to turn a traditional in-progress voice-only telephone call into a multi-media call. This may be accomplished using various technologies that can be provided over the Internet or some other multi-media computing/networking platform. The multi-media aspect of the invention may be used to facilitate the sharing of additional information between the call participants as well as dynamically update security aspects (e.g., encryption keys) associated with call.

Abstract: A premises entryway communications device and system enable a visitor to the premises and an occupant of the premises to communicate via icons and text.

Abstract: A context sensitive filter method and apparatus is provided. In particular, information regarding the context in which a request for content is made is gathered, and is used to select filter parameters for application to content returned in response to the request. Context information can include information from a calendar application, location information, user preferences or other inputs.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed that enable an organization's enterprise-wide network to accommodate roaming wireless terminals that are affiliated with the local enterprise networks within the enterprise-wide network. In particular, the illustrative-embodiment system is capable of handling a wireless terminal such as a cellular telephone that is able to use different subscriber identity module cards, or “SIM” cards, in different geographic regions or service-provider networks. A mobility client that is part of the wireless terminal registers when it detects that a new SIM card has been installed at the wireless terminal, whereby the client provides the subscriber-specific information that the wireless terminal reads from the SIM card. The mobility client identifies itself to the server by a user identifier, such as the station extension with which the terminal is affiliated back at the home local enterprise network.

Abstract: An apparatus and methods are disclosed for recording calls in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based call center. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, one of a plurality of data-processing systems in the call center is selected for each call to decompress and decrypt the call's media stream(s). The selection criteria include the type of compression algorithm, the type of encryption scheme, the processing capabilities of the data-processing systems, the current processing load of the data-processing systems, and the available communication bandwidth into and out of the data-processing systems. The selected data-processing system is subsequently incorporated into the call path between the calling SIP endpoint and the call center SIP endpoint, if necessary, and for the duration of the call decompresses/decrypts the media stream(s), generates a copy of the decompressed/decrypted stream(s), and transmits the copied stream(s) to a recording device in the call center.

Abstract: The “Accept-language” header field of a first Session Initiative Protocol (SIP) message identifies the preferred language of a first party to a communication, a database correlates languages with writing scripts, and the correlation is used to populate the “P-Asserted-Identity”, “From”, or “Contact” header field of a second SIP message with the name of a second party to the communication expressed in the writing script of the first party's preferred language.

Abstract: A method of facilitating the construction, maintenance, and usage of social-trust networks is disclosed. The illustrative embodiment monitors the call processing details of communication events between users of a telecommunications system as the basis for estimating whether or not a relationship exists between the users that can be exploited in a social-trust network. This is possible because the call processing details of communication events between users is an excellent indicator of the nature of the relationship between users. For example, if Alice calls Brian three times a day on average, including nights, weekends, and holidays, and Brian answers Alice's calls quickly and returns her unanswered calls quickly, then it is reasonable to infer that Alice and Brian have a relationship that is substantial enough to be used in a social-trust network.

Abstract: Information is identified as sensitive and a lapsed time job (Chron Job) is created that will allow the deletion of sensitive information after a period of time. The interval could be set to be longer than vacation or other planned use, and yet short enough to limit the period where risk to the organization or individual is incurred. The Chron Job could be integrated with the user's calendar, such that the Chron Job considers holiday time as a means of delaying execution of the Chron Job which would allow a shorter interval to be selected. In addition to deletion of the information identified as sensitive, additional steps could also be taken, such as the purging of the recycle bin, modification of the FAT, and optionally the deletion of related information. Once information is identified as sensitive, the information and derivative works are tracked and managed.

Abstract: A method of enabling a user of an instant messaging client to forward an audio recording to another person via his or her instant messaging client is disclosed. The recipient's instant messaging client then inquires whether the recipient would like to hear the audio recording immediately. If the recipient answers yes, then the audio recording is played for the recipient through the instant messaging client. In contrast, if the user answers no, or is “unavailable,” or does not answer at all, the instant messaging client forwards the audio recording a voice mailbox associated with the recipient for later retrieval in well-known fashion via a telephone. This invention is particularly advantageous when the recipient is engaged in a telephone call when the audio recording arrives because it enables the recipient to hear the message immediately and without having to access the voice mail system while engaged in call.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed that enable a first telecommunications endpoint to ensure that a second endpoint is receiving the first endpoint's packet stream transmissions with a satisfactory waveform quality. When the second endpoint receives the packet stream, it decodes the media waveform from the stream, encodes the waveform back into a second packet stream, and transmits some or all of the packets in the second stream back to the first endpoint. The first endpoint then decodes the received waveform in the second stream and compares it to the original waveform transmitted to the second endpoint. Based on the comparison, the first endpoint adjusts the value of a quality indication, and provides the quality indication to its user and to the second endpoint. Advantageously, the user at the second endpoint is able to determine whether the received waveform is, in fact, close enough to the waveform that the first endpoint's user intended to be received and understood.

Abstract: An application-layer multicast-based (ALM-based), peer-to-peer conferencing system is disclosed that leverages the differing capabilities of the participating peer nodes. A conference call can be set up among peer nodes of three different types. A bridging node is capable of mixing individual audio signals that are associated with a call into a composite audio signal and of providing the composite audio signal to another node. A mixing-capable node is capable of mixing the individual audio signals that are associated with a call, but not of relaying those signals to another node. A mixing-incapable node does not support the mixing of individual audio signals. The conferencing architecture of the illustrative embodiment is able to account for the differences between the three types of nodes that are to participate in a conference call, resulting in an optimal allocation of bandwidth and processing resources.

Abstract: An apparatus and methods are disclosed for authenticating users of wireless telecommunications terminals. In particular, the present invention enables the timing and type of authentication challenges to vary based on one or more of: the user's current geo-location, the current day and time, the presence or absence of other nearby users, and the identity of any nearby users. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the re-authentication time period (i.e., the length of time between authenticating and re authenticating a user) and the authentication challenge type (e.g., username/password, fingerprint recognition, etc.) can be determined based on these factors. The present invention is advantageous in that it enables the shortening of the re-authentication time and the selection of a more secure type of authentication challenge when it is more likely that a user's wireless telecommunications terminal might be accidentally left behind or stolen.

Abstract: A method for estimating the network-layer topology of a telecommunications network is described. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention estimates the existence and connectivity of nodes in the topology based on the detection of network-wide end-to-end path intersections. This is based on the assumption that pairs of streams of packets that share a common node will interfere and that the interference can be detected in the received streams. In general, this interference is manifested as jitter. By transmitting streams on each pair of end-to-end paths in the network, and detecting interference (or a lack of interference) a matrix of path intersections for the network can be created. Using logic and supposition, the topology of the network can be estimated using the matrix of path intersections. Once the estimate of the topology is complete, the maintenance and operation of the network can proceed based on the topology.

Abstract: A method for estimating the network-layer topology of a telecommunications network is described. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention estimates the existence and connectivity of nodes in the topology based on the detection of network-wide end-to-end path intersections. This is based on the assumption that pairs of streams of packets that share a common node will interfere and that the interference can be detected in the received streams. In general, this interference is manifested as jitter. By transmitting streams on each pair of end-to-end paths in the network, and detecting interference (or a lack of interference) a matrix of path intersections for the network can be created. Using logic and supposition, the topology of the network can be estimated using the matrix of path intersections. Once the estimate of the topology is complete, the maintenance and operation of the network can proceed based on the topology.

Abstract: A method for estimating the network-layer topology of a telecommunications network is described. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention estimates the existence and connectivity of nodes in the topology based on the detection of network-wide end-to-end path intersections. This is based on the assumption that pairs of streams of packets that share a common node will interfere and that the interference can be detected in the received streams. In general, this interference is manifested as jitter. By transmitting streams on each pair of end-to-end paths in the network, and detecting interference (or a lack of interference) a matrix of path intersections for the network can be created. Using logic and supposition, the topology of the network can be estimated using the matrix of path intersections. Once the estimate of the topology is complete, the maintenance and operation of the network can proceed based on the topology.

Abstract: A method of communication via instant messaging that avoids some of the costs and disadvantages for doing so in the prior art. In particular, the illustrative embodiment enables instant messaging clients to function as an intercom, in which one user can cause audio signals, such as speech, to be output from a second user's instant messaging client without any action on the part of the second user. This is in direct contrast to a traditional telephone call in which the second user must take some action to “answer” the call before the first user's voice is heard. Such an instant messaging intercom capability will be especially useful for secretaries and others who collaborate on work.

Abstract: A method of controlling a voice mail system with an instant messaging client is disclosed. For example, the illustrative embodiment enables a user of a instant messaging client to forward a voice mail message to one or more people listed in the instant messaging client's buddy list. Furthermore, the instant messaging client also enables the user to annotate the voice mail message and to send the voice mail commentary alone with the voice mail message to one or more people listed in the instant messaging client's buddy list.