Abstract: A technique is disclosed that enables telecommunications endpoints to conveniently share the addressing information—that is, the Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI)—of documents that are available on the World Wide Web. In particular, a server is used to provide a bookmark service. The server acts as a repository of tag-URI pairs, in which each tag functions as a shorthand label for the corresponding URI. In the disclosed technique, a first user creates the tag for the intended URI by assigning a keyword to represent the URI as part of a bookmark tag-URI pair that the server stores. The created tag is presumably shorter than the URI that it represents, making the tag more convenient to use. A second user is then able to retrieve and use the URI by specifying the tag to the bookmark server. In essence, the technique of the illustrative embodiment enables the sharing of Web documents by sharing the bookmarks to those documents.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables the transmission of a digital message along with a corresponding information signal, such as audio or video. The supplemental information contained in digital messages can be used for a variety of purposes, such as enabling or enhancing packet authentication. In particular, a telecommunications device that is processing an information signal from its user, such as a speech signal, encrypts the information signal by performing a bitwise exclusive-or of an encryption key stream with the information signal stream. The device, such as a telecommunications endpoint, then intersperses the bits of the digital message throughout the encrypted signal in place of those bits overwritten, in a process referred to as “watermarking.” The endpoint then transmits the interspersed digital message bits as part of a composite signal that also comprises the encrypted information bits. No additional bits are appended to the packet to be transmitted, thereby addressing compatibility issues.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables the transmission of a digital message along with a corresponding media information signal, such as audio or video. A telecommunications device that is processing the information signal from its user, such as a speech signal, encodes the information signal by using a model-based compression coder. One such device is a telecommunications endpoint. Then, based on an evaluation of the perceptual significance of each encoded bit, or on some other meaningful characteristic of the signal, the endpoint's processor: (i) determines which encoded bits can be overwritten; and (ii) intersperses the digital message bits throughout the encoded signal in place of the overwritten bits. The endpoint then transmits those digital message bits as part of the encoded information signal. In this way, no additional bits are appended to the packet to be transmitted, thereby addressing the issue of compatibility with existing protocols and firewalls.

Abstract: A telecommunications system is disclosed that enables a user to pair a desk set that is an extension of a private-branch exchange with a cell phone that is accessible via the Public Switched Telephone Network. One feature of the telecommunications system enables an incoming call that is directed to the user's desk set to be automatically forwarded to the user's cell phone, while in the presence of third-party call control. This is advantageous to the user because it provides the illusion to the caller that the user is physically in his or her office when she is not necessarily there. The third-party call control can be part of a computer-telephony integration (CTI) application—for example, in a telephone telemarketing center, which handles many incoming telephone calls.

Abstract: A telecommunications system is disclosed that enables a user to pair a desk set that is an extension of a private-branch exchange with a cell phone that is accessible via the Public Switched Telephone Network. One feature of the telecommunications system enables a call that is directed to the user's desk set to be automatically forwarded to the user's cell phone. This is advantageous to the user because it provides the illusion to the caller that the user is physically in her office when she is not necessarily there. A similar feature also provides the illusion when a third party initiates a call that connects the user's cell phone to a called party. Such a third party includes a computer-telephony integration (CTI) application in a telephone telemarketing center, which automatically places many outgoing telephone calls.

Abstract: A telecommunications system is disclosed that enables a user to pair a desk set that is an extension of a private-branch exchange with a cell phone that is accessible via the Public Switched Telephone Network. One feature of the telecommunications system enables an active call that is between the desk set and another party, to be transferred to the user's cell phone, while in the presence of third-party call control. This is advantageous because a user who is initially on a call at her desk set, but needs to get somewhere else (e.g., a meeting, the airport, home, etc.), is able to continue the call by transferring it to her cell phone. The third-party call control can be part of a computer-telephony integration (CTI) application—for example, in a telephone telemarketing center, which concurrently handles many active telephone calls.

Abstract: In one embodiment, an enterprise network is provided that includes a mobility module 150 associated with a first or second switch/server 100 or 104, respectively. On the second switch/server, the mobility agent manages a pool of mobility user station records 168a-j and creates visitor application records 172a-i associated with a external subscriber communication devices 136a-n. Each visitor application record is associated with a subscriber whose communication device is controlled by the first switch/server 100. In response to a selected stimulus, outgoing call processing for selected communication devices on the first switch/server is moved to the second switch/server 104 by associating, for each such device, a selected record 168 with a corresponding record 172.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed that enable performance improvements by reallocating to client endpoints at least some of the feature functionality of a server. Each logical user in the system is represented by his own private domain of endpoint entities, from which an endpoint is selected to serve as a super peer to represent the user to the centralized server. Furthermore, one or more endpoints in the private domain of endpoints handle some of the telecommunications features that the server otherwise would have handled. An endpoint that needs to access a particular feature determines the best endpoint to handle the feature, in part by querying the other endpoints in the private domain. If the querying endpoint wants to subscribe to a feature that is located at an endpoint in the private domain, the querying endpoint interacts with the relevant endpoint without requiring the further assistance of a server.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to voice communication devices in which an audio stream is divided into a sequence of individual packets, each of which is routed via pathways that can vary depending on the availability of network resources. All embodiments of the invention rely on an acoustic prioritization agent that assigns a priority value to the packets. The priority value is based on factors such as whether the packet contains voice activity and the degree of acoustic similarity between this packet and adjacent packets in the sequence. A confidence level, associated with the priority value, may also be assigned. In one embodiment, network congestion is reduced by deliberately failing to transmit packets that are judged to be acoustically similar to adjacent packets; the expectation is that, under these circumstances, traditional packet loss concealment algorithms in the receiving device will construct an acceptably accurate replica of the missing packet.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to voice communication devices in which an audio stream is divided into a sequence of individual packets, each of which is routed via pathways that can vary depending on the availability of network resources. All embodiments of the invention rely on an acoustic prioritization agent that assigns a priority value to the packets. The priority value is based on factors such as whether the packet contains voice activity and the degree of acoustic similarity between this packet and adjacent packets in the sequence. A confidence level, associated with the priority value, may also be assigned. In one embodiment, network congestion is reduced by deliberately failing to transmit packets that are judged to be acoustically similar to adjacent packets; the expectation is that, under these circumstances, traditional packet loss concealment algorithms in the receiving device will construct an acceptably accurate replica of the missing packet.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to voice communication devices in which an audio stream is divided into a sequence of individual packets, each of which is routed via pathways that can vary depending on the availability of network resources. All embodiments of the invention rely on an acoustic prioritization agent that assigns a priority value to the packets. The priority value is based on factors such as whether the packet contains voice activity and the degree of acoustic similarity between this packet and adjacent packets in the sequence. A confidence level, associated with the priority value, may also be assigned. In one embodiment, network congestion is reduced by deliberately failing to transmit packets that are judged to be acoustically similar to adjacent packets; the expectation is that, under these circumstances, traditional packet loss concealment algorithms in the receiving device will construct an acceptably accurate replica of the missing packet.

Abstract: Systems and methods for constructing and maintaining a peer-to-peer overlay graph are disclosed herein. The systems and methods include adding a node to the overlay graph. Adding the node includes choosing an edge that is not connected to the node, breaking the edge and connecting the node to broken edge nodes previously connected to the edge. The process is repeating if additional connections are need and node addition data is stored for the node.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for authenticating a user based on the geo-location history of a geo-location-enabled wireless device (e.g., a GPS-enabled wireless telecommunications terminal, a smart card, an RFID tag, etc.). In a first illustrative embodiment, a user of a geo-location-enabled wireless telecommunications terminal (e.g., a GPS-enabled cell phone, a GPS-enabled notebook computer, etc.) who attempts to access a restricted resource is challenged with one or more questions that are generated from the terminal's geo-location history. In a second illustrative embodiment, a user of a data-processing system who attempts to access a restricted resource is asked to provide a username Z. The user is then challenged with one or more questions that are generated from the geo-location history of a wireless device that is associated with username Z (e.g., a cell phone that belongs to the user whose username is Z, etc.).

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables the avoidance of a processor overload of a telecommunications endpoint device that is susceptible to traffic floods. An enhanced network switch sets the speed on one of its data ports as a specific function of the speeds of the devices that are connected to one or more of its other data ports. This behavior is different from that of network switches in the prior art, in which the data rate of a port in the prior art is auto-negotiated to the highest speed that can be supported by the network elements at either end of the port's connection, regardless of the other devices present. By considering the specific devices that are connected, the enhanced network switch is able to limit the amount of traffic that is directed by an upstream device, such as a router, towards a device with limited processor capability, such as a packet-based phone.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables mitigating at least some of the problems caused by a packet attack. When a first Internet Protocol (IP)-capable device is subjected to a packet attack, it indicates periodically to a second IP-capable device that certain communications with the first device are to be suspended. The periodic transmitting of the indication is performed at a slower rate than the keep-alive mechanism that is normally used to detect loss of connectivity. When the second device receives the transmitted indication, it refrains from transmitting keep-alive messages to the first device for a predetermined interval. Meanwhile, the first device also refrains from transmitting keep-alive messages to the second device for a similar interval. In transmitting the suspend indication, the illustrative embodiment seeks to prevent pairs of communicating devices that are experiencing packet attacks from continuing their operation under the erroneous assumption that each device is unavailable.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables the implementation of an embedded firewall at a telecommunications endpoint. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention addresses the relationship between the application, firewall engine, and packet-classification rules database that are all resident at the endpoint. In the variations of the illustrative embodiment that are described herein, the application: (i) directly communicates with the co-resident firewall engine such as through local message passing, (ii) shares memory with the firewall engine, and (iii) makes socket calls to the operating system that are intercepted by a middleware layer that subsequently modifies the rules database, depending on the socket call. The common thread to these techniques is that the application, firewall engine, and rules database are co-resident at the endpoint, which is advantageous in the implementation of the embedded firewall.

Abstract: A platform is disclosed that enables security monitoring and protection across a plurality of related telecommunications devices. The self-operating security platform of the present invention is based on a collection of security adapters that are tied together and are coupled with an orchestration engine that loads and executes workflow scripts. Workflow scripts have been used for business applications, but their usage in real-time telecommunications devices is relatively new. Each security adapter monitors a different aspect of the system for intrusions or other security threats. The specific security protection rules are taught to the security platform in a basic profile; as the security platform runs, it builds up the actual profile of how the telecommunications device performs in a normal state. In other words, the security platform “composes” new workflow scripts from basic workflow scripts.

Abstract: A method of authenticating an authorized entity via the telephone network is disclosed. A telephone call is placed from a telecommunications terminal to a server that comprises a valuable resource and that only provides the resource to authorized entities. When the terminal has already demonstrated its authorization to the server, the server indicates to the terminal that the terminal need not provide its authorization credentials. In contrast, when the terminal has not yet demonstrated its authorization to the server, the server indicates to the terminal that the terminal does need to provide its authorization credentials. The server indicates to the terminal whether or not it needs to provide its authorization credentials by deliberating waiting to establish the call with the terminal, wherein in the length of the wait is indicative of whether or not the terminal needs to provide its authorization credentials.

Abstract: A telecommunications system is disclosed that enables a user to pair a desk set that is an extension of a private-branch exchange with a cell phone that is accessible via the Public Switched Telephone Network. One feature of the telecommunications system enables a call that is directed to the user's desk set to be automatically forwarded to the user's cell phone. This is advantageous to the user because it provides the illusion to the caller that the user is physically in his or her office when they are not necessarily there. A similar feature also provides the illusion when a third party initiates a call that connects the user's cell phone to a called party. Such a third party includes a computer telephony application in a telephone telemarketing center, which automatically places many outgoing telephone calls.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables the selection of a team of people in an organization, such as a business enterprise, to participate in a task that involves communicating with each other, in which the selection of the team seeks to maximize the team cohesiveness. The illustrative embodiment of the present invention incorporates the use of a social network model to describe the communication pattern in the organization. Based on the relationship between the organization's social network structure and the cohesiveness between the people in the organization, the technique of the illustrative embodiment estimates the dyadic cohesiveness of each pair of people, which is defined as the expected value of relationship strength between each evaluated pair of people. One component of the relationship strength is the number of interactions between the two people in the pair. The technique of the illustrative embodiment then uses the cohesiveness estimates to select teams.