Abstract: A distributed service network provides telecommunications and other services to users transparently of where the user accesses the network and the particular client used to access the network. The network comprises a plurality of regions, each comprising a region manager and one or more region servers. A personal agent is defined for each user and is replicated to remote regions in the network from the user's home region as the user connects through those remote regions. The personal agent stores user information including services to which the user is subscribed and preferences set by the user. The region servers include a set of transducers which operate to make services transparent to the actual client used to connect to the network and to the service provider.

Abstract: The system and method consistent with the present invention provides a contextual gesture interface for electronic devices. The contextual gesture interface activates a function corresponding to the characteristics of an object making contact with a display. The system may determine the time period of the contact as well as the size of the contact. The functions may include a wide array of navigation tools or editing tools. The contextual gesture interface of the present invention may be especially useful in portable electronic devices with small displays.

Abstract: The system and method consistent with the present invention provides a touch-responsive graphical user interface for electronic devices. The graphical user interface determines a pointer size of the object making contact with a display and activates a function corresponding to the pointer size. The graphical user interface may invoke a wide array of functions such as a navigation tool, draw function, an erase function, or a drag function. The graphical user interface of the present invention may be especially useful in portable electronic devices with small displays.

Abstract: A method of servicing data access requests from users connected to a distributed service network comprises determining the user, the communications client used to connect to the network and the data stream conversions required for the user to communicate between the communications client and one or more accessed services. The method provides that the data access is provided independent of the connection point and the data communications client.

Abstract: To transmit a stream of data packets over a physical channel, virtual channels for each data type (e.g. video, graphics, text) are created and mapped onto the physical channel based on a priority assigned to each virtual channel. Each virtual channel is also assigned a quality of services (QoS). A channel controller is allocated to each virtual channel. These channel controllers are connected to a dispatcher which receives the stream of data packets and distributes the data packets to the channel controllers based on the virtual channel to which the channel controllers are allocated. Should a channel controller encounter degradation in a transmission which reduces QoS below the specified values, a QoS parameter is adjusted. If this action does not achieve the specified QoS, the channel warns the dispatcher. The dispatcher, upon receipt of the warning, may, depending on the data type, reduce that channel controller's specified QoS or another channel's QoS.