Abstract: A user interface device for use in controlling one or more external devices has at least a positional change operation mode and a keyboard operation mode. The user interface device has a main body portion, an orientation sensor, a surface sensor, a processor and a switch. The main body portion includes a top surface having at least one button that is active only in the positional change operation mode. The at least one button triggers an action in the one or more external devices when pressed. The bottom surface has a displacement sensor and a thumb keyboard. The displacement sensor detects positional change of the user interface device only during the positional change operation mode. The positional change is used for navigation on a display screen of the one or more external devices. The thumb keyboard has a plurality of keys that generate keyboard signals for sending to the one or more external devices only when the user interface device is in the keyboard operation mode.

Abstract: Automated methods are provided for recognizing inputted information items and selecting information items. The recognition and selection processes are performed by selecting category designations that the information items belong to. The category designations improve the accuracy and speed of the inputting and selection processes.

Abstract: A method is provided of using a telephone device to view full content on a nearby display screen which is not physically connected to the telephone device. The telephone device includes a display screen, a button which facilitates communication of the full content between the telephone device and a local control device connected to the nearby display screen, and a wireless transmitter. The full content is stored in the telephone device. Only a portion of the full content is displayed on the display screen of the telephone device. The full content is communicated from the telephone device to the local control device via a signal sent by the wireless transmitter upon selection of the button. The local control device receives the signal and provides the full content to the nearby display screen for display thereon.

Abstract: A clickless, text-to-speech enabled browser includes a navigation toolbar having a plurality of button graphics and a web page region which allows for the display of web pages. Each button graphic including a predefined active region, an associated text message related to the command function of the button graphic, and an event handler that invokes text-to-speech software code for automatically speaking the associated text message and then executing the command function associated with the button graphic.

Abstract: A method is provided for prompting a user who interacts with content on a display screen via a pointing device that a potential mistake may have been made during the interaction. The interaction includes a plurality of actions associated with the content of the display screen. The content is created by programming code. Programming code is analyzed to determine the next most likely action to occur during user interaction with the display screen contents at a plurality of different points in the programming code. After an action occurs by a user at a point in the programming code, it is detected whether the user performed the next most likely action. The user is prompted with an indication if the user did not perform the next most likely action and therefore may have made a potential mistake.

Abstract: A telephone device is used to establish two-way communication with a remotely located entity, or to transfer content from a display screen of the telephone device to a nearby display screen for full viewing of the content. The two-way communication is initiated by an object emitting a signal containing a telephone number to the telephone device, which, in turn, automatically dials the telephone number.

Abstract: Web pages and other text documents displayed on a computer are reformatted to allow a user who has difficulty reading to navigate between and among such documents and to have such documents, or portions of them, read aloud by the computer using a text-to-speech engine in their original or translated form while preserving the original layout of the document. A “point-and-read” paradigm allows a user to cause the text to be read solely by moving a pointing device over graphical icons or text without requiring the user to click on anything in the document. Hyperlink navigation and other program functions are accomplished in a similar manner.

Abstract: A user's chatterbot participates in a chat session with other users and the other users' chatterbots. The originator of an incoming instant message is identified to such a degree that a buddy on a buddy list is able to determine that the instant message was sent by a user's chatterbot (e.g., “Jackie's chatterbot”), and not the user (“Jackie”). The chatterbots can communicate with other chatterbots while the chatterbots' users listen to the chatterbots converse. The chatterbots may respond to messages originated by other chatterbots' messages and buddies' (users') messages.

Abstract: A user interface device for use in controlling one or more external devices has at least a positional change operation mode and a keyboard operation mode. The user interface device has a main body portion, an orientation sensor, a surface sensor, a processor and a switch. The main body portion includes a top surface having at least one button that is active only in the positional change operation mode. The at least one button triggers an action in the one or more external devices when pressed. The bottom surface has a displacement sensor and a thumb keyboard. The displacement sensor detects positional change of the user interface device only during the positional change operation mode. The positional change is used for navigation on a display screen of the one or more external devices. The thumb keyboard has a plurality of keys that generate keyboard signals for sending to the one or more external devices only when the user interface device is in the keyboard operation mode.

Abstract: A telephone device is used to establish two-way communication with a remotely located entity, or to transfer content from a display screen of the telephone device to a nearby display screen for full viewing of the content. The two-way communication is initiated by an object emitting a signal containing a telephone number to the telephone device, which, in turn, automatically dials the telephone number.

Abstract: A user's chatterbot participates in a chat session with other users and the other users' chatterbots. The originator of an incoming instant message is identified to such a degree that a buddy on a buddy list is able to determine that the instant message was sent by a user's chatterbot (e.g., “Jackie's chatterbot”), and not the user (“Jackie”). The chatterbots can communicate with other chatterbots while the chatterbots' users listen to the chatterbots converse. The chatterbots may respond to messages originated by other chatterbots' messages and buddies' (users') messages.

Abstract: A telephone device is used to view content on a nearby display screen which is not physically connected to the telephone device. The telephone device includes a display screen which displays content, or a portion thereof, a button which facilitates communication of content between the telephone device and a local control device connected to the nearby display screen, and a wireless transmitter. Content, or a portion thereof, and an electronic address of the content is stored in the telephone device. The content, or a portion thereof, is displayed on the display screen of the telephone device. The electronic address of the content is communicated from the telephone device to the local control device via a signal sent by the wireless transmitter upon selection of the button. The local control device receives the signal and transmits a request over an electronic network to retrieve the content from a remote location.

Abstract: Web pages and other text documents displayed on a computer are reformatted to allow a user who has difficulty reading to navigate between and among such documents and to have such documents, or portions of them, read aloud by the computer using a text-to-speech engine in their original or translated form while preserving the original layout of the document. A “point-and-read” paradigm allows a user to cause the text to be read solely by moving a pointing device over graphical icons or text without requiring the user to click on anything in the document. Hyperlink navigation and other program functions are accomplished in a similar manner.

Abstract: User interaction of a visually displayed document is provided via a graphical user interface (GUI). The document includes, and is parsed into, a plurality of text-based grammatical units. An input device modality is selected from a plurality of input device modalities which determines the type of input device in which a user interacts with to make a selection. One or more grammatical units of the document are then selected using the selected type of input device. Each grammatical unit that is selected is read aloud to the user by loading the grammatical unit into a text-to-speech engine. The text of the grammatical unit is thereby automatically spoken. Furthermore, a switching modality is selected from a plurality of switching modalities. The switching modality determines the manner in which one or more switches are used to make a selection.

Abstract: Web pages and other text documents displayed on a computer are reformatted to allow a a user who has difficulty reading to navigate between and among such documents and to have such documents, or portions of them, read aloud by the computer using a text-to-speech engine in their original or translated form while preserving the original layout of the document. A “point-and-read” paradigm allows a user to cause the text to be read solely by moving a pointing device over graphical icons or text without requiring the user to click on anything in the document. Hyperlink navigation and other program functions are accomplished in a similar manner.

Abstract: Information embedded in a displayed object is transferred from one browser window to another. Each of the browser windows display a Web page. The object is displayed on one of the Web pages and, by “dragging” and “dropping” the embedded information to the other Web page, a function is performed on the embedded information, such as one that converts text associated with the embedded information into an audible output. A user who has difficulty reading text displayed on a Web page can click on an image embedded in the text, or drag and drop the information embedded in the displayed image to another Web page used to perform the conversion function.

Abstract: A telephone device is used to establish two-way communication with a remotely located entity, or to transfer content from a display screen of the telephone device to a nearby display screen for full viewing of the content. The two-way communication is initiated by an object emitting a signal containing a telephone number to the telephone device, which, in turn, automatically dials the telephone number. Alternatively, the object emits a signal containing an electronic address to a telephone device, which, in turn, automatically goes to the electronic address. Transfer of content also is achieved by transmitting an electronic address of content shown on a telephone device display screen to a nearby device which retrieves the content and then displays it on the nearby display screen.

Abstract: A telephone device is used to establish two-way communication with a remotely located entity, or to transfer content from a display screen of the telephone device to a nearby display screen for full viewing of the content. The two-way communication is initiated by an object emitting a signal containing a telephone number to the telephone device, which, in turn, automatically dials the telephone number. Alternatively, the object emits a signal containing an electronic address to a telephone device, which, in turn, automatically goes to the electronic address. Transfer of content also is achieved by transmitting an electronic address of content shown on a telephone device display screen to a nearby device which retrieves the content and then displays it on the nearby display screen.

Abstract: A user's chatterbot participates in a chat session with other users and the other users' chatterbots. The originator of an incoming instant message is identified to such a degree that a buddy on a buddy list is able to determine that the instant message was sent by a user's chatterbot (e.g., “Jackie's chatterbot”), and not the user (“Jackie”). The chatterbots can communicate with other chatterbots while the chatterbots' users listen to the chatterbots converse. The chatterbots may respond to messages originated by other chatterbots' messages and buddies' (users') messages.

Abstract: A user's chatterbot participates in a chat session with other users and the other users' chatterbots. The originator of an incoming instant message is identified to such a degree that a buddy on a buddy list is able to determine that the instant message was sent by a user's chatterbot (e.g., “Jackie's chatterbot”), and not the user (“Jackie”). The chatterbots can communicate with other chatterbots while the chatterbots' users listen to the chatterbots converse. The chatterbots may respond to messages originated by other chatterbots' messages and buddies' (users') messages.