Abstract: An entertainment head-end provides broadcast programming, video-on-demand services, and HTML-based interactive programming through a distribution network to client terminals in subscribers' homes. A number of different features are provided, including novel user interfaces, enhanced video-on-demand controls, a variety of interactive services (personalized news, jukebox, games, celebrity chat), and techniques that combine to provide user experiences evocative of conventional television.

Abstract: An Internet access terminal automatically manages telephone communication with an Internet service provider to reduce inactive telephone line usage when the user toggles from the Internet mode to the television mode. A user who has been browsing the Internet can toggle the terminal to the television mode from the Internet mode, which has a particular state relating to the Internet page that is being viewed. The terminal saves state information representing the Internet state and monitors the time that elapses after the terminal is toggled. If a first period of time elapses, the telephone connection is dropped. If a longer, second period of time also elapses, the state information is discarded. Upon toggling back to the Internet mode, communication is resumed using the telephone connection and the Internet state is restored if the first period has not elapsed.

Abstract: Initiating a user session at an internet terminal using a smart card is provided. An internet terminal is coupled to a server system. The internet terminal detects the presence of a smart card. The smart card includes a memory such as a programmable ROM (PROM), any form of erasable PROM (EPROM) or flash memory having stored therein identification information. The internet terminal reads a unique smart card identifier from the smart card and transmits the identifier a server. The server locates configuration information associated with a particular user of the server based upon the unique smart card identifier. The configuration information may include a defined customer environment or customer preferences for customizing the operation of the internet terminal such as the type of on-screen keyboard presented by the internet terminal, the font used by the internet terminal for displaying text, background music options, and e-mail options.

Abstract: A client-server system includes a client in communication with one or more servers. For example, the client server system may be for accessing the World Wide Web ("Web") in response to commands from the user. The client uses a display device to display a server-provided image to the user. The image is scaled down both horizontally and vertically, such that the entire horizontal dimension of the image is visible within the borders of the display device. Information corresponding to several Web pages may be maintained. Based on this information, images corresponding to these Web pages are displayed, each image including a reduced-size version of the corresponding Web page. A user inputted selection of one of these images is then accepted thereby accessing the corresponding Web page.

Abstract: A method and apparatus in a client processing system are provided for characterizing an input television signal as broadcast television or cable television and, if the signal is cable television, as IRC cable, HRC cable, or standard cable. The client processing system includes processing circuitry configured to receive hypertext pages from a remote server and to display the hypertext pages on a display device, such as a conventional television set. The client system further includes a television tuner for receiving either cable television or broadcast television signals. When a television signal is initially provided to the client system, the client system executes a routine to automatically characterize the received television signal as broadcast, HRC cable, IRC cable, or standard cable. The characterization is made based upon one or more frequencies at which the incoming television signal is detected.

Abstract: Browser software implemented in a set-top box as part of a client system communicating over the Internet with one or more servers allows a user to navigate using a remote control through World-Wide Web pages in which a plurality of hypertext anchors are displayed on a television. A user input entered from a remote input device is received by the client system over an infrared (IR) link. The user input specifies a direction in which the user wishes to move a selection relative to a currently selected hypertext anchor. Based on the user input, a determination is made of which one of the hypertext anchors is a best selectable hypertext anchor, and that hypertext anchor is then selected and indicated as such to the user. The user interface allows for the selection of hypertext anchors which are part of either clientside or server-side image maps.

Abstract: Web browser software is implemented in a processing system housed in a set-top box connected to a television and communicating over a wide-area network with one or more servers. The browser allows a user to use a remote control device to navigate between hypertext anchors in World-Wide Web pages displayed on the television. User inputs are entered from the remote control device using an infrared IR link in order to move a selection between hypertext anchors or various control buttons displayed on the television display. The browser is capable of downloading audio files from Web sites and generating sound through a speaker of the television set based on the audio files. Background music is generated during Web browsing based on audio files downloaded from one of the servers or audio files stored in memory in the set-top box. A background music audio file from a server can be downloaded while another background music audio file is played.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing physical security for a user account and supplying access to the environment and preferences associated with a particular user are provided. An internet terminal is coupled to a server system. The internet terminal detects the presence of a smart card. The smart card includes a memory such as a programmable ROM (PROM), any form of erasable PROM (EPROM) or Flash memory having stored therein identification information. The internet terminal reads the identification information from the smart card and transmits the identification information to a server. According to another aspect of the present invention an internet terminal can be configured by a server. The server receives identification information from an internet terminal. The identification information uniquely identifies a smart card. The server locates configuration information associated with a particular user of the server based upon the identification information.