Abstract: A system and method effectuates scheduling and initiating contact between people without sensitivity to time issues, and can ascertain when is the best time and most promising communications medium to use to reach another person to schedule time together or by which to initiate contact. A system and method also ascertains a person's expected activities. This provides effective and accurate information on general patterns that can be timely promulgated to all group members to help initiate contact without requiring simultaneous virtual presence to be effective. A system and method ascertain a person's activities, location, and corresponding rhythms and allows corresponding inferences regarding coordination, communication, and contact. An embodiment of the present invention thus provides to distributed co-workers some of the cues and advantages enjoyed in more traditional workplaces which facilitate such interaction therein.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for scheduling waveform updates, and for implementing antialiasing techniques compatible with a standard graphics drawing package. Interrupts are requested at regular intervals to update a waveform based on data samples received from a data source. When there is a delay in servicing a requested interrupt, the waveform is updated with a relatively large number of data samples so that the monitoring system does not fall behind the data source. However, a limit is placed on the number of data samples used to update the waveform at the servicing of a single interrupt to ensure that an erase bar that updates the waveform maintains a substantially constant velocity. Additionally, when there is a delay in servicing an interrupt, the next interrupt is requested to occur more quickly. The waveform is broken up into a plurality of wave segments extending between adjacent pixel columns and each wave segment is updated using three calls to a line drawing primitive of the graphics package.