Abstract: The invention relates to the synchronized playback of video and/or audio recordings in terminals of a communications network. A server stores recordings including timing markers, each of which indicates an internal position within the recording. The system comprises groups of user terminals, at least one channel being assigned to each group. A recording is transmitted to the terminals belonging to the same group and stored there. In response to a start command, the playback of the recording is started at each terminal. Status information indicating at least the playback position of the recording is maintained, and the playback is controlled by transmitting new status information to the terminals of the group. The playback status is changed at each terminal according to said new status information.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, a telecommunications system, a message server and terminal equipment enabling that the sender of a message can be billed for a reply to the message. In the method of the invention, an indication is added to a first message, indicating that the sender of the first message is billed for a reply to the first message, the message containing the first indication is transmitted (506) to the receiver, and when the receiver replies to the message, a second indication is added to the reply of the receiver, containing at least a part of the first indication, and on the basis of the second indication, the sender of the first message is billed (516) for the reply.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing a functional memory and to a memory arrangement. The memory is implemented as a directory structure comprising a tree-shaped hierarchy having nodes at several different hierarchy levels, wherein an individual node can be (i) a trie node associated with a logical table wherein an individual element may contain a pointer pointing to a lower node in the hierarchy, or (ii) a bucket containing at least one element so that the type of an individual element in the bucket is selected from a group including of e.g. a data unit or a pointer to a stored data unit.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for implementing a memory and a memory arrangement. The memory is implemented as a directory structure including a tree-shaped hierarchy having nodes at several different hierarchy levels. The directory structure employs width-compressed nodes in which, non-nil pointers and a bit pattern having one bit for each element, are physically stored. The physical storage location in the node is determined on the basis of the bit pattern. A search table is provided in which numbers of bits having the value 1 are stored in different combinations of a word whose total number of bits is a predetermined portion of the number of bits in the bit pattern.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, a telecommunications system, a message server and terminal equipment enabling that the sender of a message can be billed for a reply to the message. In the method of the invention, an indication is added to a first message, indicating that the sender of the first message is billed for a reply to the first message, the message containing the first indication is transmitted (506) to the receiver, and when the receiver replies to the message, a second indication is added to the reply of the receiver, containing at least a part of the first indication, and on the basis of the second indication, the sender of the first message is billed (516) for the reply.

Abstract: A method for implementing a memory. The memory is implemented as a directory structure comprising a tree-shaped hierarchy having nodes at several different levels, wherein an individual node can be (i) a trie node comprising an array wherein an individual element may contain the address of a lower node in the tree-shaped hierarchy and wherein an individual element may also be empty, the number of elements in the array corresponding to a power of two, or (ii) a bucket containing at least one element so that the type of an individual element in the bucket is selected from a group including a data unit, a pointer to a stored data unit, a pointer to a node in another directory structure and another directory structure.

Abstract: A method for implementing a memory. The memory is implemented as a directory structure comprising a tree-shaped hierarchy having nodes at several different levels, wherein an individual node can be (i) a trie node comprising an array wherein an individual element may contain the address of a lower node in the tree-shaped hierarchy and wherein an individual element may also be empty, the number of elements in the array corresponding to a power of two, or (ii) a bucket containing at least one element so that the type of an individual element in the bucket is selected from a group including a data unit, a pointer to a stored data unit, a pointer to another directory structure and another directory structure.

Abstract: The invention relates to the synchronized playback of video and/or audio recordings in terminals of a communications network. A server stores recordings including timing markers, each of which indicates an internal position within the recording. The system comprises groups of user terminals, at least one channel being assigned to each group. A recording is transmitted to the terminals belonging to the same group and stored there. In response to a start command, the playback of the recording is started at each terminal. Status information indicating at least the playback position of the recording is maintained, and the playback is controlled by transmitting new status information to the terminals of the group. The playback status is changed at each terminal according to said new status information.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing a queue, particularly a FIFO queue, in a memory (MEM) and to a memory arrangement. In order to enable reducing the amount of copying particularly in a functional environment, at least part of the queue is formed with a tree-shaped data structure (A, B) known per se, having nodes at several different hierarchy levels, wherein an individual node can be (i) an internal node (N1-N3) containing at least one pointer pointing to a node lower in the tree-shaped hierarchy or (ii) a leaf node (N4-N6) containing at least one pointer to data unit (1 . . . 6) stored in the memory or at least one data unit. A given maximum number of pointers that an individual node can contain is defined for the nodes.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing a memory and to a memory arrangement. The memory is implemented as a directory structure comprising a tree-shaped hierarchy having nodes at several different hierarchy levels. The directory structure employs width-compressed nodes in which non-nil pointers are physically stored and additionally a bit pattern which has one bit for each element and wherein e.g. a 1-bit indicates that the content of the element corresponds to a pointer pointing downward in the directory structure. The physical storage location in the node, corresponding to the element table index associated with the search word, is determined on the basis of the bit pattern. To enable rapid determination that requires little memory capacity, a search table is stored in which numbers of bits having value 1 are stored in different combinations of a word whose total number of bits is a predetermined portion, preferably half, of the number of bits in said bit pattern.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing a functional memory and to a memory arrangement. The memory is implemented as a directory structure comprising a tree-shaped hierarchy having nodes at several different hierarchy levels, wherein an individual node can be (i) a trie node associated with a logical table wherein an individual element may contain a pointer pointing to a lower node in the hierarchy, or (ii) a bucket containing at least one element so that the type of an individual element in the bucket is selected from a group including of e.g. a data unit or a pointer to a stored data unit.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing a queue, particularly a FIFO queue, in a memory (MEM) and to a memory arrangement. In order to enable reducing the amount of copying particularly in a functional environment, at least part of the queue is formed with a tree-shaped data structure (A, B) known per se, having nodes at several different hierarchy levels, wherein an individual node can be (i) an internal node (N1-N3) containing at least one pointer pointing to a node lower in the tree-shaped hierarchy or (ii) a leaf node (N4-N6) containing at least one pointer to data unit (1 . . . 6) stored in the memory or at least one data unit. A given maximum number of pointers that an individual node can contain is defined for the nodes.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing a memory. The memory is implemented as a directory structure comprising a tree-shaped hierarchy having nodes at several different levels, wherein an individual node can be (i) a trie node comprising an array wherein an individual element may contain the address of a lower node in the tree-shaped hierarchy and wherein an individual element may also be empty, or (ii) a bucket containing at least one element so that the type of an individual element in the bucket is selected from a group including a data unit, a pointer to a stored data unit, a pointer to another directory structure and another directory structure.