Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention deals generally with a system and method of selling an anonymous customer exercisable call option at a retail point of sale exercisable in the future securing the provision of goods and/or services. Such a system has the multiple advantages of: 1) Eliminating the need for the collection of customer identifying contact information such as name and address at the point-of-sale; 2) Since only a call option is sold, customers may elect to delay exercising the option, or indeed not exercise the option at all. Both of these instances likely benefit the supplier of goods and/or services in an economic sense; and, 3) The transaction may be anonymous to the maximum extent possible.

Abstract: An illustrative method of the present application is for use in updating an application program in memory of a network device. An application program having a length L1 is initially stored in memory of the network device from a memory address A1 to a memory address A2?1. A download procedure is performed by the network device to receive an updated application program having a length L2>L1. This updated application program is stored in the memory from a memory address A3=A2+(L2?L1) for the length L1, and continuing in a circular buffer fashion from the memory address A2 for the length L2?L1. The application program is then copied over with the updated application program beginning at the memory address A1. With this technique, if a failure occurs while copying over the application program, no portion of the original updated application program will be written over.

Abstract: In one illustrative example, a wireless network device of a low data rate wireless personal area network (WPAN) or the like includes a controller, memory for storing one or more application programs, and a wireless transceiver coupled to the controller and operative for communications in the wireless network. The controller is adapted to receive, through the wireless transceiver, an instruction which causes the wireless device to operate as a client in performing an OAD procedure for receiving the program from another wireless device which is operated as a server in the wireless network, and to operate the wireless device as the client in performing the OAD procedure in response to such instruction.

Abstract: A user-access interface to a voice message service system (16) includes a voice channel (13) and a data channel (14). The data channel enables the user to interact with the voice-mail service system via a video terminal or display-equipped computer (11) and to print message headers on the terminal or display. The user can then visually scan the headers. The user can then listen to the messages or record new messages via the voice channel. The interactive interface between the terminal or computer and the voice message service system over the data channel is provided by a function (30) executing on the terminal or computer and a function (31) executing on the voice-message service system.