Abstract: The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus which facilitates the processing for purchasing printed books after purchasing electronic books from which the printed books are manufactured. According to the information processing apparatus, an address on a network of a control center which can order printed books is attached to corresponding electronic book data. When browsing an electronic book at a user terminal, the user accesses the control center by performing a predetermined operation on the basis of the above-mentioned address. The user terminal sends the user ID to the control center. Upon reception of the order request for a printed book from the user terminal, the control center searches for the address of the user on the basis of the user ID and, at the same time, searches for a bookstore server having the stock of the requested printed book, thereby placing an order for the printed book to the nearest bookstore server.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus which objectively evaluates book reviewers. According to the information processing apparatus, a book evaluation program retrieves, for each book, the book reading period of time per page, the number of lent-out times, the number of turned-over pages and the total number of turned-over pages, the number of pages turned over two times or more, and the number of book reading times included in the book reading data received from a bookstore server to obtain their deviation values for each book and obtain the average value of these deviation values. On the basis of the average deviation value obtained for each book, the book evaluation program obtains a five-step evaluation value.

Abstract: The invention provides a reproduction apparatus and a reproduction method by which the error of time information which arises from interruption of power supply to a timer which manages the term of term-managed contents data is minimized to allow accurate term management of contents data. The timer produces time information when power is supplied from a cell, but stops its operation when no power is supplied thereto. The time information produced by the timer is stored into a memory, and the memory holds the stored time information when no power is supplied to the timer. Then, when the power from the cell is supplied subsequently to the timer, the time information stored in the memory is set to the timer so that the timer may thereafter produce correct time information thereby to allow term management of term-managed contents data to be performed accurately.

Abstract: If the same instructions are continuously inputted over a predetermined number of times when a plurality of instructions on picture display are entered by a user and accumulated while display data recorded on a recording medium is read out, processed and displayed, the same continuous instruction is converted into other instructions.

Abstract: Listening to a CD by using headphones for example is interrupted by voice signals. A control microcomputer 55 executes a procedure for establishing a connection for communication with a communication unit. When the connection has been established, the control microcomputer 55 sets a switch 59 from a terminal a for supplying, to headphones 22, the reproduction output of a CD 23 to a terminal b for supplying a voice signal received at an antenna 21 to the headphones 22.

Abstract: A mobile device includes a portrait-oriented handheld housing, and keys which are arranged in such a manner that keys mounted on a landscape-oriented keyboard of a personal computer are divided into a plurality of groups, each group of keys being shifted in a longitudinal direction of the housing with respect to one another. Therefore, the mobile device with a confined width can accommodate a key layout similar to the key layout of computer keyboard.

Abstract: An information reproduction method uses a first storage medium and a second storage medium. For the method a plurality of pieces of information and retrieval information are recorded in one of the storage media. The retrieval information is used to retrieve and reproduce the pieces of information with a reproduction apparatus, and information related to the information recorded in the first storage medium is recorded on a plurality of pieces of paper as the second storage medium. At first the pieces of information recorded in the first storage medium loaded in the reproduction apparatus are retrieved based on the retrieval information recorded in the first storage medium, subsequently the information retrieved from the first storage medium as output are displayed, and the information recorded in the second storage medium is retrieved based on the displayed information representing the location of the information recorded in the second storage medium related thereto.

Abstract: An information reproduction method uses a first storage medium and a second storage medium. For the method a plurality of pieces of information and retrieval information are recorded in one of the storage media. The retrieval information is used to retrieve and reproduce the pieces of information with a reproduction apparatus, and information related to the information recorded in the first storage medium is recorded on a plurality of pieces of paper as the second storage medium. At first the pieces of information recorded in the first storage medium loaded in the reproduction apparatus are retrieved based on the retrieval information recorded in the first storage medium, subsequently the information retrieved from the first storage medium as output are displayed, and the information recorded in the second storage medium is retrieved based on the displayed information representing the location of the information recorded in the second storage medium related thereto.

Abstract: An optical disc playback and display apparatus comprising a playback block for reproducing the optical disc recorded with large quantities of character information or image information, a display block, rectangular in shape, for displaying reproduced character information or image information, and a touch panel input block superimposed on the rectangular display block. The novel constitution eliminates use of a conventionally practiced hardware keyboard, making the apparatus far thinner and therefore more portable as well as enhancing ease of search data input.

Abstract: An optical disk player is provided with a casing or base which need not be substantially larger than a square inscribed by the circular perimeter of the compact disk which it plays by causing the optical pick-up to radially scan the disk along a path at a predetermined angle to the sides of the square, preferably at about 45.degree. thereto. At the outermost position of the pick-up, its object lens is centered at the outermost track on the disk, and a corner of the casing conveniently accommodates the portion of the pick-up which then necessarily extends outwardly beyond the outermost track.