Abstract: Methods, articles, signals, and systems are provided for providing email message originators and distributors with default control over message removal at a message recipient's location, regardless of whether the message has been opened. For instance, a self-removing message is designated as such by the message's originator, and a self-removal enhancement is added to conventional message content before the message is transmitted over a computer network toward one or more recipients. At the recipient's location, the message is automatically deleted without additional effort by the recipient, before or after being displayed, according to the originator's instructions unless they are overridden by the recipient. Messages may be automatically deleted in response to the arrival of a replacement message. Thus, the burden of removing unsolicited email messages is transferred from recipients to the system and the message's originators and/or to ISPs and other email distributors.

Abstract: Methods, articles, signals, and systems are provided for protecting email message contents. A self-removing message is designated as such by the message's originator, and a self-removal enhancement such as self-removal code or self-removal indicators are added to conventional message content before the message is transmitted over a computer network toward one or more recipients. Copies of the message may be removed from intermediate network nodes by software which recognizes, and acts in response to, self-removal indicators. At the recipient's location, the message is displayed and then removed from disk and from memory without additional effort by the recipient. Thus, the burden of removing unsolicited email messages is transferred from recipients to the system and the message's originator. Security of messages may also be enhanced by reducing the number of copies of confidential message content and/or the accessible life span of those copies.

Abstract: Methods, articles, signals, and systems are provided for providing unsolicited email message originators with default control over message removal at a message recipient's location, regardless of whether the unsolicited message has been opened. For instance, a self-removing message is designated as such by the message's originator, and a self-removal enhancement is added to conventional message content such as advertising before the message is transmitted over a computer network toward recipients. At a given recipient's location, the message is automatically deleted without additional effort by the recipient, before or after being displayed, according to the originator's instructions unless they are overridden by the recipient. Thus, the burden of removing unsolicited email messages is transferred from recipients to the message's originators.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for installing software on microprocessor based devices accessible over a computer network. The method includes, identifying component data associated with a software application using a first electronic device; generating a first server update algorithm by comparing the component data against data present on a first server and executing the first server algorithm thereby duplicating the component data on the first server; generating a second server update algorithm by comparing the component data on the first server against data present on a second server and executing the second server algorithm thereby duplicating the component data on the second server; generating a second device update algorithm by comparing the component data on the second server to data present on a second device and installing the software application on the second device by executing the second device update algorithm.

Abstract: The invention provides systems and methods for storing and recovering images in a computer partition, and more particularly to tools and techniques for placing and extracting images to and from the same partition that is imaged. Both a factory image and a user-updateable image may be stored on the same partition. Copies of a portion of the partition data and/or the system data for the imaged partition can be stored at a specified location within the imaged partition, in a separate partition, or on a removable recovery medium, thereby allowing images to be recovered after disruption of the imaged partition's system data. The image may be stored contiguously or non-contiguously. The image may also be stored as a system file or as an image container which comprises one or more than one image file. To speed restoration time and to assist recovery, the image may be stored at or near the end of the partition. Familiar or novel image formats may be used.

Abstract: Methods, devices, and systems are provided in a multi-level computer architecture which provides improved capabilities for managing courseware and other content in a shared use operating environment such as a computer network. In particular, the invention provides a commercial networked instruction content delivery method and system which does not exclude synchronous sharing but is focused on asynchronous sharing. Security means in the architecture provide content property holders with the ability to know how many minutes of use an individual made of licensed material and with increased certainty that their material cannot be used, copied, or sold in usable form unless and until a user site is connected or reconnected to a minute-by-minute counter which is located off the premises of the user. This security link helps protect software and other works which are being sold or licensed to an individual, organization, or entity, and creates income opportunities for owners of such content.

Abstract: The invention provides sampling, escrowing, and other tools and techniques for facilitating transactions that involve digital goods. Transactions may be of the goods-for-payment type, or they may be barter transactions that exchange goods for goods. Digital goods may be escrowed with an automatic broker. The broker may also create and distribute samples of the goods, which are created by techniques such as distorting or burdening part or all of a copy of the goods. In some cases the broker may accept and act on approval or disapproval notices from the parties to a transaction, to cancel or complete a transaction. In other cases, the broker's participation is limited to providing and/or authenticating samples.

Abstract: A Windows NT partitioning program partitions a storage device in Windows NT boot mode (i.e., after the Windows NT kernel loads device drivers and before the Session Manager loads the Windows NT user interface). In this mode, the partitioning program is capable of corrupting its own backing store—a Windows NT executable file stored on the storage device—through the partitioning process. Such corruption would generally lead to execution errors in the partitioning program when code or data from the corrupted executable file is paged into the program's in-memory executable image. To avoid such errors, the working set allocated to the executable image is expanded to accommodate all the pageable Windows NT program sections in the executable file. Each pageable program section is then locked into the executable image.

Abstract: A method for providing system management services to a customer's network of target computers through a communications network is described. Service subscribers have at least one target computer system. Each target computer system has a hardware configuration and a software configuration. An agent process is hosted on at least one target computer system of each subscriber. Each agent communicates with a centralized control server through a communication link. The control server manages the hardware or software configurations of the target computer systems through the server. By centralizing the resources for managing the computing resources of several subscribers at a single control server, the need for redundant management resources at each subscriber is reduced or eliminated. A method for providing a customer system management information in response to receiving information about the customer's target computer system is also described.

Abstract: Methods, configured storage media, and systems are provided for increasing bandwidth between a local area network (“LAN”) and other networks by using multiple routers on the given LAN. Data packets are multiplexed between the routers using a novel variation on the standard SYN packet synchronization protocol, and other components. On receiving data destined for an external network, a controller or gateway computer will direct the data to the appropriate router. In addition to providing higher speed connections, the invention provides better fault tolerance in the form of redundant connections from the originating LAN to a wide area network such as the Internet.

Abstract: Methods, articles, signals, and systems are provided for providing email message originators and distributors with default control over message removal at a message recipient's location, regardless of whether the message has been opened. For instance, a self-removing message is designated as such by the message's originator, and a self-removal enhancement is added to conventional message content before the message is transmitted over a computer network toward one or more recipients. At the recipient's location, the message is automatically deleted without additional effort by the recipient, before or after being displayed, according to the originator's instructions unless they are overridden by the recipient. ISPs and other message distributors may identify messages that should be self-removing, and make them self-removing if they are not.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for manipulating data in segmented environments such as an instance of a NetWare file system. Unlike the conventional approach that relies on FDISK and the install.nlm and nwconfig.nlm utilities in NetWare, the invention does not destroy user data on the disk after the data is copied to tape or other intermediate storage. Segment-related features such as limits on the number of segments; various configurations of segments, volumes and partitions among drives; and data mirroring, are handled by the invention during “in place” manipulations. Segments, volumes, partitions, and segment clusters or blocks may each be resized. Segments may be merged. Volumes may be consolidated on a single drive. Other manipulations and various combinations of manipulations are also provided.

Abstract: The invention provides sampling, escrowing, and other tools and techniques for facilitating transactions that involve digital goods. Transactions may be of the goods-for-payment type, or they may be barter transactions that exchange goods for goods. Digital goods may be escrowed with an automatic broker. The broker may also create and distribute samples of the goods, which are created by techniques such as distorting or burdening part or all of a copy of the goods. In some cases the broker may accept and act on approval or disapproval notices from the parties to a transaction, to cancel or complete a transaction. In other cases, the broker's participation is limited to providing and/or authenticating samples.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for controlling the disclosure of sensitive information. Disclosure is controlled in the sense that (a) the information is not disclosed until predefined conditions are met, such as the passage of a certain time without an authorized update request for secrecy, (b) copies of the information are protected by encryption and by widespread, unpredictable storage, so that at least one copy will be available when disclosure is required, (c) the information is kept secret until disclosure is required, and (d) when disclosure is required, the information is sent to predefined destinations such as email addresses or posted to web sites, in a predefined format.

Abstract: Methods, configured storage media, and systems are provided for increasing bandwidth between a local area network (“LAN”) and other networks by using multiple routers on the given LAN. Data packets are multiplexed between the routers using a novel variation on the standard address resolution protocol, and other components. On receiving data destined for an external network, a controller or gateway computer will direct the data to the appropriate router. In addition to providing higher speed connections, the invention provides better fault tolerance in the form of redundant connections from the originating LAN to a wide area network such as the Internet.

Abstract: Methods, devices, and systems are provided in a multi-level computer architecture which provides improved capabilities for managing courseware and other content in a shared use operating environment such as a computer network. In particular, the invention provides a commercial networked instruction content delivery method and system which does not exclude synchronous sharing but is focused on asynchronous sharing. Security in the architecture provides content property holders with the ability to know how many minutes of use an individual made of licensed material and with increased certainty that their material cannot be used, copied, or sold in usable form unless lo and until a user site is connected or reconnected to a minute-by-minute counter which is located off the premises of the user. This security link helps protect software and other works which are being sold or licensed to an individual, organization, or entity, and creates income opportunities for owners of such content.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for managing a transaction log which contains updates representing operations performed on a database replica in a network of disconnectable computers. The invention provides for compression of the log by the identification and removal of redundant updates. Log compression removes apparent inconsistencies between operations performed on disconnected computers, reduces storage requirements on each computer, and speeds up transaction synchronization when the computers are reconnected. The invention also provides for restoration of prior versions of database objects using the log.

Abstract: Methods, systems, signals, and devices are provided for managing and using topology information in a network. A topology information manager keeps fragments of network topology and provides access to entire fragments or to fragment summaries in response to authenticated requests. An authenticated path selector uses topology information from the manager to select message routes. The path selector may use summaries of hidden network paths to determine whether the hidden path is desirable, without having access to all topological information about the hidden path. Messages may be forwarded over hidden paths by the manager without disclosing more than the summary information to the message provider.

Abstract: A method allows manipulation of disk partitions defined by an IBM-compatible partition table. The disk partitions may be located on one or more disks attached to one or more disk drives. Each partition has an associated file system type, such as FAT or HPFS. An interrupted manipulation may be resumed at a point in the progress of the manipulation near the point of interruption. Available manipulations include verifying the integrity of a partition's file system structures; displaying information about a partition; moving a partition to a different location; resizing a partition; and converting a partition from one file system to another file system. The resizing step is illustrated with particular reference to HPFS file systems and FAT file systems. The details required to perform these manipulations are attended to by an implementing program that requires only general direction from a user.

Abstract: The invention addresses the management of multiple operating systems on a single computer and other boot-time problems. A boot-time graphical user interface is described, including support for menus, tabs, non-ASCII characters, and other graphical user interface components in the pre-boot environment. Approaches to organizing the storage and selection of multiple operating system are also presented, including the use of multiple directories which are identified in operating system boot sectors.