Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, or computer program product facilitates trustworthy electronic commerce by providing an inspection-service-based release of an escrowed payment for a transaction involving physical goods. An inspection service stands as an independent party at the onset of the transfer of goods between the buyer and the seller. In an attempt to reduce fraudulent behavior by the buyer or the seller, an inspection service inspects the goods, preferably at the point of shipment. A description of the goods has been previously stored in a transaction record that has been previously created within an escrow service. The inspection service may electronically retrieve the description of the goods from the escrow service. The inspection service then determines whether the description of the goods is acceptably similar to the actual condition or type of the goods and generates a certification if they are acceptable similar.

Abstract: In a method form of the invention, a method for authorizing recording of a telephone communication includes determining if permission has been granted to record a telephone communication in a telephone call. A communication in the telephone call is recorded by a message-recording apparatus for a first caller's telephone responsive to receiving permission for the recording from a second caller's telephone. A key is associated with the recording. The key authorizes transferring the recording to another message-recording apparatus.

Abstract: A system and method of generating a link between a note of a digital score and a realization of the score are provided. To do so, a digital score is processed to generate an onset curve. The onset curve is then filtered to generate a first series of first time intervals, which each have a significant number of onsets. A realization of the digital score is also processed to generate a second series of second time intervals, which each have a significant dynamic change of the realization. The first and the second series of time intervals are then correlated to produce the link.

Abstract: There is provided a user friendly display interface system for the interactive handling and sorting out of windows in complex window hierarchical graphical user interfaces. The system provides for the storage of a hierarchy of windows which are displayable to overlap each other in a selected order whereby a plurality of said windows are partially visible. Apparatus is provided for displaying on a display screen a plurality of these partially overlapping windows. A different audio identifier is provided and stored for each of these windows. Further apparatus is provided for moving around and positioning a pointing device, such as a cursor on the display screen, in combination with means responsive to the pointing device for announcing the audio identifier for each window which said pointing device enters. The pointing device may be a user controlled cursor, a stylus or even a finger in touch sensitive display systems. The audio identifier may conveniently be the name in the title bar of the window.

Abstract: In a system and method for displaying status of critical indicators or variables, icons representing the indicators are displayed in superposition with a reference shape. The reference shape is divided into “higher-interest” and “lower-interest” portions, such that display of an icon over the higher-interest portion of the reference shape indicates a higher-interest value of the corresponding variable. The reference shape is preferably elongated horizontally, with its upper portion designated as the higher-interest portion and its lower portion designated the lower-interest portion. Each monitored variable may be allocated a vertical “slice” of the reference shape, such that the position of the corresponding icon when the variable is in the higher-interest state is laterally aligned with the position of the icon when the variable is in the lower-interest state.

Abstract: In a system and method for displaying status of critical indicators or variables, icons representing the indicators are displayed in superposition with a reference shape. The reference shape is divided into “higher-interest” and “lower-interest” portions, such that display of an icon over the higher-interest portion of the reference shape indicates a higher-interest value of the corresponding variable. The reference shape is preferably elongated horizontally, with its upper portion designated as the higher-interest portion and its lower portion designated the lower-interest portion. Each monitored variable may be allocated a vertical “slice” of the reference shape, such that the position of the corresponding icon when the variable is in the higher-interest state is laterally aligned with the position of the icon when the variable is in the lower-interest state.

Abstract: The field of invention relates to a method, means, and device for acquiring user input by a computer and, more particularly, a new and improved method of customizing a user interface to each specific task performed by a user such that the user interface customizes itself without the user having to modify multiple sets of preferences.

Abstract: A system, method, and program of the invention enables a separating region to be displayed adjacent to at least one side of a problem menu choice within a menu list in a user interface. The problem menu choice may be any menu choice that has the potential for causing undesirable effects if it is inadvertently selected by a user, such as by overshooting a desired menu choice with a displayed pointer. The separating region creates a non-selectable area that buffers the problem menu choices from the other menu choices. The user is notified if the user moves the displayed pointer into the separating region. The notification may include any one or more of the following: i) changing the rate of movement of the displayed pointer, ii) causing the displayed pointer to change in appearance, and iii) causing an audible sound. The separating region may be partitioned into zones wherein certain characteristics of the notification is dependent upon the zone location of the displayed pointer.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for announcing receipt of an electronic message. When a message including text is received, the message is filtered determine what will be announced. Text from the filtered message is selectively combined with announcement text to create modified announcement text in which filtered text is selectively placed into the announcement text. The modified announcement text is then transformed into synthesized speech.

Abstract: A process and system for optimizing an invocation of a method is provided. A determination is made to compile a calling method, and a call to a callee method is detected within the first method. The callee method may be a non-final, virtual method, and a determination may be made that the callee method has not been previously overridden. The callee method is then inlined within the first method. In addition, no conditional statements are inserted into the calling method along with the inlined method. The determination to compile and optimize these methods may be made by a just-in-time compiler, and if the methods are Java methods, then a Java just-in-time compiler performs the optimization process. If a determination is made to load a class that contains a method that overrides the callee method, then the calling method is recompiled or patched.

Abstract: A method and system for compensating for instrumentation overhead in trace data is provided. To profile a program, the program is executed to generate trace records that are written to a trace file. A set of event trace records in a trace file is processed to determine one or more trace overhead compensation values. The trace overhead compensation values are determined by computing, for each successive pair of event trace records in the trace file, a difference between a first timestamp in a preceding event trace record and a second timestamp in a succeeding event trace record. The minimum value of all of these differences is then stored as a trace overhead compensation value representing an amount of time for instrumentation processing of an event. The one or more trace overhead compensation values are applied to the event trace records during subsequent processing of the set of event trace records.

Abstract: A method of configuring information for display includes assigning continuum labels to pieces of information, or information units, accessible by a computer system. The continuum labels may be used in arranging the information units into ordered sequences, or continuum arrangements. Criteria for ordering of the information units within the continuum arrangement may include, for example, the level of detail of the subject matter of the information units or the degree to which the subject matter of an information unit is related to that of a reference information unit. Formation of continuum arrangements may be done by entering data into a data structure or rules database, or by a method of using a graphical user interface to establish sequences of icons representing information units. Forming continuum arrangements to configure information may allow display of the information in a form allowing rapid, convenient viewer access to desired pieces of information.

Abstract: An improved method, apparatus, and instructions for locating a server in a distributed network using the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), maintaining information for the server, displaying a tree of servers, browsing the tree of servers, and searching the tree of servers for an entry with specific attributes is provided. The information maintained about the server includes its location, lists of attributes, and access control. The tree displayed can be for all servers combined or for an individual server. The search can be across the entire server or customized to a subset of servers. The search can be based on one of the following attributes: user, country, group, locality, access group, access role, organization, organization unit, domain, or can be based on user defined attributes.

Abstract: The invention is a method and apparatus that verifies the design of electronic circuitry containing a function to be tested. An input, such as a random input, is provided to the electronic circuitry containing the function, yielding an output. This output, in turn, is used as input (denominated “inverse input”) to an inverse of the function to be tested. The resulting output (termed “inverse output”) is compared to the original input to the function to be tested to facilitate verification of the design of the circuitry.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for dynamically driving events in a simulation of a data processing system are implemented. Events, or system states, are generated by drivers located at predetermined locations within the simulation model under test. These events, which are drawn from a predetermined class of events, termed “effects,” are driven in response to other events observed by monitors disposed within the simulation model in accordance with a predetermined set of “causes,” and a set of “rules” that map causes to effects. The driving of events is mediated by a library process that receives observed events from the monitors, in the form of data structures, stored them in a database, and passes the effects to be driven to the appropriate driver in accordance with the set of rules, also data structures stored in the database, when a cause corresponds to a observed event.

Abstract: A method, means, and device for controlling the amount of light penetration through a viewing port and, more particularly, a new and improved method of controlling one or more pane such that the one or more pane varies the degree of energy reflection and absorption of a single viewing port.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for mediating a sequence of transactions across a fabric in a data processing system are implemented. A fabric bridge orders a preceding transaction and a subsequent transaction according to a predetermined protocol. Using the protocol a determination is made whether the subsequent transaction may be allowed to bypass the previous transaction, must be allowed to bypass the previous transaction, or must not be allowed to bypass the preceding transaction. Transactions include load/store (L/S) to system memory, and direct memory access (DMA) to system memory transactions.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for mediating a sequence of transactions across a fabric in a data processing system are implemented. A fabric bridge orders a preceding transaction and a subsequent transaction according to a predetermined protocol. Using the protocol a determination is made whether the subsequent transaction may be allowed to bypass the previous transaction, must be allowed to bypass the previous transaction, or must not be allowed to bypass the preceding transaction. Transactions include load/store (L/S) system memory and L/S to input/output (I/O) device, and direct memory access (DMA) to system memory and DMA peer-to-peer transactions.

Abstract: Aspects for detecting environmental faults in redundant components of a computer system are described. In an exemplary method aspect, the method includes monitoring system environment conditions, including a status for redundant power supply and cooling components. The method further includes registering a failure condition with an appropriate error type when a monitored system environment condition exceeds a design threshold, and utilizing the registered failure condition as data in an architected error log.

Abstract: A process for building a platform compliance test for only software components necessary to an application is disclosed. Initially the application is parsed to reveal only component needed for performance of the application, those components names are then checked against components names which are available to the application. A compliance test consisting of compatibility tests associated with the available components is then generated and used to evaluate platforms in which the application is intended to be developed.