Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables mitigating at least some of the problems caused by a packet attack. When a first Internet Protocol (IP)-capable device is subjected to a packet attack, it indicates periodically to a second IP-capable device that certain communications with the first device are to be suspended. The periodic transmitting of the indication is performed at a slower rate than the keep-alive mechanism that is normally used to detect loss of connectivity. When the second device receives the transmitted indication, it refrains from transmitting keep-alive messages to the first device for a predetermined interval. Meanwhile, the first device also refrains from transmitting keep-alive messages to the second device for a similar interval. In transmitting the suspend indication, the illustrative embodiment seeks to prevent pairs of communicating devices that are experiencing packet attacks from continuing their operation under the erroneous assumption that each device is unavailable.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed that enables a context-driven, adaptive technique for generating a list of telephone numbers. The technique of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention seeks to dynamically anticipate what telephone numbers a user might want to dial—even before the user knows—and presents the names of the parties and their telephone numbers to the user at his or her terminal. In particular, the technique monitors a user, the user's locale, and one or more terminals in that locale; selects one or more telephone numbers from a master set of numbers, based on the monitored information; and presents the selected numbers to the user—for example, in the form of a speed-dial list or a one-touch dial list. The user can then examine the presented telephone numbers and decide if he or she wants to call one of them. The technique can be implemented at the user's computer, telephone, private branch exchange, or other device in the relevant telecommunications system.

Abstract: A telecommunications endpoint and method are disclosed that involve the monitoring of a conference call by the endpoint, on behalf of a call participant who is either at the endpoint or elsewhere, and the prompting of the participant when his/her presence is needed. The monitoring of the call involves determining whether certain phrases that are relevant to and initialized by the participating endpoint user are spoken during the call. Such phrases might comprise the user's name, the name of a relevant project, the name of a relevant work item, and so forth. At a point in the call when one of the phrases has been spoken, the endpoint prompts the user of the event and provides relevant information that enables the user to refocus attention towards the call.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for improving performance in high-availability systems are disclosed. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, pages of memory of a primary system that are to be shadowed are initially copied to a backup system's memory, as well as to a cache in the primary system. A duplication manager process maintains the cache in an intelligent manner that significantly reduces the overhead required to keep the backup system in sync with the primary system, as well as the cache size needed to achieve a given level of performance. Advantageously, the duplication manager is executed on a different processor core than the application process executing transactions, further improving performance.

Abstract: A method is provided for the production of accurate waiting time estimates based on at least one of (i) a queue arrival rate and (ii) estimated queue length. In a first embodiment of the present invention, the waiting time for a caller is determined on the basis of a queue arrival rate. In a second embodiment of the present invention, the waiting time for a caller is determined on the basis of a queue length estimate. The queue length estimate is a prediction of the size of the queue at a given time instant.

Abstract: A contact center has an interface with a virtual environment implemented in a computer system. The operation of the contact center includes receiving, from the virtual environment, spatial information relating to the spatial position within the virtual environment of an inhabitant of the virtual environment, and queuing a contact relating to that inhabitant in a queuing system of the contact center. Queuing decisions are based, at least in part, on the spatial information of the inhabitant in the virtual environment.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables the implementation of an embedded firewall at a telecommunications endpoint. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention addresses the relationship between the application, firewall engine, and packet-classification rules database that are all resident at the endpoint. In the variations of the illustrative embodiment that are described herein, the application: (i) directly communicates with the co-resident firewall engine such as through local message passing, (ii) shares memory with the firewall engine, and (iii) makes socket calls to the operating system that are intercepted by a middleware layer that subsequently modifies the rules database, depending on the socket call. The common thread to these techniques is that the application, firewall engine, and rules database are co-resident at the endpoint, which is advantageous in the implementation of the embedded firewall.

Abstract: A module is provided for installation in a drive bay of a computer and is adapted to accommodate expansion circuitry rather than the electromechanical devices conventionally installed in drive bays. A system interface board is provided for insertion into an expansion socket on the computer's motherboard and is connected to the module, thus interfacing the expansion circuitry to the computer. The expansion circuitry can be greater in volume and is more accessible and more easily cooled than expansion circuitry installed in expansion sockets on the motherboard.

Abstract: The invention provides a customer service response system (CSRS), that a customer service agent can selectively employ to simultaneously interact with one or more customers. When a caller places a telephone call to the customer service call center, the CSRS answers the call and plays a message to the calling party. The message may be a greeting message and may prompt the calling party for information such as a claim number. The CSRS then displays this information on a graphical user interface at the call center. The customer service agent in front of the GUI can answer the call, or can respond to the caller with a question by clicking a button on the GUI.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that provides the sharing of a station-mapping description with a first private-branch exchange, where the description has been initialized and maintained at a second private-branch exchange. Such a description describes a logical association between a station extension of an enterprise deskset and a telephone number of an off-premises terminal, such as a cell phone. As a result of the sharing across private-branch exchanges, an incoming call from a second employee's cell phone can be recognized, by a first employee being called, as coming from the calling second employee. This is because the incoming call is identified with the telephone extension of the calling employee's deskset terminal in spite of the call being placed from the cell phone, or other telephone number at large. This is particularly important where a large company engineers its enterprise's telecommunications system across multiple private-branch exchanges.

Abstract: A nutritional supplement comprising a variety of vitamins and minerals is described. A nutritional supplement comprising between about 1 mg and about 5 mg of vitamin B1, between about 2 mg and about 8 mg of vitamin B2, between about 7 mg and about 30 mg of vitamin B6, between about 10 mcg and about 40 mcg of vitamin B12, between about 1 mg and about 4 mg of folic acid, between about 250 IU and about 900 IU of vitamin D3, between about 100 mg and about 400 mg of vitamin C, between about 20 IU and about 90 IUs of vitamin E, between about 0.5 mg and about 4 mg of copper, between about 20 mg and about 80 mg of zinc, between about 10 mg and about 70 mg of iron, and between about 100 mg and about 800 mg of omega-3 fatty acids is disclosed.

Abstract: A nutritional supplement for use in physiologically stressful conditions is disclosed. The nutritional supplement may include one or more of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D3, vitamin C, vitamin B1, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, vitamin B6, biotin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B12, magnesium, zinc, selenium, chromium, copper, iron, alpha lipoic acid, lutein and lycopene.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that enables a user of one telecommunications terminal that is engaged in a call to move or “extend” the call to a second telecommunications terminal without notifying any other party on the call of the move. This is particularly useful in many situations. For example, the user might be at work and engaged in a call with a client on the user's wireline desk telephone. If the user needs to leave the office, the user can extend the call to his or her cell phone, while the call is in progress, without notifying the client. This enables the user to leave the office and continue the call on his or her cell phone without having the client ever know that the user is on his or her cell phone and not in the office.

Abstract: An apparatus and methods are disclosed for use by organizations that have PBXs at a plurality of sites. The invention pertains to cell phone calls from an to his or her “home” private branch exchange. For example, an employee who works at the Chicago branch office might call the Chicago office's PBX to invoke a feature such as setting up call forwarding, retrieving voice mail, etc. In the illustrative embodiment, such calls might be automatically and transparently directed to another PBX when it is advantageous to do so (e.g., for the purposes of security, reducing toll charges, because of unavailability of a particular PBX, etc.) Factors that might be used to determine whether to re-direct a call and to which PBX to re-direct a call include the day and time of the call, the network that the cell phone is currently connected to, etc.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable: (i) applications that are external to a telecommunications terminal, rather than the user, to initiate the delivery of content to the terminal, and (ii) the terminal to determine, based on the state of the terminal, whether or not to provide the content to a user. The “state” of the terminal is determined by one or more of (i) user-driven states, (ii) data states, and (iii) call states. When the terminal's state is considered, as in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the readiness of the user and terminal to accept and process the content are accounted for, and as a result the content does not interfere.

Abstract: A method for scheduling the execution of tasks on a processor is disclosed. The purpose of the method is in part to serve the special needs of soft real-time tasks, which are time-sensitive. A parameter ? is an estimate of the amount of time required to execute the task. Another parameter ? is the maximum amount of time that the task is to spend in a queue before being executed. In the illustrative embodiment, the preferred wait time ?i for a newly-arrived task Ti is expected to be met though the insertion of the newly-arrived task Ti into a position k in a queue such that position k respects the task's preferred wait time ?i in light of the expected execution times of the other tasks already in the queue.

Abstract: A video camera and microphone associated with a telecommunications terminal are used to gather information about the environment in the vicinity of the telecommunications terminal. Such information includes, but is not limited to: (i) how many people are in the environment, (ii) which specific people are in the environment, (iii) if the environment is dark, (iv) if the environment is quiet, and (v) if the environment comprises human speech. When a specific person is associated with the telecommunications terminal and a request arrives to establish a telephone call with that person, then the information about the environment can be used to decide whether: (1) to transmit the call to the telecommunications terminal, or (2) forward the call away from the telecommunications terminal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for network security based on a security status of a device. A security update status of a device is evaluated; and one or more of a plurality of security policies are selected to apply to the device based on the security update status. The available security philosophies may include, for example, a “protect the good” philosophy, an “encourage the busy” philosophy and a “shut off the non-compliant” philosophy. The security update status can evaluate, for example, a version level of one or more security features installed on the device or can be based on a flag indicating whether the device satisfies predefined criteria for maintaining one or more computer security protection features up-to-date.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed that enables the managing of environmental conditions within an enterprise workplace and, in doing so, provides an improvement in facilities cost management over some techniques in the prior art. A data-processing system such as a private-branch exchange monitors the workplace by using one or more telephones, or other “telecommunications endpoints” to which the exchange is connected, in the workplace area. The exchange determines whether people are present in the workplace area by monitoring which endpoints are in use. Additionally, the exchange monitors the sounds that are received by the microphones of the endpoints. Based on knowing which endpoints are in use, the exchange generates control signals for the purpose of controlling one or more environmental conditions such as temperature, lighting, and so forth. In some embodiments of the present invention, the exchange examines the audio content of the received signals and bases the control signals on the audio content analyzed.