Abstract: Methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business by selectably mixing one or more sound files with a telephone caller's voice message, either as background for that message or embedded within the message. Or, the mixing may occur within a telephone conversation between parties. The disclosed techniques enable alleviating some of the problems that result from distance communication (as contrasted to face-to-face communication). In particular, context information (such as emotional context) can be provided through appropriate use of background sound and/or embedded audio files. The disclosed techniques may also make communication through voice mail exchange more enjoyable and/or increase its productivity.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for achieving context-sensitive confidentiality within a federated environment for which content is aggregated in a distributed Web portal (or similar aggregation framework), ensuring that message portions that should be confidential are confidential to all entities in the federated environment except those entities to which the message portions may properly be divulged. The federation may comprise an arbitrary number of autonomous security domains, and these security domains may have independent trust models and authentication services. Using the disclosed techniques, messages can be routed securely within a cross-domain federation (irrespective of routing paths), thereby ensuring that confidential information is not exposed to unintended third parties and that critical information is not tampered with while in transit between security domains. Preferred embodiments leverage Web services techniques and a number of industry standards.

Abstract: Enabling network-accessible applications to be integrated into content aggregation frameworks (such as portals) and to become dynamically interactive through proxying components (such as proxying portlets), thereby providing run-time cooperation and data sharing.

Abstract: Techniques for implicitly extending an object model, even those that do not provide an extension mechanism, in a manner that is transparent, independent, and non-disruptive to the model itself. An “extension” is preferably created for each object to be extended, and comprises a reference to the object and contains an “extension object” that specifies the particular extensions.

Abstract: Real-time assembly and part validation (or “containment”) and auto-disposition in a manufacturing environment. Validation and auto-disposition are performed in a real-time, proactive manner where the validation and auto-disposition processing are not coupled to the installation process. Validation problems or issues may therefore be identified and resolved before an assembly or part is needed for installation.

Abstract: Content aggregation is used to build administration consoles. Preferred embodiments enable providing a solution-based approach to information technology (“IT”) administration, whereby content can be flexibly arranged to provide a content view that is adapted for the IT solution deployed in a particular IT environment. In preferred embodiments, portal technology is used for the aggregation framework, and portlets are used for creating content. Alternatively, other approaches such as struts and tiles may be used. Preferred embodiments deploy an administration console as a Web-accessible application, and this console consolidates the administration interfaces for an arbitrary set of management operations, including administration of an arbitrary collection of hardware and/or software resources. Roles/permissions may be used when rendering content for the console, thereby customizing a view to individual end users (or user groups).

Abstract: A method and apparatus for managing a log-full condition of a transaction log in a transaction processing system are provided. The transaction log has a plurality of log records each associated with a particular transaction. When a log-full condition is detected, the active transaction having the oldest log entry of all active transactions is identified and logging for all transactions except for the identified transaction is temporarily suspended. A dynamic transaction backout of the identified transaction is initiated, with the writing of a backout record for the identified transaction to the log being delayed. The method waits for confirmation that the backout has completed before trimming the log. Then the delayed backout record for the identified transaction is written to the log and normal logging is resumed.

Abstract: A user viewing a preview of a media title using a media player can elect to add that media title to a list for future use, such as a future rentals list maintained by a rental media provider. The media player communicates with the rental media provider for updating a list for the user which is stored at (or accessible to) the provider. Optionally, a filtering capability may be provided to suppress viewing of particular previews which are stored on media inserted into the media player (for example, because the user has already rented the previewed media title, because the preview does not match filtering criteria such as parental controls, etc.). The filtering may comprise preventing media titles from being added to the future rentals list. Optionally, substitute previews may be provided for the previews which are suppressed by the filtering.

Abstract: A security system for inventory automatically detects removal of inventory items from an area or areas protected with security sensors. A person removing the item then scans an identifying code of the item, such as its bar code or radio-frequency identification (“RFID”) tag, with a device such as a portable shopping assistant device; if the item is not scanned in an appropriate manner, such as within a particular a time period, then theft of the item may be suspected. Information for completing a purchase transaction can be sent from the portable shopping assistant device. In this manner, items can be purchased directly from the protected areas.

Abstract: The presence of an installation on a data processing system may be detected by providing a signature that includes m files having paths associated therewith, respectively. A number n files on the data processing system are determined that match files in the signature and a files found ratio given by n/m is determined. A transformation is applied to the signature by replacing at least a portion of at least one of the paths with a new path. Then, a distance is determined between the n files on the data processing system and the m signature files. The distance corresponds to a sum of a number of path segments associated with the m signature files that cannot be matched to a corresponding path segment associated with files on the data processing system. The presence of the installation on the data processing system is determined based on the files found ratio and the distance.

Abstract: An information technology portfolio is managed using assessments that are based on a set of criteria. Each of the criteria may have one or more attributes, and may be different in priority from one another. The criteria are preferably directed toward evaluating, ensuring, and/or improving acceptance of the products in the portfolio by their target marketplace or market segment. Assessments are performed, using the criteria and attributes, and results of these assessments may be used when making various decisions regarding the products in the portfolio.

Abstract: Techniques for developing a graphical editor using an incremental development approach. Externally-stored descriptors are used to specify information on which a graphical editor engine operates to create a graphical editor. Developers can thus redefine the look and feel of the graphical editor by modifying these descriptors, effectively re-configuring the elements of visual models without changing the code of the graphical editor engine. Visual models for modeling a domain can be created and used, without first requiring the domain model to be defined.

Abstract: Applications generating events, and system facilities generating events, send notifications of the events to a system event sink. The event sink is preferably associated with an operating system, and provides an application programming interface for registering listeners. (In one alternative approach, the event sink operates as a centrally-accessible or network-accessible entity, where it may concurrently interact with more than one client.) Upon receiving a notification of an event, the event sink forwards the notification to any registered listeners. Optionally, filters may be used to specify criteria to be met before a notification is forwarded to the listener. An event does not rely on a particular application for displaying the event to an end user. As one example, notification of a newly-arrived e-mail message might be presented in a chat window of an instant messaging client.

Abstract: As a user navigates through a sequence of screens by selecting certain “aid” keys, a graph will be built reflecting the navigation history of the user. When a user requests a certain screen by selecting a particular key, screen data is received from a host on a web server. The screen data for the requested screen is compared to the screen data for the screen(s) in the graph associated with the selected key. If a match is established, the user has visited this screen before and its data has already been converted (e.g., scraped). As such, the screen can be retrieved from storage and served to the user. If, however, a match cannot be established, the requested screen will be converted and stored, and the graph will be updated.

Abstract: Automated techniques for identifying packaging solutions, where a dynamic, automated decision is made as to whether items are to be bulk packed and/or whether particular containers are to be bulk cased (that is, consolidated within casing such as pallets). Factors considered may comprise customer-specific requests, order destination, type of items, quantity of items, size of items, quantity of grouped orders, size of grouped orders, and so forth. Orders may contain items that are alike as well as items that are different from one another. A particular order or orders may be assembled as the items of the order(s) arrive for packaging, without requiring a fixed timing or sequence of item arrival, thereby providing a dynamic, real-time packaging solution.

Abstract: A hyper-scatternet includes a first ad hoc piconet, a second ad hoc piconet and a wide area network, wherein the first and second ad hoc piconets are configured to communicate with one another via the wide area network. Each ad hoc piconet can include an application server that includes an ad hoc piconet interface that is configured to communicate with an ad hoc piconet using an ad hoc piconet protocol, and a wide area network interface that is configured to communicate with a wide area network using a wide area network protocol. The application server also includes a service manifest that is configured to determine ad hoc piconet services that are available from the ad hoc piconet via the ad hoc piconet interface, and to advertise the ad hoc piconet services to the wide area network as wide area network services via the wide area network interface.

Abstract: Dynamically selecting an endpoint for a tunnel into an enterprise computing infrastructure. A client dynamically selects a gateway (which may alternatively be referred to as a boundary device or server) as a tunnel endpoint for connecting over a public network (or, more generally, an untrusted network) into an enterprise computing infrastructure. The selection is made, in preferred embodiments, according to least-cost routing metrics pertaining to paths through the enterprise network from the selected gateway to a destination host. The least-cost routing metrics may be computed using factors such as the proximity of selectable tunnel endpoints to the destination host; stability or redundancy of network resources for this gateway; monetary costs of transmitting data over a path between the selectable tunnel endpoints and destination host; congestion on that path; hop count for that path; and/or latency or transmit time for data on that path.

Abstract: Policy filtering services are built into security processing of an execution environment for resolving how to handle a digital security certificate of a communicating entity without requiring a local copy of a root certificate that is associated with the entity through a certificate authority (“CA”) chain. Policy may be specified using a set of rules (or other policy format) indicating conditions for certificate filtering. This filtering is preferably invoked during handshaking, upon determining that a needed root CA certificate is not available. In one approach, the policy uses rules specifying conditions under which a certificate is permitted (i.e., treated as if it is validated) and other rules specifying conditions under which a certificate is blocked (i.e., treated as if it is invalid). Preferably, policy rules are evaluated and enforced in order of most-specific to least-specific.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for enabling end users to subscribe to information content, without requiring the end user to initiate the subscription process. User patterns are observed, and content subscriptions are offered to users based on these observations. Preferably, the user is allowed to customize the offered subscription, including conditions to be evaluated before content is considered as being of interest to this user, and/or one or more actions to be taken when the conditions are met.

Abstract: Under the present invention, each client device will have a corresponding configuration that is accessible to the server. Each configuration sets forth various computer resources as well as corresponding normalization and importance factors for the associated client device. If a certain OSGi bundle is to be loaded and run on a particular client device, certain prerequisites (e.g., services packages, etc.) will likely be necessary. Any prerequisites that the client device lacks will be obtained using potential combinations of other OSGi bundles registered with the server. The most appropriate combination of OSGi bundles will be selected from the possible combinations by processing the configuration based on the amounts of computer resources of the client device that will be consumed by each of the possible combinations.