Abstract: In a first embodiment, multi-speed concatenated packet strings are transmitted by a first node on a serial bus. To accommodate multi-speed packets, a speed signal is transmitted immediately prior to the packet. In a second embodiment, ACK-concatenation is used to allow a node to transmit a data packet immediately after transmitting an acknowledge signal on the bus. The data packet need not be related to the ACK packet. In a third embodiment, a node which receives a first data packet followed by a data end signal on a child port, concatenates a second data packet onto the first data packet during retransmission. The second data packet is also transmitted down the bus in the direction of the node which originally transmitted the first data packet.

Abstract: Colors are specified within the individual glyphs of a font by means of an indirect approach which employs multiple tables. The data values for individual pixels of a glyph identify entries in an index table, which pertains to a subset of all available colors. The entries in the index table map to a complete set of colors that are specified in a color table. As a result of this structure, the amount of data that is required to specify the individual pixels of a glyph can be minimized to the number of bits required to distinguish the colors within that glyph. The specification of all available colors within a single table permits that table to be shared among various resources, including bitmap fonts and outline fonts.

Abstract: An apparatus for removing heat from heat generating elements is disclosed. The apparatus is a thermal management system having a thermal distribution assembly in either one of or both of conductive and radiative communication with heat generating elements. The thermal distribution assembly has thermal zones, each of which is associated with at least one heat generating element. The thermal distribution assembly includes a heat spreading frame and a heat conducting frame. Heat passes from the heat generating elements to the heat conducting frame and then to the heat spreading frame, from which the heat is removed via convection.

Abstract: A system and method provide for synchronous operation of linked command objects in a general purpose software application. The software application provides a user with a variety of operations that manipulate available data objects. The software application manages the data objects in a number of contexts. Each context manages the existence and execution of a number of command objects. Each command object operates on one or more data objects in its context. To support synchronous operations that affect the state of data objects in more than one context, command objects are linked to each other. When one command object is executed, the context of the command object identifies a command object linked to the executed command object and initiates the execution of the linked command object via the context that manages that command object. This synchronization allows for synchronous undo and redone operations. The delete states of the command objects are also synchronized.

Abstract: A computer-user interface facilitates interaction between the user and the computer in a manner which enables the computer to assist the user in accomplishing desired goals. Based upon a particular task to be performed, the computer interviews the user to obtain the information pertinent to that particular task. Once the information is provided to the computer, it works with the user to automatically perform desired tasks in response to triggering events designated by the user. In addition, the computer can notify the user whenever a task is being carried out. Any executable function can be designated by the user as the object of a task. The initiation of this task can be carried out in response to any programmatically detectable event, or trigger, which is also designated by the user. As a further feature, the user has the ability to select from among a number of different types of notification to be provided whenever the task is being performed.

Abstract: An improved apparatus and method for creating high quality virtual reality panoramas is disclosed that yields dramatic improvements during the authoring and projecting cycles, with speeds up to several orders of magnitude faster than prior systems. In a preferred embodiment, a series of rectilinear images taken from a plurality of rows are pairwise registered with one another, and locally optimized using a pairwise objective function (local error function) that minimizes certain parameters in a projective transformation, using an improved iterative procedure. The local error function values for the pairwise registrations are then saved and used to construct a quadratic surface to approximate a global optimization function (global error function). The chain rule is used to avoid the direct evaluation of the global objective function, saving computation.

Abstract: A system and method for dynamically correcting display characteristics to compensate for non-uniformities is disclosed. In the preferred embodiment, the display screen is divided into logical tiles, and then the initial correction parameters of the characteristics under consideration, namely convergence, brightness, hue, and beamlanding, are measured at the vertices of each tile. The dynamic correction circuitry automatically synchronizes the correction waveforms, which are functions of the locations on the physical display screen, with the control signals of the displayed image. Due to the synchronization, the previously stored initial correction parameters of the characteristics under consideration may be used to dynamically correct for uniformity of these characteristics. The preferred embodiment performs linear vertical and horizontal interpolation on the correction values between the vertices of the tiles.

Abstract: In a portable FireWire compatible device, a direct memory access (DMA) bus switch coupled by way of a DMA bus to a central processing unit (CPU), a local hard drive (HDD), and a FireWire port, provides a direct connection between the FireWire port and the HDD bypassing a main bus and the CPU when a data transfer request is received and processed by the CPU. Otherwise, until the data transfer request is received and processed, the CPU is directly connected to the HDD. In this way, a high speed data transfer between the FireWire port and the HDD is provided only when an appropriate data transfer request is received and processed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for supplying a reliable and maintainable operating system in a net-booted environment. According to one embodiment, a network computer (NC) client boots from a boot image provided by an NC server. The boot image includes information identifying the location of one or more system volumes on the NC server that contain operating system software. In response to an attempt to modify the contents of the one or more system volumes, the NC client causes information identifying the modification to be recorded on the NC server separate from the one or more system volumes in a storage area associated with the NC client.

Abstract: A method of providing a protective barrier between a plastic casing and a rubber layer molded over the plastic casing. The protective barrier is applied to the plastic casing and then the rubber layer molded onto the plastic casing over the protective barrier. The protective barrier prevents the rubber layer from reacting with the underlying plastic casing. In one embodiment, the plastic casing comprises a polycarbonate resin and the protective barrier comprises a polyurethane coating.

Abstract: The present invention relates to information which allows transmission of time related data over a data communication medium. In one embodiment, a set of data includes at least one instruction to cause a digital processing system to generate a set of packets representing a time related sequence of media data. The set of packets is associated with a transmission protocol. The set of data includes a time related sequence of data which is associated with the time related sequence of media data.

Abstract: In a computer system having a memory, a processor, and a network interface, a method for listening on multiple conferencing interfaces having the steps of loading a set of transport components into the memory; initializing each transport components of the set of transport components to listen on a particular conferencing interface using the network interface, each transport component of the set of transport components listening to a different conferencing interface; receiving an incoming call signal on the network interface having an incoming conferencing interface; processing the incoming call signal to detect the incoming conferencing interface; and launching an application based on the incoming conferencing interface.

Abstract: An object-oriented computing environment stores information relating to objects in a data file, and manipulates the information in the data file through a suitable user interface. The interface permits a user to completely redesign a program structure by adding or removing parents of an object through simple actions such as menu commands or drag and drop operations. The precedence of parents in a heterarchy can be reordered, again through drag and drop operation. A new parent can be spliced between an existing parent and its children. Properties and handlers can be moved to appropriate levels of the program structure through simple operations, and the user can be provided with choices to make appropriate functionality changes to individual objects, as desired.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatically and dynamically generating a user interface for a client based upon a database model. An application server creates a user interface description in accordance with the database model. The description is then distributed to the client, which interprets the description and creates the user interface therefrom.

Abstract: Methods and systems for providing graphical user interfaces are described. overlaid, Information-bearing windows whose contents remain unchanged for a predetermined period of time become translucent. The translucency can be graduated so that, over time, if the window's contents remain unchanged, the window becomes more translucent. In addition to visual translucency, windows according to the present invention also have a manipulative translucent quality. Upon reaching a certain level of visual translucency, user input in the region of the window is interpreted as an operation on the underlying objects rather than the contents of the overlaying window.