Abstract: An electronic hand-held device and method for inputting and sending requests and for receiving and outputting responses to the requests. The electronic hand-held device is a coupled to a telecommunications link over which requests are sent and responses are received. The electronic hand-held device can input request data in any number of different information media, including audio tones and voice signals, mechanical input to a keypad, printed bar codes, magnetic data stored in credit cards, and electronic data stored in electronic smart cards. The electronic hand-held device can output responses through an audio speaker, a visual LCD display device, and, optionally, through other output devices including printers. The electronic hand-held device is especially well suited for order entry and acquisition of product information.

Abstract: An electronic hand-held device and method for inputting and sending requests and for receiving and outputting responses to the requests. The electronic hand-held device is a coupled to a telecommunications link over which requests are sent and responses are received. The electronic hand-held device derives sufficient electrical power from the telecommunications link in order to power the internal components of the electronic hand-held device that input request data, format requests, send requests, receive responses, and output responses. The electronic hand-held device can input request data in any number of different information media, including audio tones and voice signals, mechanical input to a keypad, printed barcodes, magnetic data stored in credit cards, and electronic data stored in electronic smart cards. The electronic hand-held device can output responses through an audio speaker, a visual LCD display device, and, optionally, through other output devices including printers.

Abstract: A handheld low power user device for accessing and controlling interactive bidirectional real time telecommunications with a host server over a telecommunication path, the handheld low power user device having a low power sleep mode and components including a communication transceiver, a microprocessor, a power supply interface and an operator interface selected from among a keypad, a bar code reader, an audio system comprising a speaker, a display screen and a microphone; wherein, the communication transceiver includes a low power voice and data modem, and a DTMF or an MF tone generator; the audio system includes a dual power system; the bar code reader includes a bar code media proximity detector; the microprocessor includes less than about 128 Kbytes of PROM, a protected memory, and RAM; the power supply interface is connected with a telephone line, a cellular or wireless telephone battery, or a PBX line; and the handheld low power user device operates on less than about 300 milliwatts of power when off ho

Abstract: A method and system for detecting unauthorized account access. The system may operate in conjunction with known methods of remote access authentication. The system provides a unique account for each authorized person (i.e., each user) and a system sequence number and a user sequence number for each account. For each access to the account, the system updates the system sequence number corresponding to that account to the next number in a preselected sequence, and the user updates the user sequence number in like manner. The preselected sequence comprises a sequence of pseudorandom numbers and the update comprises selecting the next pseudorandom number using a pseudorandom number generator, but the sequence number may be updated using other techniques, so long as the system and the user are both capable of performing the same updates. The system and the user perform a handshake process, to assure that the system updates the system sequence number, and the user updates the user sequence number, in synchrony.