Abstract: One aspect of the present invention includes capturing a client browser state and communicating this captured browser state within markup text for logging at a web server. In one embodiment, the contents of the DOM (Document Object Model) of a webpage accessed by a client are traversed and written as markup text in a string of characters, such as HTML. This markup, in addition to metadata specific to identify the browser display environment, is transmitted from the client to the server as text within a HTTP request. The server may then log the markup text and the metadata for later access. The logged markup text and the metadata can be used to recreate the exact display which occurred within the client browser, and therefore provide details useful for webpage problem determination, testing, and development.

Abstract: A method for assuring event record integrity including registering at least one callback function, the callback function being associated with a first callback function identifier, receiving an event having a second callback function identifier, identifying the callback function based on matching the second callback function identifier to the first callback function identifier, and calling the identified registered callback function to validate authenticity of the event.

Abstract: Efficient transfer of data to and from random access memory is described. Multiple request sources and a memory system comprise memory modules having memory banks, each bank containing rows of data. The retrieval comprises transferring all data pursuant to a given request by one source before any data is transferred pursuant to a subsequent request from said second source. This retrieval is achieved using a memory arbiter that implements an algorithm for atomic read/write. Each bank is assigned a FIFO buffer by the arbiter to store access requests. The access requests are arbitrated, and an encoded value of a winner of arbitration is loaded into the relevant FIFO buffer(s) before choosing the next winner. When an encoded value reaches the head of the buffer, all associated data is accessed in the given bank before accessing data for another request source.

Abstract: A method for authenticating an end user. The method begins by generating a login field in response to receiving an authentication request from an end user. The login field comprises a login node matrix comprising a first set of transparent and opaque nodes in addition to at least one login offset. Next the method determines an authenticity status of the end user by comparing data received from the end user with said first set of transparent nodes. The data received being sent in response to sending the login field to the end user. The end user generated the data by overlaying a transparent credit card on top of the login field and aligning the login offset with a card offset and then selecting at least one node which is not opaque. Finally, the method sends the determined authenticity status to the end user via an output device.

Abstract: A computer implemented method of selectively accesses a set of subdivisions of a compressed file, wherein the compressed file is a hex dump file. A request to access a first data byte string is received. The first data byte string has a first address from within the compressed file. The compressed file comprises a plurality of subdivisions. Each of the plurality of subdivisions is provided with an address range to indicate the addresses of byte strings contained therein. The address range for each of the plurality of subdivisions is the file name for each of the plurality of subdivisions. A set of subdivisions from the plurality of subdivisions is identified that contains a first data byte string. The step of identifying the set of subdivisions comprises comparing the first address to the address range for the plurality of subdivisions. Only the set of subdivisions which contains the first data byte string is extracted.

Abstract: Systems and methods enabling search of a repository for the location of data that is similar to input data, using a defined measure of similarity, in a time that is independent of the size of the repository and linear in a size of the input data, and a space that is proportional to a small fraction of the size of the repository. The similar data segments thus located are further analyzed to determine their common (identical) data sections, regardless of the order and position of the common data sections in the repository and input, and in a time that is linear in the segment size and in constant space.

Abstract: A system for assisting a user who is learning a language to prioritize words to be learned in order of usage frequency is disclosed. A frequency determination program running on a computer determines the frequency of usage of each word at a list of locations provided by the user. Different algorithms to identify what constitutes a word are employed depending upon the language of the source data. The total number of words at each location and their usage frequency found during the user session, along with a total number of words and their usage frequency for all user sessions performed regardless of location, are calculated and made available to the user. The user can view usage frequencies for words from a single location, a group of locations, or all user sessions performed.

Abstract: The present invention provides an electrical fuse structure for achieving a post-programming resistance distribution with higher resistance values and to enhance the reliability of electrical fuse programming. A partly doped electrical fuse structure with undoped semiconductor material in the cathode combined with P-doped semiconductor material in the fuselink and anode is disclosed and the data supporting the superior performance of the disclosed electrical fuse is shown.

Abstract: A system and method for implementing a customer incentive program that conditionally rewards a customer based upon the customer's movement through a shopping area and/or responses to questions which refer to the shopping area, sections of the shopping area and/or products located in the shopping area. While moving through a shopping area, a customer is monitored using a customer tracking system and/or presented with questions using a customer interface device. The customer is rewarded based upon the nature of the customer's movements and/or the nature of the customer's responses. The customer incentive program is designed to expose a customer to particular sections of a shopping area or specified products in the shopping area in order to motivate customer impulse buying.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium that, in an embodiment, determine performance data for query optimization of a query directed to a database table having multiple partitions. The performance data for the query optimization is presented in a user interface, and an option is provided in the user interface to create a non-spanning index for any of the partitions mentioned in the performance data.

Abstract: A method to initialize information disposed in an information storage and retrieval system comprising a data cache and one or more information storage media comprising a plurality of addresses. The method receives an initialization command, where that initialization command comprises a range of addresses and, optionally, an initialization pattern, where the plurality of addresses includes the range of addresses. The method forms and saves state information, where that state information includes the initialization pattern, and generates and saves a plurality of indicators, where that plurality of indicators includes an indicator for each track comprising the range of addresses. The method sets each of those indicators to a first value thereby indicating special handling, and provides an ending status signal, such that the receiving step, forming step, generating step, setting step, and providing step are performed substantially synchronously.

Abstract: Improved data content determination techniques are disclosed for use in accordance with information-seeking systems. For example, in one illustrative aspect of the invention, a technique for determining data content for a response to a query comprises obtaining a user query, and dynamically determining data content suitable for generating a response to the query, wherein data content determination is modeled as an optimization operation which attempts to balance context-based selection constraints. Further, the step of dynamically determining data content may further comprise modeling the context-based selection constraints as feature-based metrics. The feature-based metrics may be formulated using contextual information. Still further, the step of dynamically determining data content may further comprise performing the optimization operation such that one or more desirability metrics are maximized and one or more cost metrics are minimized, thus balancing the various constraints.

Abstract: A system and method for creating and managing a business process integration solution comprises modeling a business strategy including elements representing business measurements and initiatives according to defined business goals and objectives of an entity; modeling business operations of the entity in terms of business process elements including process tasks, artifact flows and artifact repositories, and business commitment elements including incorporating key performance indicators; mapping elements of the strategy model with artifact and process elements of the operations model; and, measuring business performance and comparing performance measurements against the key performance indicators. The business strategy and operation model process elements may be continuously refined over a solution development lifecycle as a result of process measurements and comparing. A business level modeling language is further implemented for formally representing the business operations.

Abstract: A method and implementing instant messaging processing system are provided in which a user's presence and on-line status in a chat session are not broadcast to the chat or instant messaging participants until the user chooses to allow or enable such broadcast. Additionally, the user is enabled to selectively exclude other specified users from seeing the user's on-line status. A “preferences” screen is presented to a user to enable the user to input his or her privacy preferences during a subsequent chat session before the user actually logs-into the chat session. The instant messaging system includes means by which a local instant messaging user is enabled to view all remote users within the chat application who are monitoring the user's on-line status as a result of having the user included in the remote users' buddy lists, as well as the ability to view the on-line state of those remote users.

Abstract: A connector is shown for an electrical cable which includes a connector body having oppositely disposed outer walls connected by a pair of oppositely arranged end walls. The outer walls and end walls terminate in a rear wall which together define an enclosure including an internal chamber for receiving an electrical connector element. The oppositely disposed outer walls are provided with bevelled front surfaces which extend from a point co-planar with the remaining outer wall surface inwardly with respect to the internal chamber opening, thereby providing greater visibility of any electrical connector element located within the internal chamber to prevent mis-alignment of connector elements during connection operations.

Abstract: A digital timing recovery circuit for rapid acquisition and synchronization of sampling clock phase in a data playback signal processing channel. The filtered playback signal in a (1,7)ML coded playback channel is sampled at the rate of one sample per bit window and the digitized sample values are processed with a (1,7)ML decoding procedure to produce decoded bits. A digital timing recovery circuit of this invention uses the digitized sample values directly to control the sampling clock phase by computing a digital phase error signal (PES) that is a constant function of phase error independent of data pattern. The PES depends only on the adjacent samples before and after a peak signal value. These "side-samples" contain maximal timing information because they occur at the steepest slope of the read-back signal and are thus most sensitive to clock phase error.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for cleaning/etching the surface of an article with sonic energy in the megahertz range which employ an anti-reflection mechanism within a recirculation tank. A tank having at least one side wall and a bottom structure holds a cleaning/etching liquid and a megasonic transducer is associated with the tank for projecting megasonic energy into the liquid. The anti-reflection mechanism is disposed within the tank in close association with the at least one sidewall or bottom structure of the tank to thereby minimize reflection of megasonic energy from the associated surface. Preferably, the megasonic transducer is associated with a first tank sidewall which opposes a second tank sidewall, and the anti-reflection mechanism is disposed adjacent the second tank sidewall. By way of example, the anti-reflection mechanism can comprise a stream of gas bubbles, a plurality of anechoic structures, or a combination of both gas bubbles and anechoic structures.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of thermally stabilizing an effluent stream from an industrial process, such as a photolithographic process, to allow thermally manageable recovery of the solvent. In the separation and recovery process the solvent is exposed to temperatures that can cause polymerization of the relatively small amounts of monomer still contained therein. This polymerization is an exothermic polymerization, which can accelerate the polymerization of the remaining monomer, potentially causing a thermally initiated, exothermic, run away polymerization. Run away, thermally initiated, exothermic polymerization can materially degrade the solvent. The thermally initiated, run away exothermic reaction is inhibited by the inclusion of a thermal stabilizer or polymerization inhibitor.

Abstract: An object, such as a robot, is located at an initial state in a finite state space area and moves under the control of the unsupervised neural network model of the invention. The network instructs the object to move in one of several directions from the initial state. Upon reaching another state, the model again instructs the object to move in one of several directions. These instructions continue until either: a) the object has completed a cycle by ending up back at a state it has been to previously during this cycle, or b) the object has completed a cycle by reaching the goal state. If the object ends up back at a state it has been to previously during this cycle, the neural network model ends the cycle and immediately begins a new cycle from the present location. When the object reaches the goal state, the neural network model learns that this path is productive towards reaching the goal state, and is given delayed reinforcement in the form of a "reward".