Abstract: An adapter device for transmitting data from a local data-handling unit to a remote data-handling unit via an AC power line includes processing facilities that receive digital data from the local data-handling unit and transform the digital data into ISDN data. The adapter device also includes a burst transceiver circuit (BTC) that converts the ISDN data into low-voltage pseudo-ternary signals on a U interface. A transformer of the adapter device transforms the low-voltage pseudo-ternary signals into high-voltage pseudo-ternary signals and transmits the high-voltage pseudo-ternary signals via the AC power line. Such an adapter device may also be used for receiving the data from the local data-handling unit at the remote data-handling unit.

Abstract: A magnetic recording circuit includes a write driver output stage, a magnetic write head and an interconnect circuit. The write driver output stage has an output and an output impedance. The magnetic write head has an input and an input impedance. The interconnect circuit has an input, an output and a selected characteristic impedance Z0. The input of the interconnect circuit is coupled to the output of the write driver output stage, the output of the interconnect circuit is coupled to the input of the write head. The interconnect circuit can be one of, or both, source-terminated so that the output impedance of the write driver output stage is substantially equal to the selected characteristic impedance Z0 of the interconnect circuit, and load-terminated so that the input impedance of the write head is substantially equal to the characteristic impedance Z0 of the interconnect circuit.

Abstract: A non-volatile memory array includes first and second pluralities of electrically conductive traces formed on a substrate. The second plurality of electrically conductive traces overlap first plurality of traces at a plurality of intersection regions. Each of a plurality of memory cells is located at an intersection region between one of the first plurality of traces and one of the second plurality of traces. At least one of the memory cells includes a non-linear selection element in series with a magnetic tunnel junction storage element. The non-linear selection element includes at least a first metallic electrode layer, a barrier layer and a second metallic electrode layer metal.

Abstract: During the recording of events occurring within the operation of a data processing system, a user-selected metric of interest is recorded along with the trace data for each recorded event. The metric of interest is a monotonically increasing variable that provides a non-time relationship between the recorded events. This relationship may be time or non-time based.

Abstract: Systems, methods and computer program products are provided for selecting an advertising object to be displayed within a Web page requested by a user based on the geographic location of the user and/or on the time of day. Systems, methods and computer program products are provided for validating an offer within an advertising object of a Web page displayed within a Web client in communication with a Web server. Systems, methods and computer program products are also provided for changing content within an object displayed within a Web page based on changes in geographic location of a user. In addition, systems, methods and computer program products are provided for redeeming an electronic coupon stored within a first computing device, wherein the electronic coupon is valid within a designated geographic region and for a designated period of time.

Abstract: A component of a module includes a column therethrough that conducts heat or equalizes the density of a surface of the component to enhance the uniformity of the etch of the surface. The module includes an integrated circuit chip that is connected therein by a controlled collapse chip contact/connection method. The component is a cap or insulator layer.

Abstract: An adaptive interface and method of operation facilitate connection of a work station in a Local Area Network (LAN) using Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) cabling to an Ethernet 10/100BASE TX installation using Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP). The work station is coupled through the adaptive interface to the STP cabling system emulating a given number of meters of UTP cabling. The interface adapter comprises at one end a RJ 45 connector adapted for connection to the STP cabling and at the other end a MIC_S token ring connector coupled to an Ethernet adapter through the STP cabling system. The adaptive interface includes programmatically controlled filters interconnecting the RJ 45 and MIC_S connectors. The filter comprises a series of 1 . . . N switchable lumped passive element units which can be sequentially connected into the STP cabling to emulate the amplitude attenuation and phase shift of a preselected length of UTP 5 cabling, typically in the range of 20 meters.

Abstract: A ballasting resistor incorporating therein an H-shaped gate structure reduces a current therethrough by utilizing a pinching effect. The ballasting resistor is formed on a silicon-on-insulator substrate and includes a pair of N+ regions, a P− body region formed between the NM regions, and a pair of P+ nodes connected to the P− body region. The P− body region resides under the gate structure, which includes a thin dielectric layer formed on the P− body region and a conductive layer formed on the dielectric layer. The ballasting resistor is biased in such a manner that the P-N junctions are reverse-biased to pinch down the cross-sectional area of the current path provided inside the P− body region between the nodes as an applied voltage increases. The ballasting resistor has a MOS transistor-like structure; and, therefore, electrostatic discharge protection can be provided for the conventional SOI MOS circuits without requiring additional processing steps.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of integrating a low dielectric material such as DLC into a dual or single damascene wiring structure which contains a dielectric material having a dielectric constant of 4.0 or above. This integration is achieved in the present invention by employing a step of etchingback the high dielectric constant material to expose regions of in-laid wiring present in the single or dual damascene structure. Damascene wiring structures, single or dual, prepared using the method of the present invention are also provided herein.

Abstract: An improved electrical connector of the RJ45 ANSI-568 type for terminating a multi-wire cable. The connector has two internal management bars for guiding the cable's wires sequentially through the connector from entry to termination. A first wire of a first wire pair and a second wire of a second wire pair that are adjacent as positioned by the first management bar are not adjacent as positioned by the second management bar. Opposing near-end crosstalk components are introduced into each pair of the cable's wires, thereby reducing near-end crosstalk. In one embodiment, the first management bar positions a set of four wire pairs according to a pattern W1′, W1, W2, W3, W3′, W2′, W4′, W4, and the second management bar positions the same set of four wire pairs according to a pattern W1, W1′, W2, W3′, W3, W2′, W4, W4′.

Abstract: A patterned magnetic recording disk, i.e., a disk with discrete magnetically recordable regions that can function as discrete magnetic bits, is formed by ion irradiating a continuous magnetic film of a chemically-ordered alloy having a tetragonal crystalline structure through a patterned non-contact mask. The ions cause disordering in the film and produce regions in the film that have no magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The regions of the film not impacted by the ions retain their chemical ordering and magnetocrystalline anisotropy and thus serve as the discrete magnetic regions that can be recorded as individual magnetic bits. The chemically-ordered alloy is preferably Co (or Fe) and Pt (or Pd) with the c-axis of the tetragonal crystalline film oriented at an angle less than 45 degrees relative to the plane of the film, so that after patterning the discrete magnetic regions can be recorded by horizontal magnetic recording.

Abstract: A solder interconnection uses preferably lead-rich solder balls for making a low temperature chip attachment directly to any of the higher levels of packaging substrate. After a solder ball has been formed using standard processes, a thin cap layer of preferably pure tin is deposited on a surface of the solder balls. An interconnecting eutectic alloy is formed upon reflow. Subsequent annealing causes tin to diffuse into the lead, or vice versa, and intermix, thereby raising the melting point temperature of the cap layer of the resulting assembly. This structure and process avoids secondary reflow problems during subsequent processing.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved method for encoding a plurality of bit sequences. The present invention includes reading a bit sequence; determining a minimum number of bits for a repeat factor for the bit sequence, where the minimum number of bits is variable; and encoding the bit sequence using the repeat factor. The method provides an improved run-length encoding algorithm by using a strategy where the number of bits used to represent the repeat factor (RF) varies for each individual sequence of equal-valued bits. Rather than conventionally representing the RF by any predetermined and fixed number of bits, the RF of the present invention is represented by the minimum number of bits to binary-encode that repeat factor as an unsigned integer. The RF for each individual bit sequence is represented using only the minimum number of bits necessary, regardless of any previous or following RF.

Abstract: A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a memory caching system that uses a method for allocating blocks of memory by: determining if the contents at a selected memory address are stored in the cache by comparing the selected memory address to the addresses stored in the directory, if the selected memory address is not in the cache, allocating a place in the directory for selected address, wherein, if a place in the directory for an address having the same cache line as the selected memory address is in the process of allocating or has been previously allocated, the selected memory address is allocated to that location of the pending or previous allocation.

Abstract: Where a number n of read attempts are required to successfully read a data sector, with the first n−1 attempts returning a disk drive read error, the number of attempts required is compared to a predefined threshold selected to indicate that the sector is unreliable and is in danger of becoming completely unrecoverable. If the threshold number of attempts is not exceeded, the sector is presumed to still be good and no further action need be taken. If the threshold number of attempts was equaled or exceeded, however, the unreliable or failing sector is relocated to a reserved replacement sector, with the recovered data written to the replacement sector. The failing data sector is remapped to the replacement sector, which becomes a fully functional substitute for the failing sector for future reads and writes while preserving the original user data. Data within a failing sector is thus preserved before the sector becomes completely unrecoverable.

Abstract: Electronic devices having patterned electrically conductive polymers providing electrical connection thereto and methods of fabrication thereof are described. Liquid crystal display cells are described having at least one of the electrodes providing a bias across the liquid crystal material formed from a patterned electrically conductive polymer. Thin film transistors having patterned electrically conductive polymers as source drain and gate electrodes are described. Light emitting diodes having anode and coated regions formed from patterned electrically conductive polymers are described. Methods of patterning using a resist mask; patterning using a patterned metal layer; patterning the metal layer using a resist; and patterning the electrically conductive polymer directly to form electrodes and anode and cathode regions are described.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for transcribing text from multiple speakers in a computer system having a speech recognition application. The system receives speech from one of a plurality of speakers through a single channel, assigns a speaker ID to the speaker, transcribes the speech into text, and associates the speaker ID with the speech and text. In order to detect a speaker change, the system monitors the speech input through the channel for a speaker change.

Abstract: The system, method, and program of this invention enables a developer to write a platform independent program that can read, create, modify, delete, and enumerate registry type of information regardless of whether or not a targeted operating system supports a registry or registry equivalent functionality. More specifically, as disclosed herein, in a preferred embodiment, there is a global registry object for carrying out, i.e., mapping, registry functions or registry equivalent functions across multiple operating systems. In particular, the global registry object is used to read, create, modify, delete, and enumerate registries for the Windows operating system in a simplified manner. The global registry object has the following fields: keyname, key root, and key value. The key root field is mapped to a root in a registry of a Windows operating system. The keyname field is mapped to a key and any subkeys, if they exist, in the Windows registry. The key value field is mapped to a value in the Windows registry.

Abstract: The present invention relates to computer-aided shopping systems. With the help of a customer-associated mobile computing device having an adequate interface to a product data source the customer is enabled to easily gather any relevant product information including technical information about the product or variations of it, he can store the information without any purchase decision necessary to be taken in the shop and he is enabled to retrieve the information including technical information for example at home by exporting the product information via a standard interface onto his personal desktop PC for further analysis or revision. Thus, the advantages of real shopping are combined with the advantages of any kind of virtual shopping.

Abstract: The present invention provides a database system that can flexibly and quickly cope with additions or changes in the contents of an application or associated data (including the services provided and clients). In principle, relationship data (a pointer, etc.) for databases (entities) are not included in a database in which data to be processed by an application program are stored (hierarchical node database). A table (hierarchical link table) in which mainly relationship data (e.g., a pointer) for the database are entered is prepared for a corresponding application program. The individual application programs can refer to the corresponding hierarchical link tables and can access desired hierarchical node databases. When the hierarchical data structure is to be changed, such as by the addition of an application due to a new request, a corresponding alteration need only be reflected in the hierarchical link table. Further, as needed, effective period data can be entered in the link tables.