Abstract: An agent device is connected to a user device for browsing a merchant site, for selling products online and being served up on the Internet, the merchant site, and a server device of a credit-card company. In the case where an instruction of purchasing a product browsed by the user device is output, the instruction is sent to the agent device. The agent device extracts a credit card number of a credit card held by a user having purchased the product, and inquires of the server device of the credit card company whether the product is to be purchased with the credit card. As an inquiry result, in the case where the product can be purchased online with the credit card, the agent device sends an instruction that the user purchases the product online with the credit card.

Abstract: An agent device is connected to a user device for browsing a merchant site, for selling products online and being served up on the Internet, the merchant site, and a server device of a credit-card company. In the case where an instruction of purchasing a product browsed by the user device is output, the instruction is sent to the agent device. The agent device extracts a credit card number of a credit card held by a user having purchased the product, and inquires of the server device of the credit card company whether the product is to be purchased with the credit card. As an inquiry result, in the case where the product can be purchased online with the credit card, the agent device sends an instruction that the user purchases the product online with the credit card.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus in which television channel setting processing and provider setting processing can be completed expeditiously. The information processing apparatus has the function of connecting to the Internet and the function of receiving television broadcast from the broadcasting stations. If, when the broadcast territory of using the information processing apparatus is set and registered, and the Internet service provider is to be set, the Internet service providers are demonstrated in the display unit of the information processing apparatus beginning from those geographically closest to the user's territory.

Abstract: A server device, which has a content storage section, a content provider, a program table provider, a request processor and the like and can be accessed by a plurality of client devices, is arranged on the Internet. The content provider has a list, in which information about contents with relevance to their transmission times are registered. The content provider reads out the contents from the content storage section based on the list. The request processor controls the content provider to sent the read contents to a client device which has sent a request for transmission of the contents. The program table provider provides the client device, whose request is processed by the request processor, with a program table storing classifications of contents with relevance to their corresponding transmission times. This program table includes information for setting reservation for transmission of contents.

Abstract: An information processing method and apparatus for enabling more prompt sign-up. A network management server at step S62 received am equipment serial number from an information processing apparatus and, at step s63, references a database to retrieve a received equipment serial number. If the equipment serial number has not been found, the program moves to step S16 where a command for initiating manual setting is sent to an information processing apparatus. If the equipment serial number has been found, the program moves to step S81 to verify whether or not the admittance made or admittance not as yet made, recorded in the database in association with the equipment serial number received is admittance made. If the verified result indicates admittance not as yet made, the program moves to step S82 where the network management server sends an automatic setting initiating command to the information processing apparatus.

Abstract: A display environment and an editing environment that allows personal information such as a to-do list etc. to be effectively managed have been sought. An information management apparatus 300 provides a display/editing system for each vocabulary via a corresponding plug-in. Examples of such display/editing systems include: an HTML unit 150 for displaying/editing an HTML document; and an SVG unit 160 for displaying/editing an SVG document. In a case that an XML document that includes multiple management items described and managed in the form of a reminder is described using a vocabulary which cannot be handled by any one of the installed plug-ins, a VC unit 180 maps the document to another vocabulary which can be displayed, e.g., HTML or SVG. Such an arrangement allows this document to be displayed/edited using the HTML unit 150 or the SVG unit 160.

Abstract: An input reception unit of a design support apparatus receives input of a definition attribute name of a product to be designed. A definition attribute obtaining unit, control attribute obtaining unit and stress obtaining unit obtain parameter names usable for calculating a strength value and stress value, based on the definition attribute name. The input reception unit further receives input of parameter values of the parameter names. A strength calculation unit calculates a strength value of the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The stress calculation unit calculates a value of stress applied to the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The comparison report unit compares the strength value and the stress value, and reports report information associated with those values in a case where the comparison result satisfies a predetermined condition.

Abstract: Disclosed is a computer-assisted method for finding duplicate or near-duplicate documents or text spans within a document collection by using high-discriminability text fragments. Distinctive features of the documents or text spans are identified. For each pair of documents or text spans with at least one distinctive feature in common, the distinctive features of each document or text span are compared to determine whether the pair is duplicates or near-duplicates. An apparatus for performing this computer-assisted method is also disclosed.

Abstract: Prepare a server comprising an information provider, a login processor, a user storage unit, a mail sender, and the like, on the internet. The information provider provides information while improving contents of incentive (prize or the like) as increase of the number of terminals which have logged in via the internet. The login processor refers to the user storage unit. If the terminal being login is a new corner, the login processor notifies the information provider of it. The information provider counts the number of the terminals which are logging in based on the notification. The mail sender sends mails for promoting usage of new information (promotional mail) to users who have already utilized the similar service. The mail sender also sends the promotional mails to persons who have introduced by the members of the service.

Abstract: A server device having a content provider, a voice provider and an access number counter, etc. is arranged on the Internet. The content provider provides terminal devices connected to the Internet with the contents (e.g., contents of a chat) which are updated at predetermined intervals. The access number counter counts the number of terminal devices which have currently logged in to the contents provided by the content provider and have not logged out therefrom. The voice provider sets a voice level in accordance with a value counted by the access number counter, every time new contents are provided by the content provider, and provides voice data.

Abstract: A server device and a client device are connected through the Internet and the server device provides predetermined information on demand by the client device. The client device starts obtaining time when it displays predetermined information provided by the server device and stops obtaining time when a response to displayed predetermined information is input. That is, the client device obtains the time period between a display of predetermined information and an input of the response. The client device sends the obtained time period to the server device through the Internet. The server device certifies the received time period. At the time of certifying, the server device checks if the time period data and the program for obtaining the time period are improperly altered or not.

Abstract: An input reception unit of a design support apparatus receives input of a definition attribute name of a product to be designed. A definition attribute obtaining unit, control attribute obtaining unit and stress obtaining unit obtain parameter names usable for calculating a strength value and stress value, based on the definition attribute name. The input reception unit further receives input of parameter values of the parameter names. A strength calculation unit calculates a strength value of the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The stress calculation unit calculates a value of stress applied to the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The comparison report unit compares the strength value and the stress value, and reports report information associated with those values in a case where the comparison result satisfies a predetermined condition.

Abstract: The present invention provides automatic correction of any distortions produced when computer projection displays are misaligned with respect to the projection surface (such as keystoning). Although sophisticated LCD projectors now offer partial solutions to this problem, they require specialized hardware and time-consuming manual adjustment. The two key concepts in the present invention are: (1) using an uncalibrated camera to observe the projected image; and (2) the image to be displayed is pre-warped so that the distortions induced by the misaligned projection system will exactly undo the distortion. The result is that an arbitrarily mounted projector (in an unknown orientation) still displays a perfectly aligned and rectilinear image.

Abstract: An input reception unit of a design support apparatus receives input of a definition attribute name of a product to be designed. A definition attribute obtaining unit, control attribute obtaining unit and stress obtaining unit obtain parameter names usable for calculating a strength value and stress value, based on the definition attribute name. The input reception unit further receives input of parameter values of the parameter names. A strength calculation unit calculates a strength value of the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The stress calculation unit calculates a value of stress applied to the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The comparison report unit compares the strength value and the stress value, and reports report information associated with those values in a case where the comparison result satisfies a predetermined condition.

Abstract: Disclosed is a computer-assisted method for analyzing the surroundings of a display device. At least two different patterns are displayed successively on a display device connected to a computer. A camera is also connected to the computer and is directed towards objects in front of the display device. Each time a pattern is displayed on the display device, at least one image of the surroundings is captured. The captured images are combined to create a difference image. The difference image is analyzed to interpret the objects in the surroundings. For example, calculations may be performed to segment the foreground from the background of the surroundings or to estimate the range (distance) of the objects from the display device. An apparatus for performing this computer-assisted method is also disclosed.

Abstract: An input reception unit of a design support apparatus receives input of a definition attribute name of a product to be designed. A definition attribute obtaining unit, control attribute obtaining unit and stress obtaining unit obtain parameter names usable for calculating a strength value and stress value, based on the definition attribute name. The input reception unit further receives input of parameter values of the parameter names. A strength calculation unit calculates a strength value of the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The stress calculation unit calculates a value of stress applied to the product to be designed in accordance with a predetermined calculation procedure using the parameter value. The comparison report unit compares the strength value and the stress value, and reports report information associated with those values in a case where the comparison result satisfies a predetermined condition.

Abstract: Disclosed is a computer-assisted method for classifying a text document according to emotion and affect. A score is assigned to each affect term in the document. An affect score is computed for the document from the scores for each affect term. The document is then classified in accordance with the affect score. An apparatus for performing the computer-assisted method is also disclosed.

Abstract: A computer implemented method which does not require a stored dictionary for correcting spelling errors in a sequence of words comprises storing a plurality of spelling rules defined as regular expressions for matching a potentially illegal n-gram which may comprise less than all letters in the word and for replacing an illegal n-gram with a legal n-gram to return a corrected word, submitting a word from said sequence of words to the spelling rules and replacing a word in the string of words with a corrected word.

Abstract: The present invention enables a user to automatically calibrate a projector-camera system to recover the mapping from a given point in the source (pre-projection) image and its corresponding point in the camera image, and vice versa. One or more calibration patterns are projected onto a flat surface with possibly unknown location and orientation by a projector with possibly unknown location, orientation and focal length. Images of these patterns are captured by a camera mounted at a possibly unknown location, orientation and with possibly unknown focal length. Parameters for mapping between the source image and the camera image are computed. The present invention can become an essential component of a projector-camera system, such as automatic keystone correction and vision-based control of computer systems.

Abstract: Disclosed is a computer-assisted method for generating a summary of or a browsing aid for a document. At an index creation time, information that is relevant to at least one dummy query and is necessary to compile at least one temporary summary for the summary or browsing aid is extracted from a document and cached for later use. The information may be compiled into the summary and saved as such. At a search time, the summary or browsing aid is generated using the information that was cached at index creation time. An apparatus for performing this computer-assisted method is also disclosed.