Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating a pronunciation score by receiving a user phrase intended to conform to a reference phrase and processing the user phrase in accordance with at least one of an articulation-scoring engine, a duration scoring engine and an intonation-scoring engine to derive thereby the pronunciation score. The scores provided by the various scoring engines are adapted to provide a visual and/or numerical feedback that provides information pertaining to correctness or incorrectness in one or more speech-features such as intonation, articulation, voicing, phoneme error and relative word duration. Such useful interactive feedback will allow a user to quickly identify the problem area and take remedial action in reciting “tutor” sentences or phrases.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a planar substrate and an array of substantially transparent spherical micro-lenses forming a pattern. The pattern has an internal two-dimensional lattice symmetry on the planar substrate. Each micro-lens includes a convex bulge or a concave depression in a surface of the planar substrate. The micro-lenses and substrate include hydrogel that swells and contracts in a manner that is responsive to an environmental condition.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for analyzing the perimeter security of communications networks. More particularly, information is identified which defines a particular communications network, e.g., an intranet, and identifying the connected hosts thereto. Utilizing such information, a determination is made with respect to identifying the routes that define the network. Utilizing the routing information, the connectivity of the hosts within the network, e.g., an intranet, is probed to ascertain the integrity of the network and thereby identifying potential security risks across the perimeter defense of the network.

Abstract: A scheme for guaranteeing network tunnel path (NTP). e.g., Internet Protocol (IP), service levels in optical (e.g., wavelength-division multiplex (WDM)) networks. The invention, in one embodiment, accounts for both network topology (e.g. switches, cross-connects, and links between nodes) and resource usage (e.g., available/provisioned link bandwidth and available/used wavelength paths), which information may be available from the IP and optical WDM protocol layers, in particular (i) router capacities and (ii) presence or absence of wavelength conversion capability of optical cross-connect at each node. A determination is made whether to route an arriving request for an NTP over existing topology by computing “good” routes in accordance with a defined metric, or to open a new, available optical wavelength path by provisioning nodes of the topology for, and computing “good” routes for new wavelength paths. As many requests as possible are identified without a priori information of future requests.

Abstract: In a wireless communication system, a method includes monitoring an error condition on an active communication channel, establishing a simultaneous communication channel, and searching the simultaneous communications channel while continuing to monitor the active communication channel.

Abstract: A database-modeled security policy includes policy statements stored in a database. Each policy statement has associated standards, guidelines, and procedures. Policy statements are grouped together into tag groups, which are in turn grouped together to form metapolicies. A security administrator uses a security policy management application to create metapolicies for specific audiences. A lightweight directory access protocol module manages access to the security policy. The security policy management application also provides scoring, reporting, and project management functionalities.

Abstract: Temporal phase shifts induced by cross-phase modulation in an optical fiber are directly characterized with a spectral equivalent of the Foucault technique used to spatially resolve wavefronts. The temporal phase induced by a high power pulsed pump on a monochromatic probe via cross-phase modulation is converted in a temporal intensity modulation via spectral filtering. A measurement of the modulated instantaneous power of the filtered signal allows to directly determine the time-resolved nonlinear phase shift. Additionally, an equivalent of the transport-of-intensity equation, which links the evolution of the instantaneous power of the electric field in a dispersive medium to the instantaneous values of the power and phase of the field. This derivation permits the measurement of temporal phase shifts using only intensity information in a direct, non-interferometric manner.

Abstract: A ConnectIcon View is employed to establish collaborative communications between a plurality of participants in a group. Specifically, it is a dynamic visual representation of the participants of a group being invited to communicate together with their presence information, lists of documents and URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) to be examined, and a set of mechanisms (email, chat, voice, and the like) to initiate communication, each of which can be billed to the originator or otherwise as desired. The available presence information allows a user to employ the best mode of communicating for the instant purpose, namely, either asynchronous communication or synchronous communication.

Abstract: This invention is an oligomer-based analog neural network (ANN) comprising weight and saturation oligomers, the concentrations of which are selected such that activation of the ANN by a set of input oligomers generates a set of output oligomers, the sequences and relative concentrations of which are dependent on the sequences and relative concentrations of the input oligomers. The invention further includes methods for using such an ANN for solving any problems amenable to solution by a trained neural network. A preferred embodiment of the claimed invention is a DNA-based ANN that accepts cDNA molecules as inputs and analyzes the gene expression profile of the cells from which the cDNA is derived. The DNA-based ANN is typically trained with a computer to identify the weights giving accurate mapping of the inputs to the outputs; and the concentrations of weight oligomers of the DNA-based ANN are then selected accordingly.

Abstract: An Internet Service Provider (ISP), in consideration of being remunerated in some manner by an e-merchant, carries the packets of a designated subset of that e-merchant's clients, designated as VIPs, in a privileged class of service as compared to an unprivileged class of service that is used to carry the packets of the e-merchant's other regular clients. In this way, the adverse effects on performance due to congestion in the unprivileged class of service, whether due to an ongoing denial-of-service attack or not, will not affect the performance of packets sent by and to VIPs using the privileged class of service. An e-merchant may select its VIPs from among those clients that bring in a majority of the e-merchant's revenues. An e-merchant turns a regular client into a VIP by granting it a VIP right.

Abstract: An exemplary method in a wireless telecommunication system determines that a radio frequency (RF) communications link is not available to a wireless mobile. Information about a party originating a call to the wireless mobile is received and stored in a record associated with the wireless mobile. An alert flag associated with the wireless mobile is set. Upon determining that an RF link has become available to the wireless mobile and upon detecting the presence of the set alert flag, a communication action is automatically taken by which the party is made aware that an RF link is available to the wireless mobile, such as by sending a message to the party based on information stored about the party in the record.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for adapting a communications network of a plurality of wireless access nodes, such as base stations to a changing environment. The method comprises determining a current location of at least a first user in the communications network, identifying a need for change in at least one parameter associated with a position of a first base station of the plurality of base stations based on the current location of the first user, and implementing a first response in the communications network in response to the need for change for the first base station. In this way, a self-deploying wireless access network may autonomously reposition base stations in a changing environment of user distributions across a coverage area and/or user demand by users of wireless communication devices, such as mobile units.

Abstract: An interferometric technique measures the time-dependent electric field of a periodic or a non-periodic (data-encoded) optical signal under test using samples of its interference with a reference source of short optical pulses. The reference signal is a sequence of optical pulses at a repetition rate different from that of the signal under test. The difference in repetition rates of the two signals performs a scanning of the relative delay between the two signals, i.e. each pulse from the reference signal will overlap with the signal under test at a different time. The real and imaginary part of each of the plurality of interference between the two signals are then measured to determine samples of the electric field of the optical signal under test at each of those times. When needed, various types of averaging are performed on the samples of the electric field.

Abstract: A clustering based load adaptive sleeping protocol for ad hoc networks includes a plurality of nodes forming a cluster, where the nodes in the cluster are partitioned into n groups. This partitioning is performed based on the node ID (e.g. node_id modulo n). The cluster head transmits a beacon at fixed intervals. The beacon interval is divided into N slots, where N is a multiple of n. Node sleep/activation times are synchronized to the beacon interval slots. The node's group number is used to determine the slots within a beacon interval that a node begins it s sleep cycle. Therefore, no additional signaling is required between nodes to indicate sleep patterns. The sleeping time of each node may be increased when extended periods of inactivity are detected according to an adaptive procedure.

Abstract: A new approach is described for scheduling uplink or downlink transmissions in a network having remote terminals communicating with a central hub. The scheduler keeps track of a token count. The token count for a given remote terminal is incremented by a target amount in each pertinent timeslot, but is also decremented each time that the remote terminal is served. The amount of the decrement for one timeslot is the amount of data served, i.e., transmitted to or from the remote terminal, in that timeslot. In exemplary embodiments of the invention, the target amount by which T is incremented depends on the current value of T. Whenever the token count is non-negative (i.e., whenever it has a positive or zero value), the target amount is a desired floor, or lower limit, on an average amount of data delivered to or from the given remote terminal in one timeslot. Whenever the token count is negative, the target amount is a desired ceiling, or upper limit, on the same average amount of data delivered.

Abstract: A packet-switched network telephone system includes at least one set of telephone equipment adapted for connection with the packet-switched network and electronic registration upon connection, wherein the electronic registration is based on registration information stored on a portable data storage device. The portable data storage device includes a data storage medium, and the registration information stored on the data storage medium. A data reading device includes a data reading means for obtaining the registration information from the portable data storage device, and a data communication means for communicating the registration information to the at least one set of telephone equipment.

Abstract: A utility pole (10) includes: a first pole section (12); a second pole section (14) separate from the first pole section (12); and, a spring (36) joining the first and second pole sections together such that the first pole section (12) may, under an application of force thereto, tilt relative to the second pole section (14).

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing location based vendor information to a wireless mobile terminal is provided. The method includes receiving subscriber provisioned response criteria from a subscriber, receiving a request for location based vendor information from a subscriber mobile terminal, determining the location of the subscriber mobile terminal, retrieving location based vendor information for the mobile terminal's location, and sending the location based vendor information in a response satisfying the subscriber provisioned response criteria to the subscriber mobile terminal.

Abstract: Load balancing is supported for a plurality of nodes having loads determined by a plurality of task distributors. A periodic, iterative process based on loads of real-time data causes the total load of each node to tend to converge towards equalization of loads among all of the nodes.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing a calling customer with arrangements for enhanced alerting of called numbers. A customer defines an alerting list which is entered by the telephone company and can be modified by the customer. When the customer dials a special number, the telephone stations associated with the telephone numbers on that customer's enhanced alerting list are alerted either in parallel (as in flexible alerting) or sequentially under the control of the caller. Advantageously, a customer can arrange to alert a predefined group of called numbers in response to dialing a special number.