Abstract: The content-aware application switch and methods thereof intelligently switch client packets to one server among a group of servers in a server farm. The switch uses Layer 7 or application content parsed from a packet to help select the server and to schedule the transmitting of the packet to the server. This enables refined load-balancing and Quality of-Service control tailored to the application being switched. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method includes maintaining a server load metric for each server in a group of servers; parsing application content from a packet; selecting a destination server from the group of servers, wherein selecting the destination server is dependent on the server load metric for each server, assigning a priority to the packet, the priority being dependent on the application content; and dropping the packet if the priority comprises at least one of a predetermined type.

Abstract: A set of system-level high availability services for computer systems, including a service that functions in general terms like an extension of the operating system. By providing High Availability (HA) at the system-level, modifications to the applications or the operating system kernel are not required.

Abstract: Method, system, apparatus and/or computer program for achieving transparent integration of high-availability services for distributed application programs. Loss-less migration of sub-programs from their respective primary nodes to backup nodes is performed transparently to a client which is connected to the primary node. Migration is performed by high-availability services which are configured for injecting registration codes, registering distributed applications, detecting execution failures, executing from backup nodes in response to failure, and other services. High-availability application services can be utilized by distributed applications having any desired number of sub-programs without the need of modifying or recompiling the application program and without the need of a custom loader. In one example embodiment, a transport driver is responsible for receiving messages, halting and flushing of messages, and for issuing messages directing sub-programs to continue after checkpointing.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer readable medium for providing management of electronic calendar appointments are provided. A database stores records of scheduled appointments of one or more users. The scheduled appointments may be displayed in a calendar view that includes scheduled appointments of the one or more users. A user may designate scheduled appointments associated with the user as private. The calendar system may then hide the scheduled appointments designated as private such that the private appointments are not displayed for view by other users. In another embodiment, a user may select multiple days for printing of scheduled events. In still another embodiment, a user may specify an interval for searching for a period of consecutive days during which the user does not have any scheduled appointments.

Abstract: A system and method thereof for performing loss-less migration of an application group. In an exemplary embodiment, the system may include a high-availability services module structured for execution in conjunction with an operating system, and one or more computer nodes of a distributed system upon which at least one independent application can be executed upon. The high-availability services module may be structured to be executable on the one or more computer nodes for loss-less migration of the one or more independent applications, and is operable to perform checkpointing of all state in a transport connection.

Abstract: A method and system of checkpointing single process application groups and multi-process application groups. In an exemplary embodiment, the method may include creating at least one full checkpoint for each application in an application group, and creating at least one incremental application checkpoint for each application in the application group. Further, each of the at least one incremental application checkpoint may be automatically merged against a corresponding full application checkpoint. Further, checkpointing may be synchronized across all applications in the application group. In the exemplary embodiment, each application may use both fork( ) and exec( ) in any combination.

Abstract: Tokenless biometric authorization of transaction between a consumer and a merchant uses an identicator and an access device. A consumer registers with the identicator a biometric sample taken from the consumer. The consumer and merchant establish communications via the access device. The merchant proposes a transaction to the consumer via the access device. The access device communicates to the merchant associated with the access device. After the consumer and merchant have agreed on the transaction, the consumer and the identicator use the access device to establish communications. The access device communicates to the identicator the code associated with the access device. The identicator compares biometric sample from the consumer with registered biometric sample. Upon successful identification, the identicator forwards information regarding the consumer to the merchant.

Abstract: The invention relates to an electronic short messaging and advertising method where minimal initiative is required from the consumer. Some embodiments of the invention may also be applied to an electronic sales method. The invention may also be applied for normal short messaging. The electronic short messaging method for collect calling may send transmissions to at least one subscriber terminal via the Internet and/or the telephony network. The method may include sending a first transmission to a recipient subscriber terminal for display, wherein the first transmission defines one or more active alternatives including at least one of initiating a collect call and deleting the first transmission. The method may also include calculating costs associated with at least one of the first transmission and the one or more active alternatives.

Abstract: A system and method of obtaining and storing a signed agreement authorizing the use of a user's biometric data for the purpose of offering legal consent to agreements and transactions with one or more operators. The present invention imparts a process by which merchants and other service providers can access a verifying agreement indicating a user's intent to submit biometric data as a substitute for a written signature and the user's consent to abide by the terms and conditions of any agreements entered into by the submission of biometric data.

Abstract: The invention relates to an electronic short messaging and advertising method where minimal initiative is required from the consumer. Some embodiments of the invention may also be applied to an electronic sales method. The invention may also be applied for normal short messaging. The electronic short messaging method for collect calling may send transmissions to at least one subscriber terminal via the Internet and/or the telephony network. The method may include sending a first transmission to a recipient subscriber terminal for display, wherein the first transmission defines one or more active alternatives including at least one of initiating a collect call and deleting the first transmission. The method may also include calculating costs associated with at least one of the first transmission and the one or more active alternatives.

Abstract: Machine readable documents connect businesses with customers, suppliers and trading partners. The self defining electronic documents, such as XML based documents, can be easily understood amongst the partners. Definitions of these electronics business documents, called business interface definitions, are posted on the Internet, or otherwise communicated to members of the network. The business interface definitions tell potential trading partners the services the company offers and the documents to use when communicating with such services. Thus, a typical business interface definition allows a customer to place an order by submitting a purchase order or a supplier checks availability by downloading an inventory status report. Also, composition of the input and output documents, coupled with interpretation information in a common business library, programs the transaction in a way which closely parallels the way in which paper based businesses operate.

Abstract: A method, system, and storage medium for collecting bandwidth data is provided. The method includes producing master and slave text files in response to simultaneous collection of data samples from a network device by servers. The method also includes generating a clean data file by sorting data in the master and slave text files by the network device port, sorting data samples for the port by collection time, and for each of the samples: adding a designated interval of time to a time on the network device resulting in a target network device time whereby the time on the network device corresponds to a time the data sample was collected, examining data samples in the master and slave text files corresponding to the time the respective data samples were collected, selecting from one of the master and slave text files the sample with a collection time most closely matching the target network device time, and storing the selected sample in the clean data file.

Abstract: A method, system and program product for group policy backup management in a network having a plurality of domains including components and modules for steps of retrieving a list of group policy objects for a domain, generating a configuration initialization file including a domains section identifying a plurality of domains that are to be backed up and a setup section specifying a plurality of values that control the backup of each policy object in each domain, determining a digital signature for each policy object on a list of policies for the domain, comparing the digital signature for each policy object with a corresponding previous digital signature for each policy, determining if a current digital signature for each policy object matches the corresponding previous digital signature for a policy, and backing up a policy object having a current digital signature that does not match the corresponding previous digital signature.

Abstract: A method and system for providing a telephone caller information assistance such as driving directions from a starting location to a destination location. To obtain information assistance, the caller places a telephone call to access the system. If the geographical location of the caller can be determined by an automatic location identification system it is displayed on an operator console where the caller's request is transferred to be handled by a live operator. The operator receives the caller's destination request and queries the system for the street route driving instructions to the requested destination. After obtaining the street route driving instructions, the call can be transferred to an audio box having an interactive user interface capable of replaying the desired information to the caller. In an illustrative embodiment, the interactive user interface is capable providing functions to stop, start, pause, and replay the information to the caller.

Abstract: An aspect of the present invention includes a protocol for conveying data during an e-commerce session with a polymorphic response, comprising initiating a session with a message from a buyer application to a broker application and a session identifier assigned by the broker application; conducting the session between the buyer application and a supplier application; and concluding the session with a additional message which includes a schema identifier for the additional message, resolvable in a context of a system identifier; and a polymorphic response comprising a type and a version, wherein the polymorphic response includes additional data elements corresponding to values assigned to the type and version.

Abstract: This invention is a method and system for tokenless biometric authorization of an electronic communication, using a biometric sample, a master electronic identicator, and a public communications network, wherein the method includes: an electronic communication formation step, wherein at least one communication comprising electronic data is formed; a user registration step, wherein a user electronically submits a registration biometric sample taken directly from the person of the user; a public network data transmittal step, wherein the registration biometric sample is electronically transmitted to a master electronic identicator via a public communications network, said master electronic identicator comprising a computer database which electronically stores all of the registration biometric samples from all of the registered users; a user registration biometric storage step, wherein the registration biometric sample is electronically stored within the master electronic identicator; a bid biometric transmittal

Abstract: A system, method, and computer-readable medium that facilitate software configuration of assistive computer devices by automatically assessing a user's capabilities through questions and tasks are provided. The analysis results of the user's capabilities are then available to assistive computer software applications which may subsequently update their interfaces accordingly. A mapping mechanism from an external input device into a target software application is facilitated for software applications that do not include assistive technology features.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of processing content, such as, video and/or audio are disclosed. The operations of processing content may include receiving user input, such as, a content file, a type of content format, and a content destination. Other operations include determining necessary operations needed to complete the content processing and determining the applications available to the user on a local machine used by the user. The operations further include determining whether the user's local machine includes the necessary applications to perform the content processing, and determining a codec that will be used to process the content, and formatting the content using the codec and distributing the content to the content destination.

Abstract: A method is provided for generating height information for an image point on a rectified image from first and second aerial images having respective first and second sets of rational polynomial coefficients (RPCs), the first and second aerial images and the rectified image including overlapping image locations. The method comprises steps for generating epipolar lines and RPC lines and intersection points of epipolar lines and RPC lines. The method also comprises steps for equating line and sample coordinates to cubic polynomial equations and simultaneously solving the cubic polynomial equations to generate a height of the image point.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer readable medium for maintaining mappings between resources inside an isolated environment and outside the isolated environment for one or more applications. The system may include a plurality of lists of resources requested by the one or more applications during installation and while executing, and a corresponding lists of resources inside the isolated environment. The system may also include a list of resource exceptions, wherein the mappings between resources as requested by the applications and their corresponding values in the isolated environment are maintained subject to the list of exceptions.