Abstract: A system and method for linking data objects and physical objects of various kinds to an identified user is described. The system provides to the identified user information relating to the delivery status of mail pieces directed to or sent by the user, and the user then tracks and traces the mail pieces. The system further provides to the identified user information relating to continued sessions through which the user provides to a postal service system information relating to mailing labels and postage.

Abstract: A system and method for linking data objects and physical objects of various kinds to an identified user is described. The system provides to the identified user information relating to the delivery status of mail pieces directed to or sent by the user, and the user then tracks and traces the mail pieces. The system further provides to the identified user information relating to continued sessions through which the user provides to a postal service system information relating to mailing labels and postage.

Abstract: A system and method for linking data objects and physical objects of various kinds to an identified user is described. The system provides to the identified user information relating to the delivery status of mail pieces directed to or sent by the user, and the user then tracks and traces the mail pieces. The system further provides to the identified user information relating to continued sessions through which the user provides to a postal service system information relating to mailing labels and postage.

Abstract: A multiple agency transaction accounting system includes a plurality of point of service stations that conduct, for multiple agencies, respective agency transactions that are associated with various reporting requirements, fees and commissions. A universal transaction encoding subsystem encodes the agency transaction data received from the plurality of stations into universal transaction data and supplies the encoded data to a universal transaction settlement subsystem that parses and aggregates the universal transaction data into encoded agency-specific transaction data and provides the encoded agency-specific transaction data to the respective agencies to complete the transaction accounting. The accounting system may also include a money management subsystem that processes fees and commissions associated with the agency transactions in bulk for the respective agencies. The money management subsystem may process the agency transactions as either credit card transactions or bank account transactions.

Abstract: A pharmacy post office receives prescriptions and produces through an automated pill dispensing and packaging system machine-sortable pharmacy letters that are sortable by automated mail sorting machines into postal delivery routes and delivered as first class or priority mail pieces by the postal delivery persons along their customary routes. A track and trace system may provide a delivery schedule to the patient and/or prescribing doctor based on the time of day the pharmacy letter is provided to the automated mail sorting machines. When a pharmacy letter is delivered by the postal delivery person, he or she scans the tracking code and transmits information back to the track and trace system, which then updates its delivery schedule to show the completed delivery.

Abstract: A technique dynamically places resources within a graphical user interface (GUI). According to the novel technique, a resource (e.g., an image of the resource) of the GUI is assigned a filename (e.g., by a graphic designer) having position information encoded therein. For example, a resource with coordinates of 50 pixels in the “X” direction (“50X”) and 50 pixels in the “Y” direction (“50Y”) may be represented with a corresponding filename: “resourcename_50×50.jpg.” Software code that displays the GUI (e.g., maintained by a software developer) may then dynamically interpret the filename to parse out the position information (e.g., 50X and 50Y). The software code then places the resource in a position within the GUI according to the position information. Subsequently, changing the position information encoded within the filename (e.g., by the graphic designer) changes the position of the resource in the GUI (e.g., renaming the resource to “resourcename_100×50.jpg” replaces the resource at 100X and 50Y).

Abstract: A workpiece authentication system uses shape recovery techniques to extract explicit three dimensional (“3-D”) features of the surface geometry of the designated portion of a workpiece from images produced using different lighting conditions. The system then bases authentication on the 3-D surface features. The system recovers surface normals, or equivalently gradients, for selected locations within a designated portion of the workpiece from multiple enrollment images produced under different illumination conditions. The system then encodes the surface normal information into authentication indicia that is placed on the workpiece and/or stores the surface normals or related information. Thereafter, the system determines that a given workpiece is authentic if the surface normals recovered from various verification images correspond to the stored surface normal information or the surface normal information encoded into the indicia.

Abstract: A peer-to-peer storage system includes a storage coordinator that centrally manages distributed storage resources in accordance with system policies administered through a central administrative console and a lexical recovery sub-system that automatically creates versions of files that are thereafter maintained by the system. The storage resources, or “nodes,” are otherwise unused portions of storage media, e.g., hard disks, that are included in the devices such as personal computers, workstations, laptops, file servers, and so forth, that are connected to a corporate computer network, and are thus otherwise available only individually to the respective devices. The storage coordinator assigns the nodes to various “replication groups” and allocates the storage resources on each of the nodes in a given group to maintaining dynamically replicated current and previous versions of the group files.

Abstract: A peer-to-peer storage system includes a storage coordinator that centrally manages distributed storage resources in accordance with system policies administered through a central administrative console. The storage resources, or “nodes,” are otherwise unused portions of storage media, e.g., hard disks, that are included in the devices such as personal computers, workstations, laptops, file servers, and so forth, that are connected to a corporate computer network, and are thus otherwise available only individually to the respective devices. The storage coordinator assigns the nodes to various “replication groups” and allocates the storage resources on each of the nodes in a given group to maintaining dynamically replicated versions of the group files. The storage nodes in a given group perform dynamic file replication and synchronization operations by communicating directly, that is, peer-to-peer, using a message-based protocol.

Abstract: A workpiece authentication technique is provided. The technique bases workpiece authentication upon intrinsic physical characteristics of the workpiece, including one or more images of topographical appearance of at least one portion of the workpiece.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for distributing postage over a public network in a manner that is secure in the case of third party interception, indicia for which can be efficiently printed by a postal customer on items to be mailed, and that facilitates authentication of the printed indicia. When the postal customer purchases postage from the postal service, the postal service provides information which the postal customer uses to generate pseudo-random numbers associated with the respective units of postage. When the postal customer prints an indicium for a respective unit, it appends the associated pseudo-random number, which the postal service uses to authenticate the indicium. The pseudo-random numbers are generated using a methodology by which the postal customer can generate pseudo-random numbers for units which have been purchased, but not for units which have not yet been purchased.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for distributing postage over a public network in a manner that is secure in the case of third party interception, indicia for which can be efficiently printed by a postal customer on items to be mailed, and that facilitates authentication of the printed indicia. When the postal customer purchases postage from the postal service, the postal service provides information which the postal customer uses to generate pseudo-random numbers associated with the respective units of postage. When the postal customer prints an indicium for a respective unit, it appends the associated pseudo-random number, which the postal service uses to authenticate the indicium. The pseudo-random numbers are generated using a methodology by which the postal customer can generate pseudo-random numbers for units which have been purchased, but not for units which have not yet been purchased.