Abstract: An image around a vehicle matching the intent of a driver is automatically displayed. An infrared camera (2) picks up an image of the face of a driver (7). A visual line direction and a face direction are detected from the face image of the driver (7). Based on the visual line direction of the driver (7) and the face direction thereof, a direction in which the driver (7) gazes is detected. When the direction in which the driver (7) gazes is included in image pickup ranges of CCD cameras (1A, 1B, and 1C), an image around a vehicle (100) picked up by any one of the CCD cameras (1A, 1B, and 1C) is automatically displayed on a monitor (6).

Abstract: Membership information for participating computer systems participating in a multi-party conferencing session is distributed by intermittently exchanging link databases with one or more neighbor computer systems. A link database includes one or more link state records, each link state record identifying a participating computer systems and a list of neighbor computer systems that are logically linked to the participating computer system. When a new computer system joins or a participating computer system leaves the multi-party session this joining or leaving change is reflected in the link databases of corresponding neighbor computer systems. As the neighbor computer systems exchange link databases, the change is eventually propagated to all the participating computer systems.

Abstract: Various techniques for providing instantaneous media services are disclosed. Some of the techniques provide an instantaneous media-on-demand system, process and method for the same. Such a system offers a dynamic library with a significant number of titles from which a user may select and offers play back a desired title fairly instantly. To facilitate instant playback, a file pertaining to a title is fragmented into a header and segments. The header is seeded in all boxes in service and none, one or more segments are distributed to the network of boxes. When the title is ordered, the header is instantly played back while the segments, if not locally available, are streamed in respectively from the boxes having the segments to enable continuous playback of the ordered title.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method and system for automatedly scheduling virtual machines across several hosting servers of a hosting service provider. Some embodiments perform the automated scheduling by receiving a server configuration that includes constraint data. In some embodiments, the constraint data includes a specified amount of hosting resources needed to implement the server configuration. Based on the constraint data, a scheduling module in the hosting environment determines an optimal distribution of the server configuration across a set of hosting resources that implement the server configuration based on the constraint data. To determine the optimal distribution, some embodiments compute a set of scores for quantifying the specified set of hosting resources required for hosting the server configuration.

Abstract: A method of processing a message in a communication network in which the message travels along a path which may be closed and which comprises a plurality of nodes. The message is constituted by a plurality of distinct information blocks of which certain may be destined for different nodes. The method is implemented in a node of the path and comprises the following steps: receiving the message; identifying in the message the information blocks destined for the node; processing the identified information blocks, with the creation as a consequence of at least one result data item; modifying the message by inclusion in it of the resulting item or items of data; and transmitting the message to the following node along the path. The invention also relates to a device adapted to implement the method.

Abstract: Creating a unique identification for each stack in partitions of a host data computer such that a plurality of partitions may share a single adapter card during an Input/Output operation wherein the adapter card is exchanging data between the host and a Local Area Network. The adapter card includes a unique identifier pool for maintaining values of unique identifiers which are available for identifying the stacks. A deleted unique identifier for a stack may be reused by newly created stacks and may be reassigned to a recreated stack, if still available, when the stack had previously been deleted by the operating system, but is then recreated.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for data transfer according to various aspects of the present invention operate in conjunction with a peer-to-peer (p2p) network associated with distributed file location index. For example, a system according to various aspects of the present invention may identify a high-demand file item according to communications on the p2p network and store a copy of the high-demand file item. The system may assign a non-random node identifier to the system for identifying the computer system in the p2p network. The system may then respond to requests for the high-demand file item.

Abstract: A DSL customer premises equipment modem (DCPE) avoids the requirement of a flash or other static memory for storing an application image or configuration on the modem. The modem instead stores microcode used to boot its chipset and obtain the application image and/or configuration from a remote site, such as the central office (CO). In one possible startup procedure, this microcode initializes the modem's chipset, starts the DSL driver, establishes a data link with the service provider's CO equipment, and downloads the application image and/or the configuration from the CO. Other types of communications devices, such as cellular phones or other portable devices, can perform a similar procedure to obtain an application image from a remote source, such as a base station.

Abstract: A host router is logically partitioned into virtual router domains that manage independent processes and routing application copies but share a common operating system. Each v-net manages an independent set of sockets and host router interfaces, each associated with only one v-net at one time, but interchangeably repartitionable. Traffic is removed from an interface during repartitioning. Duplicate arrays of global variables copied to each v-net are accessed by macro references. A v-net facility can separate route tables used internally from the externally visible route tables and can avoid conflicts between internal and external IP addresses that share the same identifier. For example a common FreeBSD operating system supports a dynamic routing protocol (DRP) application. Each v-net runs an independent copy of the DRP software and is logically independent. A failure in one DRP copy does not adversely affect other copies.

Abstract: A network system that identifies a home network of a user by a network identification in an access request. When the access request is received in a network, the accessed network extracts a network identification from the access request and determines whether the access request is received from a subscriber or non-subscriber. If a non-subscriber, then a foreign network is identified and a network identification database is consulted to retrieve contact information for the foreign network. If the contact information is successfully retrieved, then the user may be routed to the foreign network (home network of the user). Otherwise (if the contact information is not in the network identification database), the user may be denied any access, and a purchase agreement for connect services may be offered.

Abstract: A dynamic repository (either storing digital data content or pointers to stored digital data content) works in conjunction with a plurality of interfaces to manage digital content and digital rights policies associated with one or more users. Digital rights policies are unique to each user and such policies define access to digital content in the repository. The user's digital rights policy indicates the level of access a user has to digital content in the repository (e.g., the policy could indicate that the user has authorized access to a particular file for a period of seven days). The interfaces linked with the content repository are used to access and manipulate the digital data content (based upon each user's digital rights policy) and the digital rights policies stored in the content repository.

Abstract: A system provides a periodically changing story line and/or a special event company logo to entice users to access a web page. For the story line, the system may receive objects that tell a story according to the story line and successively provide the objects on the web page for predetermined or random amounts of time. For the special event company logo, the system may modify a standard company logo for a special event to create a special event logo, associate one or more search terms with the special event logo, and upload the special event logo to the web page. The system may then receive a user selection of the special event logo and provide search results relating to the special event.

Abstract: A DSL customer premises equipment modem (DCPE) avoids the requirement of a flash or other static memory for storing an application image or configuration on the modem. The modem instead stores microcode used to boot its chipset and obtain the application image and/or configuration from a remote site, such as the central office (CO). In one possible startup procedure, this microcode initializes the modem's chipset, starts the DSL driver, establishes a data link with the service provider's CO equipment, and downloads the application image and/or the configuration from the CO. Other types of communications devices, such as cellular phones or other portable devices, can perform a similar procedure to obtain an application image from a remote source, such as a base station.

Abstract: A service level agreement between a network service provider and a network user may require that specified service metrics or parameters be maintained within predetermined limits. To reduce the chance those limits (and the service level agreement) will be violated, the service metric is sampled periodically over successive sampling intervals. The mean value and the standard deviation of the set of samples obtained during the most recent sampling interval are used to screen out unreliable data. If the set of samples satisfies the reliability screening, the set is used in combination with past acceptable sets to determine the trend in the sampled service metric. If the trend is toward a violation, the time of the violation is predicted based on the assumption the current trend will continue. If the predicted time of violation is sufficiently near the current time, an alert is sent to the service provider to permit the service provider to initiate anticipatory corrective action.

Abstract: A contents receiving device may automatically receive contents, and a recording medium may store a contents receiving program. The contents receiving device may refer to an agent table, receive contents having the greatest weight of the agent having the least preference deviation as a top priority from a contents providing server or a P2P network, and store the contents in a contents storage unit. Therefore, the contents receiving device and a device for operating the contents receiving program may automatically download contents satisfying the user's preference. Further, the devices may allow easy finding of user preferences on the contents and similarities on contents preference with respective agents.

Abstract: A network system that identifies a home network of a user by a network identification in an access request. When the access request is received in a network, the accessed network extracts a network identification from the access request and determines whether the access request is received from a subscriber or non-subscriber. If a non-subscriber, then a foreign network is identified and a network identification database is consulted to retrieve contact information for the foreign network. If the contact information is successfully retrieved, then the user may be routed to the foreign network (home network of the user). Otherwise (if the contact information is not in the network identification database), the user may be denied any access, and a purchase agreement for connect services may be offered.

Abstract: Character validation systems and methods are implemented. Characters in a data processing system may be may be represented by a set of n-bit data values, however not all n-bit values necessarily represent valid characters. Each data value corresponding to a character of a stream of characters may be validated in response to a member of a data structure corresponding to the value, in which each member of the data structure includes validity information for a corresponding data value. The member may be addressed by indexing into the structure with the data value.

Abstract: A distributed data storage system stores a single image file system across a plurality of physical storage volumes. The physical storage may be direct attached storage, or may be coupled through a storage area network (“SAN”). One or more clients communicate with a plurality of storage nodes through a network. A client of the distributed data storage system transmits a request over the network for a file identified in the file system. A load-balancing switch selects one of the storage nodes to process the request. The storage node accesses at least one of the physical volumes and transmits a response for the storage operation to the client.

Abstract: A system and method facilitating media browsing is provided. The invention includes a browsing component and a media display system that provides a focus media and related media. The focus media and the related media are associated based, at least in part, upon metadata. The invention further provides for an association identifier that identifies related media based, at least in part, upon metadata associated with the focus media and the related media. The association identifier can further cluster the related media based upon metadata associated with the related media.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the methods and apparatuses initiate a collaboration session from a presenter participant; select an available profile from a plurality of overall profiles based on a hierarchy structure of the plurality of overall profiles and a presenter profile corresponding to the presenter participant; and invite an attendee to the collaboration session by the presenter participant wherein the attendee corresponds to the available profile.