Abstract: A method of determining if one web site has the same information as another web site includes receiving a signal to select a form configured to find data in a file containing information displayed on a web site and accessed via a network, applying the selected form to the file and selectively identifying item information available in the file, copying identified item information to a first data file, the identified item information being related to a specific product or service, and comparing the first data file and a second data file to determine if the specific product or service of the first data file is related to the specific product or service of the second data file.

Abstract: A collaborator discovery method and system is presented for tracking and correlating user activities with respect to information resources on an electronic network to assist users in finding others with common interests. The system includes a monitor for tracking user activities, an entry processor for updating and providing monitored activities to a match database, and a matcher to correlate user activities and to diffuse user interests to information resources that have not yet been visited. Long-term and short-term user interests are tracked, and are decayed over time for resources not recently visited. Information sources whose associated interest level has sufficiently decayed are pruned, and their entries in the match database are eliminated. An interactive messaging system is also provided for users to interact, while preserving their anonymity.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for tagging rich media content so that receivers of electronic information on electronic networks can specify content preferences. The transmission of content is controlled by the setting of priorities by the user, according to different forms of content, and then the system deletes content beginning with that of lowest priority. Content can be deleted because of poor communications conditions, or proactively to effectively highlight aspects of the communicated information in conformance to the desires of the user. In particular, the invention anticipates the multimedia capabilities and transmission difficulties of emerging 3G wireless devices.

Abstract: A data processing system and method are described for providing a dynamically assigned network address to a client computer system. The data processing system includes a server computer system coupled to the network. An access port is provided which is coupled to the network. The computer system is coupled to the network utilizing the access port. The computer system is then powered on. The computer system requires a network address in order to communicate utilizing the network. The computer system initially has no stored network address each time prior to being powered on. A dynamic network address is provided to the computer system utilizing only the access port each time the computer system is powering on.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for use in a distributed data processing system for transferring an application. A user selection of an application at a first site is detected. Responsive to detecting the user selection of the application, location information for the application is passed to a second site. The application is transferred from the first site to the second site using the location information.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus provide an application program user with remote interactive assistance from an application program expert. During running the application program, an information collection routine collects the information needed by the application program expert for the remote interactive assistance. In response to an assistance request, a call routine dials an application program expert based on the name of the application program, an information transfer routine transmits the collected information to the application program expert, and a display routine displays the collected information to the application program expert. The application program expert provides remote interactive assistance to the user based on the collected information.

Abstract: A system and method that enables a given sending user to specify a set of delivery policies and have them used for the electronic delivery of a given message, the message potentially having several heterogeneous parts (e.g., text and pictures) each of which is handled differently, and delivered to multiple heterogeneous devices (e.g., PCs, Smartphones, fax machines), and possibly to several distinct recipients. The factors with which a sender can qualify their delivery policies include: time/date, transmission cost; whether the transmission can be forwarded; receiving device capability; and network reliability, speed, and security transmission. Methods are also provided enabling a sender to specify that particular transmissions be redirected or copied, e.g., “send fax copy to my broker and my accountant.” In one embodiment, the delivery policies may be specified using PICS.

Abstract: A method for managing messages so that redundant messages need not be reviewed by a user. The method monitors electronic messages received by a user, and determines whether the received electronic messages are related to pending electronic messages for the user, such as by being a part of the same message thread. Redundant messages among the related messages are then identified, and are indicated in one or more ways such as by deleting the redundant messages or by altering the visual indicators of the messages presented to the user.

Abstract: A smart delivery system is provided for transmitting video, audio, hyper-text and web documents to end users via the internet over telephone lines, fiber optics, satellite links, or other direct communications on a non-realtime discontinuous basis in which the server providing the information periodically ascertains whether the end user terminal is busy. If so, the transmission to the end user is terminated and the information is stored until such time as the “busy” indication is terminated. In one embodiment, the indication for the end user of incoming information is in the form of an icon generated on-screen on which the user can click to obtain the sought-after information.

Abstract: The routing of prioritized documents such as email messages is disclosed. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method first receives a text. The method assigns a priority to the document, based on a text classifier such as a Bayesian classifier or a support-vector machine classifier. The method then routes the text based on a routing criteria. In one embodiment the routing is directed by a measure of priority that reflects the expected cost of delayed review of the document.

Abstract: A software facility for automatically identifying subnetworks in a network is described. The facility receives a plurality of addresses of hosts in the network, and accesses a binary tree. The nodes of the binary tree each represent a range of addresses within the network. A facility traverses the binary tree to identify candidate nodes where both child nodes have one or more descendent leaf nodes representing host addresses. The facility tests the address range represented by each candidate node visited in the traversal to determine whether the address range is a subnet address range for a subnet being used on the network. If testing indicates that a visited candidate node represents such an address range, the facility identifies the visited candidate node as a subnet node. The facility skips, in the traversal, any candidate notes that are descendents of an identified subnet node.

Abstract: A polite manner is used to discontinue availability of an application-server connected to at least one application-client. The connected-application-server determines what if any connected-application-clients have an open connection to the said connected-application-server. The application-server sends the connected-application-client a demand to switch to a substitute-application-server. The connected-application-client then opens a substitute-connection to a substitute-application-server and closes the connection to the connected-application-server. Finally, the connected-application-server discontinues availability of the connected-application-server by terminating the connected-application-server.

Abstract: A memory control unit for controlling access, by one or more devices within a processor, to a memory array unit external to the processor via one or more memory ports of the processor. The memory control unit includes a switch network to transfer data between the one or more devices of the processor and the one or more memory ports of the processor. The memory control unit also includes a switch arbitration unit to arbitrate for the switch network, and a port arbitration unit to arbitrate for the one or more memory ports.

Abstract: A method for improving next hop selection between internet routers (R) defined by their respective IP addresses. A source is identified by a source IP address and a source port identification. A destination or target is defined by a target port identification. Equivalent routes toward the destination host are identified conventionally. Each of the equivalent routes is defined by next router IP address. The source IP address, source port identification and target port identification are logically combined to derive a connection identifier (HO) for a first router common to all paths. An set of additional logical operations are performed to derive next hop selection identifiers. Final next hop route selection is based on predefined criterion.

Abstract: When a program transmission apparatus divides a program into a plurality of partial programs before transmission, a program reception execution apparatus executes a partial program when the partial program has already been received, and, when the execution needs to proceed to from a present partial program to a next partial program, executes the other partial program when the next partial program has been received.

Abstract: Embedded links or hotspots in source Web pages are upgraded to reflect the new Universal Resource Locations (URLs) of moved target Web Pages. In a World Wide Web communication network with user access via a plurality of data processor controlled interactive display stations for displaying Web pages transmitted to receiving display stations from Uniform Resource Locations (URLs) remote from said stations, said Web pages being linkable with each other through embedded links in source Web page, a system is provided for updating said embedded links in source Web pages when the URL of a target Web page is moved.

Abstract: A method for improving the performance and responsiveness of a computer program is presented. The system consists of a read-ahead mechanism that scans current data-sets and reads data-sets referenced within the current data-set prior to any actual request or access to the data set by the system. The determination of which data sets to access is made based upon a prioritization computed either through user defined settings or through heuristic observation of the system's behavior. The present invention has particular value in connection with Internet communications and access to remote data.

Abstract: A method and a medium for rendering documents to a browser from a server are provided. According to the rendering method, the browser requests a predetermined document and at the same time transmits user's computing environmental information to the server. The server evaluates the computing environmental information received from the browser. The server converts the requested document based on the evaluated user's computing environmental information. The server transmits the converted document to the browser. The server renders the documents to the browser in an appropriate manner by including only the information accessible in compliance to the user's computing environmental information, or converting it into the document accessible by the user. Thus, the data volume to be processed by the browser as well as the network traffic are reduced, and thus the document transfer rate is enhanced. In addition, the user having a limited computing environment can sufficiently utilize the documents.

Abstract: The invention provides for on-access scanning of archives, such as “ZIP” files, for files containing viruses or other unwanted characteristics. In particular, disclosed are various techniques for beginning a scanning operation, and then monitoring the scanning operation to determine whether it is completing in a reasonable time. If the scanning operation is taking place within a terminal server type of environment, such as the Microsoft Terminal Server, where an application program is run in a virtual execution environment, then provision is made to identify client connections to the server so that error messages (such as denying file access due to a virus) can be presented to a terminal server client's terminal, rather than at the terminal server console.

Abstract: A multimedia collaboration system that integrates separate real-time and asynchronous networks—the former for real-time audio and video, and the latter for control signals and textual, graphical and other data—in a manner that is interoperable across different computer and network operating system platforms and which closely approximates the experience of face-to-face collaboration, while liberating the participants from the limitations of time and distance. These capabilities are achieved by exploiting a variety of hardware, software and networking technologies in a manner that preserves the quality and integrity of audio/video/data and other multimedia information, even after wide area transmission, and at a significantly reduced networking cost as compared to what would be required by presently known approaches. The system architecture is readily scalable to the largest enterprise network environments.