Abstract: A system for providing flexible billing in a cable environment can establish billing practices based on tier level of service, quality of service or the amount of network resources consumed. A plurality of tiers or levels of service can be defined by parameters including at least a maximum or peak bit rate or bandwidth for providing services over a shared channel. A plurality of levels or tiers of services are defined by maximum bandwidth or bit rate and a subscriber receives service at that subscribe-to level or at a slower data rate depending on availability of shared bandwidth. Quality of service is maintaining the specified bandwidth, jitter or delay. The amount of network resources consumed may be expressed in terms of the amount of data transmitted or the connect time of a network access device to the network.

Abstract: A transformation engine that enables content and information to be transformed from one format, a source format, to a format that is compatible with the requesting device, a destination format. Advantageously, various device types can access and share content via a network without concern as to the original format of the content. When a client device provides a request for content, the transformation engine identifies delivery characteristics of the client device, and identifies a source for the requested content. The transformation engine then transforms the source formatted content into a format identified through a best fit analysis of the delivery characteristics of the device.

Abstract: A system and method for providing a specialized learning curriculum to users over a computer network. At least one server computer associated with a education content provider hosts a learning center web site that solicits and receives personal information from users relating to the users' interest preferences and demographic information. Using this information, the server computer generates a specialized learning curriculum based upon each user's selected interests and other information. The curriculum may include articles, on-line courses, on-line workshops, interactive games and user activities, and interactive calculation tools provided by both the education content provider and third party content providers. Upon curriculum creation, the user may select content items for subsequent display and evaluation. The system also provides a variety of additional features such as an internal message service, a reminder service, a news service, and a notes service.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system and method to allow a remote client to remotely access a home server of a home or private network while preserving end-to-end security. A home server includes a service component. When a server application performs a network operation to start listening for a connection from a remote client, it is detected by the service component. The remote client is coupled through the Internet and through an Internet agent to a home gateway running a Network Address Translation (NAT) software program. The gateway connects to a forwarding agent. The forwarding agent is connected to the home server and provides the Internet agent with access parameters received from the home server. If the remote client provides proper access parameters to the Internet agent, the Internet agent provides the remote client access to services running on the home server.

Abstract: A method for providing orderly service delivery to clients over a network, comprising the steps of (A) requesting data from a location and (B) if a denial is received, notifying a particular client of availability.

Abstract: The disclosed subject matter models or predicts a user's intention during network or WWW navigation. Specifically, a statistical multi-step n-gram probability model is used to predict a user's optimal information goal. The optimal information goal is based on a sequence of previously visited network content pieces and a globally optimized navigation path through the sequence.

Abstract: An e-commerce outsourcing system and method provides hosts with transparent, context-sensitive e-commerce supported pages. The look and feel of a target host is captured for future use. The host is provided with one or more links for inclusion within a page on the host website that correlates with a selected commerce object, which may be contextually related to material in the page. The commerce object can be a product, a product category, or a dynamic selection indicator. Upon activation of the provided link, a visitor computer is served with a page with the look and feel of the host website and with content based upon the associated commerce object. Where the commerce object is a dynamic selection indicator, the content is selected at the time of activation based upon an analysis of the page containing the activated link.

Abstract: A system for providing flexible billing in a cable environment can establish billing practices based on tier level of service, quality of service or the amount of network resources consumed. A plurality of tiers or levels of service can be defined by parameters including at least a maximum or peak bit rate or bandwidth for providing services over a shared channel. A plurality of levels or tiers of services are defined by maximum bandwidth or bit rate and a subscriber receives service at that subscribe-to level or at a slower data rate depending on availability of shared bandwidth. Quality of service is maintaining the specified bandwidth, jitter or delay. The amount of network resources consumed may be expressed in terms of the amount of data transmitted or the connect time of a network access device to the network.

Abstract: A common programming interface in a communication subsystem controller allows protocols to be developed or modified to communicate with the communication subsystem controller. Once a protocol layer is able to communicate with the communication subsystem controller, the protocol layer is stacked with other protocol layers compatible with the communication subsystem controller. A table in the communication subsystem controller specifies an order of protocol layers in the protocol stack. These protocol layers in the protocol stack communicate with their adjacent protocol layers through the communications subsystem controller.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for requesting data from one of a plurality of servers. A virtual network of nodes is generated in response to a data request. A first node on the virtual network of nodes is chosen randomly, and a path generated from the first node to the root on the virtual network. At least one node on the path is mapped to a respective one of the plurality of servers and data is requested from a server. The node may be mapped to the server using the method and apparatus for distributing a request to one of a plurality of resources of the present invention.

Abstract: A communication mechanism and method for assisting in the transfer of information between at least two processes through a data storage system is provided. The communication mechanism is provided between a protocol family and the process, and is capable of communicating with both. Both the processes and the protocols may differ depending on the functions desired. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the communication mechanism is a socket interface which it utilized through the use of a series of calls contained in a socket library. The calls contained in the socket library are used to create a socket, and such socket is then used to effectuate a transfer between at least two processes through a data storage system to another process.

Abstract: A portable device that allows accessing the Internet and World Wide Web wirelessly through a cellular telephone. A host computer, which may also be a Web server, translates and compresses into bitmap or raster images the information received from the Internet. The compressed images are sent to the portable device for decompression and display. The portable device accepts pointing and clicking to links to other pages. Commands entered by the user at the portable device are sent to the host computer for execution via a virtual browser to generate a new page, which is then rasterized, compressed and sent to the portable device. Alternatively, a user may perform clicking and scrolling with respect to the image on the device to cause the actual execution in the virtual browser. The user may access a virtual desktop through the palm top device to create and modify documents.

Abstract: On receiving a message in a communications device, a sender or destination network address is checked to determine whether the network address is intended for address conversion. In cases in which the network address is intended for address conversion, a received virtual destination network address is converted to a communications-device-internal destination network address, or a received communications-device-internal sender network address is converted to a virtual sender network address.

Abstract: The invention disclosed herein enables a collection of computers and associated communications infrastructure to offer a new communications process which allows information providers to broadcast information to a population of information consumers. The information may be targeted to those consumers who have a precisely formulated need for the information. This targeting may be based on information which is inaccessible to other communications protocols. The targeting also includes a time element. Information can be brought to the attention of the consumer precisely when it has become applicable, which may occur immediately upon receipt of the message, but may also occur long after the message arrives. The communications process may operate without intruding on consumers who do not exhibit the precisely-specified need for the information, and it may operate without compromising the security or privacy of the consumers who participate.

Abstract: This invention provides a negative cache management system and method for controlling valid and invalid memory component identifiers, and, thereby, accelerates performance of relatively high speed memory components, including hardware and software systems, that operate with storage devices.

Abstract: A mobile device downloads a desired World Wide Web page from a Web server. The Web server sends a Web page that includes a WML formatted hyper-link to access reduced format WML format Web pages that fit on the mobile device's display. The user of the mobile device selects the mobile device access mode hyper-link that instructs the Web server to continue sending only the WML format Web pages.

Abstract: A computer has one or more communication interfaces that determine if one or more client (client devices) is within a range of communication of the computer. The computer also has one or more computer interfaces capable of communicating with one or more of the second computers. The second computers can be at any general location and/or installed as subsystems of other devices. An application process determines from the client signal that the client is within the range of communication and that requests and receives one or more of the application programs through the computer interface from one or more of the second computers at the commuter location. Thus, the application program (and necessary databases) are moved to a next computer as the client moves within the range of communication of this next computer. The application programs/databases can be discarded once the client moves outside of the range of communication of the computer.

Abstract: A proximity-oriented redirection system for service-to-client attachment in a virtual overlay distribution network. The virtual overlay distribution network includes addressable routers for routing packet traffic, wherein a packet of data is routed from a source node to a destination node based on address fields of the packet. The invention includes a redirector coupled to at least one of the addressable routers and includes: logic for accepting a service request from a client; logic for determining a selected server for handling the service request, the selected server being one of a plurality of servers that can handle the service request; and logic for generating a redirection message directed to the client for redirecting the service request to the selected server.

Abstract: A system for presenting dynamic content to a user of a client device is implemented in a method including the steps of presenting a requested data object to the user; and automatically presenting dynamic content to the user in addition to the presentation of the requested data object, wherein the dynamic content includes information provided by a dynamic executable module running on the client device.

Abstract: A terminal and first, second and third servers are connected through a communication circuit. The first server stores a list of data of obtainable characters and a server address of character display data. The second server stores character display data and a schedule file. The third server stores advertisement data. The terminal down-loads the list from the first server and displays the list of obtainable characters. By selecting an arbitrary character from the list, the terminal down-loads an address of stored character display data from the second server. Based on the address, character display data and a corresponding schedule file are down-loaded from the second server. Advertisement data is down-loaded from the third server as described in the schedule file. The terminal displays the character on a desktop based on the character display data, and provides an advertisement from the advertisement data according to a schedule described in the schedule file.