Abstract: In an access network which supports a mobile IP protocol, a mobile station may perform several handovers between access nodes during a long session which may cause inefficient mobile IP routing. In the present invention, an access node, which is the target of a handover during an IP session, is arranged to check the preferred mobility agent in respect of the optimal routing on the mobile IP level, and if a more preferred mobility agent is available and not the same as a current mobility agent, the connection to the current mobility agent is closed, and a new connection to the preferred mobility agent of the respective access node is opened. In merit of the new connection established by the access node to the preferred mobility agent, the agent advertisement messages sent by the new mobility agent can be received by the mobile node, and thereby the mobile node is able to detect the change of the attachment point (i.e. mobility agent) and to initiate standard mobile IP registration.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for controlling access to an Internet site from said site address. The inventive method consists in: registering said sites in a hosting service; recording data identifying users of the hosting service and data concerning each of said users including access rights to one or several hosted sites; verifying for every request for access to a hosted site address whether said request originates from a registered user and whether said user has access rights for said address.

Abstract: A system (and methods) for transferring multimedia information from a source location to a destination location through one or more networks, which may be different. The system has a source output which provides a first stream of information in a first format. The system also has a destination input which receives a second stream of information in a second format. A proxy transcoder server (“PTS”) is coupled between the source output and the destination input. The PTS has a transcoding module transcoding data. The PTS also has a capability module identifying a first capability of the source output and a second capability of the destination input, and selecting a transcoding process based upon the first capability and the second capability.

Abstract: A method for load balancing traffic among routers in a data transmission system that includes a network, a set of routers, and a plurality of groups of servers. Each group of servers transfers its flow of data to the network through a first router, the address of which is assigned by a routing protocol. The load on the first router is compared periodically with a predetermined high threshold. If the load exceeds the high threshold, the priority of the first router is lowered in order to transfer the flow of data to a second router. If the load on the first router is subsequently found to be less that a predetermined low threshold, the priority of the first router is increased in order to transfer the flow of data from the second router back to the first router.

Abstract: A gateway server manages connections in a wireless local area network (WLAN). The gateway server provides context information, such as an IP address, that is stored after being previously allocated to a mobile device in a previous connection to the WLAN. The gateway server reassigns the IP address to the mobile device after it reconnects to the WLAN after a disconnection, thus providing seamless roaming for the mobile device from WLAN to WLAN (or subnets within one WLAN) without requiring the user of the device to re-register. The gateway server also provides cluster information (e.g., as part of the context information) for a mobile device making a new connection to the WLAN, such as access privileges associated with the cluster of users of the mobile devices. The gateway server also provides load balancing among two or more WLAN's by directing a newly connection mobile device to another WLAN (or subnet), if less congestion results.

Abstract: A broadcast data receiver (BDR) is provided with a web browser system. A service provided by the web browser system si selectable by a user of the BDR and, when selected, is controllable by the user via a remote control handset, thereby allowing an Internet web site page for display on a display screen connected to or forming part of the BDR to be determined and one or more user options can be selected if required. One or more icons are generated on at least a portion of the display screen and each of the icons represents a button on the remote control handset. Each icon is mapped to a specific control function or option of the web browser, thereby allowing user selection of a web browser control function or option by selection of the appropriate button on the remote control handset.

Abstract: A system for establishing a dedicated internet connection between a user and a marketer is described. The connection is initiated by a customer downloading a framework program for a viewer. Thereafter, as content is communicated to the user, it is included with program code used with the framework program to enhance the presentation capabilities of the viewer. More robust presentations are thus enabled over a one-to-one channel.

Abstract: A network includes a service selection gateway that receives information from a network user having a network locator address in order to establish a communications session and an identity of the network user. A client service gateway can receive a request from the network user upon establishment of the communications session. In response to the request, the client service gateway determines if there is an association in a local memory for the network locator address and an identity of the network user, obtains additional information associated with the network user, and processes the request according to the additional information. If an association is not stored in the local memory, the client service gateway sends a query for the identity of the network user to the service selection gateway.

Abstract: A method for incentivizing sharing of a software product through awarding incentive points utilizing unique identifiers including removable storage identification, user console identification and user identification. The granting of access permissions and the awarding of incentive points are facilitated through a host server.

Abstract: A network system, a network server and a terminal device, capable of easily and surely transmitting various information to a user being the destination of the information. The terminal device to be used by a user is recorded in the network server 22. The network server 22 converts information to be transmitted to the terminal device used by the user into information conformed to the terminal device used by the user, or transmits a notice to the terminal device to the effect that there is information to be transmitted to said user. Thereby, the information can be easily and surely transmitted to the user who is the destination of the information.

Abstract: An online social network collects descriptive data about various individuals and allows those individuals to indicate other individuals with whom they have a personal relationship. The descriptive data and the relationship data are integrated and processed to reveal the series of social relationships connecting any two individuals within a social network. A maximum degree of separation setting is provided and set to at least two. The maximum degree of separation setting limits the amount of searching that is carried out when searching for a connection between two individuals in the social network.

Abstract: A network system, a network server and a terminal device, capable of easily and surely transmitting various information to a user being the destination of the information. The terminal device to be used by a user is recorded in the network server 22. The network server 22 converts information to be transmitted to the terminal device used by the user into information conformed to the terminal device used by the user, or transmits a notice to the terminal device to the effect that there is information to be transmitted to said user. Thereby, the information can be easily and surely transmitted to the user who is the destination of the information.

Abstract: A ring-shaped network quickly performs initialization even when a plurality of data transmission apparatuses are connected thereto. Each data transmission apparatus outputs received data to a device connected thereto while performing establishment of clock synchronization based on the received data, and when synchronization is established, it resends the received data. Further, when synchronization of the connected device is established, it sends data supplied from the connected device. Further, a master data transmission apparatus outputs data at turn-on of power or immediately after reset, and a next-stage slave data transmission apparatus receives the data to establish synchronization, and resends the received data when synchronization is established. Thus, synchronization of all the data transmission apparatuses is established while making a round of this data, and then synchronization of devices connected to the respective data transmission apparatuses is established.

Abstract: In accordance with a method and system for centralized network usage tracking, documents on a network server include a reference to content on a centralized logging server. When one of the documents is accessed by a client computer, the process of rendering the content at the client computer includes requesting the content from the logging server. The logging server, upon receipt of such a request, logs information embedded in the request and returns a trivial response which requires little time and which rendering of need not be perceivable by the user.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for authenticating an electronic message are provided. The method includes investigating data in a header of the electronic message, and generating an authenticity indicator in response to the investigation. The authenticity indicator may provide an indication of the likelihood that the electronic message was sent from a purported sender visible to a recipient of the electronic message. In certain embodiments, the method includes presenting the authenticity indicator to the recipient of the electronic message. Investigating data in the header may include parsing the header to obtain purported sender data in a from field populated at a mail client and to obtain actual originator data, comparing the purported sender data and actual originator data, and generating the authenticity indicator in response to the comparison. The from field may be the “FROM: . . . ” field of an email message provided to identify a sender of the email message.

Abstract: A multiple source proxy management system is disclosed. Most Internet browsers communicate only with the global Internet. However, new data services may be created that can provide information to an Internet browser in a compatible form. Since Internet browsers only know how to communicate with the Internet, a new system was developed to handle communication with other data services. The system includes a personal proxy server that handles requests from the Internet browser. The personal proxy server directs requests to a proper data server handler. The personal proxy server respects all existing Internet settings such as direct connections, proxy servers, and autoconfig proxy servers.

Abstract: Recording resources are selectively dedicated for recording data exchanged between entities attached to a network including at least one agent in an enterprise, a user, and a server connected to the agent and the user. At least one interconnection point is selected among interconnection points in the network including one or more points between the user and the server, between the server and a data distributor connected to the user and the agent, and between the agent and the server for recording the exchanged data. Recording resources are dedicated to the selected interconnection point for recording the exchanged data based on an objective for recording the data.

Abstract: Available bandwidth utilization during transfer of large files over a TCP/IP network is improved by load balancing data streams and dynamically controlling the number of data streams utilized. A determination is made of the optimum number of data streams for a particular data file transfer in the early stage of transmission. An initial number of data streams, which is one unless otherwise specified or determined, is used to transmit one or more file segments, each on a different data stream, immediately followed by a second initial number of data streams, which is at least two greater than the initial number of data streams, is used to transmit another portion of the large data file. During each transmission, individual and aggregate transmission bandwidths are determined. Responsive to a determination that the latest aggregate transmission bandwidth is significantly different from the previous aggregate transmission bandwidth, the number of data streams is modified.

Abstract: A network management apparatus and method reduces the number of events presented in an event list to a user. In particular, the apparatus and method reduces the number of events, which are generated during the monitoring of a network and may be due to rebooting of a device on the network, presented to the user by determining, upon receiving an event relating to a device, whether a more significant event already appears in the event list relating to the device, and if so, preventing the received event from being presented in the event list to the user.

Abstract: A method at a telecommunications system and a data communications system configured to adapt a resource reservation protocol for fixed networks to radio networks with a large variation in bandwidth and quality. Using a method of hierarchical coding, a data stream is divided into separate data streams with different priorities. Using the resource reservation protocol, resources in the fixed network for the data streams are reserved. A node in the fixed network shunts the data streams according to a pre-decided priority as the transmission capacity of the node decreases. Thus, if the transmission capacity at the node decreases and the quality requirement of a data stream cannot be maintained, the data stream in question is shunted. Upon shunting, the node transmits a message instructing upstream nodes to update their resource reservations; use the reserved resource temporarily for other traffic; and shunt the data stream until otherwise instructed.