Abstract: An interactive recording/reproducing medium including: image data; image reproduction control data which defines an operation instruction received from operation input apparatus and a reproduction procedure for the image data in correlation with each other, the operation input apparatus performing a reproducing operation for the image data in an interactive manner; image related data related to the contents of the image data; and relation defining information which defines the relation between the image related data and the image data. More particularly, an interactive recording/reproducing system which is interactively responsive to operations made by a user, which defines information such as text data (e.g., ASCII text) in association with an image and reproduces the text data simultaneously with reproduction of the image. An optical disk medium comprises a Video-CD recording area for recording image data (e.g.

Abstract: A video data storage apparatus simultaneously records a plurality of streams of video images each generated by a respective video camera. The apparatus includes a housing having a front panel, a storage device inside the housing for storing a video information, a display screen for displaying video information and a control circuit inside the housing. A plurality of manually-operable switches is mounted in a layout pattern on the front panel. A mouse controls positioning of a cursor on the display screen. The display screen displays switch areas in accordance with the switch layout pattern of the front panel. The switch areas on the display screen are actuatable by the mouse.

Abstract: An activity based time accounting system consisting of a plurality of personal data collection devices (PDCD's) which are carried by selected users or workers during a predetermined use period, a central storage and processing facility (SPF) for receiving and storing each of the PDCD units in electrical interconnection during other than said use periods, and circuitry in said PDCD units for recording time accounting data for each of the selected users during each use period; and including collection circuitry for gathering all PDCD unit data during the other than said use periods for compilation and transmission for processing with business accounting software.

Abstract: A method and system for determining an initial architectural state for instruction trace reconstruction. Performance projections for processor systems and memory subsystems are important for a correct understanding of work loads within the system. An instruction trace is generally utilized to determine distribution of instructions, identification of register dependencies, branch path analyses and timing. One well-known technique for reconstructing an instruction trace can be accomplished by monitoring bus traffic to determine instruction addresses, data addresses and data during the trace. However, the initial architectural state (the state of all caches, buffers and registers) must be determined in order to accurately reconstruct an instruction trace. At least one cache within the processor system is divided into two portions, the content of that cache is invalidated and each cache entry thereafter is duplicated within each portion of the divided cache.

Abstract: In a financial institution accounting system, a system for, and method of, determining an optimal sweep threshold parameter for a demand deposit account ("DDA"), the DDA having a sub-DDA contra-account and a sub-money market account ("sub-MMA") associated therewith.

Abstract: A computer-implemented system for determining deferred and immediate annuity contract living contingent and supporting component funding and related data representing tangible annuity contract values across the life period of a potential or existing annuity contract. The system is comprised of at least a terminal, data storage and a programmed processor. The system provides for the physical transformation of annuity contract purchase value data representing tangible purchase values into annuity contract living contingent and supporting component funding and related data representing tangible deferred and immediate annuity contract values at one or more selected dates during the life period. The system also determines the eligibility for withdrawal of withdrawal values and transacts the payment of such withdrawal values.

Abstract: A test support tool system and method produce software test programs from a logical description of selected software. Test programs are created by producing a cause-effect graph from the logical description, creating a decision table, producing test cases, and synthesizing test cases into a test program. The test support tool system includes an interface for receiving a logical description of software, a logical database, an analysis and test case generation module, a control module, and a test program synthesis module.

Abstract: A system is provided for resetting a process from a first activity to a second activity, in which the second activity was previously performed. The system identifies activities that were previously performed after the second activity. Each identified activity (including the second activity) is then executed in a cancel mode of operation. The execution of the activities is performed sequentially from the first activity to the second activity. The system then executes the second activity in a run mode of operation. The cancel mode of operation cancels the changes that were implemented by a particular activity during a previous execution of the activity. The activities can maintain information regarding the last change implemented by the activity, which is used by the activity in the cancel mode of operation to cancel the last change implemented by the activity. The system may include a loop reset counter associated with the first activity and the second activity.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for the dynamic optimization of business processes, the business process instances of a business process being managed by a workflow management computer system. The invention is in particular characterized by collecting, investigating and storing parameters, processing data and result data, and subsequently optimizing business processes on the basis of stored information by identifying a business process instance having propitious result data, modifying the parameters of said instance and subsequent verification of such modification. The invention is further characterized by the use of genetic algorithms and orthogonal matrices for the modification of the parameters of the identified business process instance with propitious result data. The invention is suitable for being used in the process optimization in production engineering and plant engineering and in process optimization in the service field.

Abstract: A system for communicating with a global electronic delivery system that integrates a plurality of financial services provided at different geographical locations and in different time zones, and delivery such services directly to a customer facility at any time requested by the customer. The customer connects to the system whenever desired to access each of the services, and the delivery system stores and routes messages between the customers and each of the service providers at the respective times when the customers' facilities and the service providers' facilities are operative. The communications system can comprise a stand-alone personal computer, a local area network, and/or a mainframe computer. The communicates system also includes a variety of security functions that provide different levels of access to the services for different customers.

Abstract: An automated collaborative filtering (ACF) system for recommending at least one item to a first user based on similarity in preference of the user as compared with other users. The ACF system stores rating data for items provided by users of the system. Upon request of the first user, the system determines similarity values for the first user as compared with other users that have provided rating data for items that the first user has also rated. Based on the similarity values, a subgroup of users is selected that is then used to provide recommendations to the first user.

Abstract: A digital audio signal processing circuit according to the present invention inputs a bit stream 1, which has a configuration including an additional information and several samples of the compressed audio signals, and decodes it. The input buffer size is designed by subtracting the size of inputting bits of the bit stream 1 while the signal processor 10 processes the sample from the total bits of the largest additional information and first sample.

Abstract: Video data storage apparatus stores on a hard disk plural fields of video data and header data associated with each field of video data. The video data is reproduced from the hard disk and the reproduced video data is processed by an image analysis algorithm. Data indicative of the outcome of the image analysis is then recorded on the hard disk as part of the header data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing a time domain reflectometry (TDR) signal having a plurality of reflection pulses to generate a valid output result corresponding to a process variable in a vessel. The method includes the steps of establishing an initial boundary signal before the process variable is locates in the vessel, storing the initial boundary signal, detecting the TDR signal, and determining a baseline signal by subtracting the initial boundary signal from the TDR signal. The method also includes the steps of establishing a signal pattern having a time range based on the width of reflection pulses in the baseline signal, comparing the baseline signal to the signal pattern until a reflection pulse in the baseline signal matches the signal pattern, determining a maximum value of the reflection pulse that matches the signal pattern, and calculating an output result based on the maximum value.

Abstract: Code is synchronized with design in an object oriented computer programming environment. Execution steps are created for a selected method. Then, as directed by the execution steps, the design is traced through one step at a time. Tracing includes fetching appropriate design information and checking for design violations.

Abstract: A picture reproducing apparatus transmits coded picture data and an algorithm for reproducing (decoding) the coded picture data and reconfigures a decoding processor in accordance with the received algorithm. The apparatus includes a unit for receiving the picture reproducing algorithm described in a logical description language, performing picture reproduction in accordance with the received algorithm, and reconfiguring a picture decoder in accordance with the received algorithm, a unit for adding a test routine to the algorithm in order to perform an operation test of the received algorithm in a program download manner, and a picture encoder for selecting an optimum coding system for each input frame and transmitting a coding system descriptor code.

Abstract: A digital recording device records and displays plural streams of video information. Portions of an image plane are assigned among image streams each generated by a respective video camera. A mouse is used to drag a camera icon into a region corresponding to a portion of the image plane to indicate assignment of the portion of the image plane to the stream of images generated by a corresponding camera. Other operating modes of the recording device are selectable by the user.

Abstract: Apparatus for analyzing and storing video data includes a video camera for generating video data and analysis circuitry for analyzing the video data generated by the video camera to detect a predetermined characteristic of the video data. The apparatus also includes first and second storage devices, and routes the analyzed video data to a selected one of the first and second storage devices in response to detection of the predetermined characteristic of the video data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) adaptor customized for a stored procedure. In accordance with the present invention, stored procedure application developers can provides their stored procedure to a builder, which creates a CGI adaptor customized for the stored procedure. To generate the CGI adaptor, the builder parses the stored procedure to identify the arguments of the stored procedure. Then, using the stored procedure arguments, the builder generates logic to extract variables from an input data stream, wherein the variables correspond to the arguments of the stored procedure. The builder also generates logic to invoke the stored procedure using the variables extracted from the input data stream. The generated logic comprises the customized CGI adaptor.

Abstract: Disclosed are a method and arrangement for accessing interactive audiovisual programs stored on a remote server (1) by a multimedia station (2). The audiovisual program is stored in the same format as it is stored on a CDi disc, i.e. in the form of sectors. Although based on the same data compression technology, the CDi video coding standard does not comply with the MPEG coding specification. Moreover, MPEG does not cover the handling of specific CDi features. In order to allow conventional CDi decoders to access remotely stored CDi applications via interactive networks (3,4), the interactive audiovisual program is transmitted as a private MPEG2 data stream, using the concept of MPEG's transport stream. The multimedia station comprises a network interface (7) having a circuit (72) which assembles the transport packets and applies the signal sectorwise to a "stripped" CDi player (5,6).