Abstract: An endoscope includes an image pick-up unit extending in the axial direction within a distal end forming portion, and a channel tube extending in the axial direction within the distal end forming portion and including a parallel portion arranged parallel with the image pick-up unit, and the outer peripheral surface of the parallel portion includes a facing side diameter reducing portion arranged on a side facing the image pick-up unit and, with respect to a reference circumferential surface including a common central axis to the inner peripheral surface of the parallel portion, closer to a central axis side than the reference circumferential surface in a cross section orthogonal to the axial direction, and a diameter keeping portion arranged on a side other than the side facing the image pick-up unit and whose at least a part overlaps the reference circumferential surface.

Abstract: A system may include user equipment. The user equipment may determine a group of first Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) window size values based on different information relating to a wireless network, and determine a second TCP window size value based on the group of first TCP window size values. The user equipment may further transmit data using a transmission window size corresponding to the second TCP window size value.

Abstract: A proximity threshold of an avatar is defined with respect to proximity to an artifact located within a virtual universe domain. Activity by the avatar within the virtual universe domain is tracked, with activity data generated from the tracking. The activity data is analyzed to determine proximity of the avatar to the artifact within the proximity threshold, and a report is generated from the analyzing, the report noting a determined proximity of the avatar to the artifact within the proximity threshold. In one aspect, the report is provided to a supervisory entity.

Abstract: A method of recognizing and supporting multiple versions of a canonical message model in a service oriented architecture industry model repository comprising determining differences between at least one first version of a message model and at least one other version of the message model; mapping the differences between the different versions of the message models to the SOA IMR; and providing the mapping of the differences between the message models to a message access service, mapping of differences between the message models are applied and updated to the later of the message models to support the versions of the canonical message models seamlessly.

Abstract: Certain exemplary embodiments can comprise a method comprising for a given information device, automatically identifying each installed network interface card (NIC) that is compatible with accessing a predetermined network. Certain exemplary embodiments can comprise automatically determining that a connection can not be achieved via a selected compatible NIC to a server on the predetermined network. Certain exemplary embodiments can comprise automatically trouble-shooting the selected compatible NIC.

Abstract: Techniques and systems are disclosed that can measure capacity of a server farm, and project capacity needs based on traffic and resources. Server farm system information is collected for managing the server farm by identifying a list of servers in the server farm. Performance metrics are collected from identified servers and stored in a collection database. The stored performance metrics are analyzed in accordance with a server farm management request.

Abstract: A trust relationship may be established between a first email user and at least a second email user. At least one email message received by the second user is automatically propagated to the first user based upon, at least in part, the trust relationship.

Abstract: In a monitoring system for monitoring parking of a vehicle in a specific area by a monitoring image pick-up device, and a monitoring apparatus, the monitoring image pick-up device includes an image pick-up portion. And the monitoring apparatus includes: a parking area enter/exit determining portion for determining whether or not a vehicle enters or exits from the specific area; an imaging setting change instructing portion for instructing the image pick-up portion to change an imaging setting to another one suitable for capturing a vehicle image containing specific information on the vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle enters or exits from the area; and a parking determining portion for calculating a time for which the vehicle is parked in the area from image capturing time when the vehicle enters the area, and image capturing time when the vehicle exits from the area.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a virtual peer for a peer-to-peer (P2P) content sharing system. In general, the virtual peer is a logical construct enabling a number of virtual peer members to appear as a single peer node in the P2P content sharing system. In operation, a sponsoring agent creates the virtual peer and registers the virtual peer with the P2P network. Once registered, the virtual peer appears as a new peer node in the P2P network. In order to provide efficient content sharing, the sponsoring agent operates to obtain metadata describing all or a portion of a number of digital assets shared by the virtual peer members and aggregate the metadata into a single collection of metadata, referred to herein as a metadata catalog, for the virtual peer and may cache all or a portion of the digital assets shared by the virtual peer members.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for high-speed processing of structured application messages in a network device. According to one aspect, a network device receives a set of message classification rules that have been prepared beforehand by a system administrator or customer. The system analyzes the message classification rules to determine what part(s) of the message are necessary to classify a message according to the message classification rules. This allows the system to consider only the relevant parts of the message and ignore the rest of the message. The system extracts the portion of the message necessary for classifying the message and classifies the message using the values of the extracted information and the message classification rules. A unique sequence of operations is implied by the message classification and those operations must then be applied to the message.

Abstract: A display apparatus for projecting images towards eyes of at least one viewer selectively when said eyes are spaced horizontally within a viewing field, said apparatus comprising: transmitting means for transmitting light; image generation means for generating different images, the image generation means being capable of generating image parts in a plurality of different vertical image areas; and light configuration means for configuring said transmitted light to provide a plurality of sets of vertical light configurations, the different configurations in each set being selectable to provide different emergent light characteristics for a vertical image area which is common to each configuration in a set and which is different for each set, whereby said different images are projected by said apparatus to coincide with one or more eyes selected from the eyes of each of the one or more viewers, and not one or more other eyes of the viewers.

Abstract: In response to an ACTIVATE PACKET DATA PROTOCOL (PDP) CONTEXT REQUEST message from a host, including a global reachability request option that requests a global IP address and a global port to be allocated to the host, a serving gateway transmits a CREATE PDP CONTEXT REQUEST message to an Internet gateway device. The CREATE PDP CONTEXT REQUEST message includes the global reachability request option. In response to a CREATE PDP CONTEXT RESPONSE message from the Internet gateway, where the CREATE PDP CONTEXT RESPONSE message includes a global reachability response option specifying therein a global IP address and a global port allocated to the host, the serving gateway transmits an ACTIVATE PDP CONTEXT ACCEPT message to the host, where the ACTIVATE PDP CONTEXT ACCEPT message includes the global reachability response option. As a result, the host does not need to establish a separate connection session to the Internet gateway device to acquire the same.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and systems for automatically threading multiple media into a single document. More specifically, a single conversation may be distributed among a number of different contacts and replies to those contacts. The distributed contacts and the corresponding replies may be chronologically ordered and analyzed. Then the repetitive portions of the documents and replies are removed. After repetitive portions of the conversation have been removed, the multiple documents are threaded together as a single representation of the conversation.

Abstract: In a method for displaying an image of a scene in front of a vehicle, recorded by a video camera, in which the scene in front of the vehicle contains a roadway which is illuminated by the vehicle's headlights, the gray values of the pixels of the image data generated by the video camera are weighted using a reduction factor, which is a function of the respective pixel within the image and of the brightness of objects in the near range in front of the vehicle, in such a way that the contrast between the display of the near range in front of the vehicle and the display of other parts of the image is reduced.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing high availability to service groups within a datacenter is described. In one embodiment, the method includes accessing policy master information regarding a plurality of nodes to identify at least one suitable node of the plurality of nodes for operating a service group, generating network topology information to identify at least one single point of failure amongst the plurality of nodes, processing high availability information regarding at least one computer resource at the at least one suitable node and determining availability indicia of the service group based upon the network topology information and the high availability information.

Abstract: A single universal authentication system for Internet services provides a trusted server that is activated when a user clicks on the login or helper button on a third party's site, which submits a request to the trusted server. The client properly identifies itself to the trusted server through pre-authorization techniques such as cookies, logging on, or going through the AOL service wherein the service knows the user's identity. The trusted server sends a user/site specific authentication token to the third party, initiating the authentication process with the third party which checks to see that the authentication token is valid and sends its own authentication token back to the trusted server. The trusted server verifies from its partner database that the third party's authentication token is valid.

Abstract: A system and method provides a unified iSCSI target using a plurality of loosely coupled iSCSI front ends. A cluster comprising a number of network elements and disk elements exports one or more logical units to iSCSI initiators. Each of the network elements is operatively interconnected with a replicated database which is utilized to share initiator data structures and lun mapping information. An iSCSI initiator may communicate with any of the network elements to access any of the logical units exported by the cluster.

Abstract: A content delivery network (CDN) service provider extends a content delivery network to gather information on atomically identifiable web clients (called “user agents”) as such computer-implemented entities interact with the CDN across different domains being managed by the CDN service provider. In one embodiment, a set of machines, processes, programs, and data comprise a data system. The data system tracks user agents, preferably via cookies, although one or more passive techniques may be used. A user agent may be a cookie-able device having a cookie store. As the user agent navigates across sites, a CDN-specific unique identifier used by the system to correlate user agents is generated. Preferably, the unique identifier is stored as an encrypted cookie. The unique identifier represents one user agent (and, thus, one cookie-able device's store).

Abstract: There is provided a message hub apparatus for efficiently processing service processing messages in an enterprise system. The message hub apparatus stores a value of minimum residence time as minimum time during which the service processing message is to reside in a message queue. The message present in the message queue is transmitted to a service provider on condition that the minimum residence time has elapsed. The apparatus performs a merge processing of the received service processing message and the service processing message which resides in the queue. A history of the merge processing stored in the apparatus is analyzed, and the value of the minimum residence time is modified based on an analysis result.

Abstract: A method is described which allows a very large (greater than 100,000) number of applications to communicate logically through a many-to-many multicast cloud on the common carrier Internet efficiently by exploiting characteristics of the applications' data streams which allow substantial message culling as well as more standard routing optimization (conventional multicast and optimization standard to normal Internet routing systems). The method describes the function and type of three types of systems which operate together to implement the method. The first is a network enabled client application, such as a distributed simulation or game, which joins an application cloud or federation and communicates its internal state changes into the cloud via a communication applications programming interface.