Abstract: To accept, store, and use dynamic information within a markup language, a markup language variable system is introduced. The markup language variable system allows variable scopes to be created within markup language user agents. Variables can then be assigned using static variable assignment via markup language tags or dynamic variable assignment via user requests. Variables can be used within markup language displays or within addresses such as Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Automatic escaping ensures that variables are correctly modified for use within certain contexts such as URLs.

Abstract: Techniques for ensuring secure access to local service of mobile devices of a wireless communication system are disclosed. The techniques control access to local services of mobile devices such that only authorized services are able to remotely alter the local services of the mobile devices. Before permitting access to local services of a mobile device, the identity of the network site seeking to have access is checked to determine whether the network site is authorized for such access. If the network site is authorized, then access is permitted and the network site is able to modify or alter the local services of the mobile device. On the other hand, when the network site is not authorized, then the network site is denied access to the local service so that the local services provided by the network site are not open to attack or corruption from unscrupulous network sites.

Abstract: Improved techniques for providing electronic mail services across a network are disclosed. A mail server and its clients communicate through a network. Although the mail server centrally manages the electronic mail services, the clients are able to themselves locally perform certain electronic mail services when the network is unavailable. Accordingly, clients seeking to perform electronic mail services no longer endure significant delays when the network is unavailable. The network can be unavailable for a variety of reasons, including: congestion, out of range, network failure, etc. The network can be wired or wireless. The invention is particularly well suited for networks having sporadic connectivity, high latencies or excessive traffic.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a system for transcoding character sets between Internet hosts and thin client devices over data networks. A proxy server is provided as an intermediary between the Internet hosts and the thin client devices, and is informed when a specific character set is preferred by the client device. The client character set preference is communicated to the proxy server prior to the client receiving information from an Internet host. When a communication session is established between one of the Internet hosts and one of the thin client devices, the proxy server performs the character set transcoding if the character sets of the Internet host and the client device are not the same. Apart from any existing techniques, the proxy server handles the task of character set transcoding so as to alleviate the mobile computing devices from performing the transcoding locally.

Abstract: Access to hypermedia servers connected to networks such as the Internet can be provided through mobile devices such as wireless telephones. Unfortunately, limitations in processing power and memory space of the mobile device and limitations bandwidth of the communication channels connecting the mobile devices to the rest of the network cause long wait times for many types of requests to be serviced. In one application, a user is notified that unsolicited electronic mail has arrived in the user's mail box on a computer connected directly a network and, in response, the user requests the mail to be sent to the mobile device. The perceived latency in servicing such a request can be reduced by delivering at least a portion of the unsolicited electronic mail to mobile device before notifying the user that the mail has arrived in the mail box. In this manner, at least a portion of that mail can be presented to the user in response to a request with little delay.

Abstract: The present invention has been made in consideration of thin devices efficiently communicating ideas and transactions into data networks by using other devices with fill functional user interface in the networks. According to one aspect of the present invention, the thin device exclusively controls the authentication of a rendezvous that is associated with a user account in a server. The thin device running a micro-browser provisions the rendezvous with a set of credential information in an authenticated and secure communication session so that the provisioning process is truly proprietary. To access the user account, the other devices equipped with well known browsers must submit the correct credential information to the rendezvous for verification in the server.

Abstract: The present invention has particular applications to the navigation of Internet web pages using two-way interactive communication devices, such as a mobile device, a mobile phone, a landline telephone, and an Internet capable remote controller. According to one aspect of the present invention, each of the two-way interactive communication devices is a node in a distributed network, thus the devices can access hypermedia or hierarchic layers of information stored in server devices on the network. When one or more pages of information are updated, rather than sending the entire updated information to users of the devices subscribing to the updated information through the network, the present invention sends a notification to a proxy server that forwards the notification to the users using a messaging system via a low cost narrowband channel. Upon receiving the notification, the users can fetch the updates, when needed, through a wideband channel.

Abstract: Under the limited bandwidth of the current wireless data network and with the low memory in mobile devices in use today, the process of going through a number of intermediate pages to get to a desired page increases the latency of the information deliver and intensifies the network traffic. A method for accelerating the navigation of hypertext pages based on a compound request is disclosed. After a compound request is entered and activated, the compound request is parsed into an antecedent request followed by a final request wherein the antecedent request comprises a plurality of intermediate requests. All the intermediate requests are processed individually and sequentially as if they were entered individually and cards corresponding to the intermediate requests are fetched sequentially. A final card containing desired information by the final request is fetched based on the card corresponding to the last intermediate request and thereby displayed.

Abstract: Data are pushed from a source to a destination via an intermediate computer system. If the intermediate computer system is unable to forward the pushed data to the destination for a predetermined length of time, the intermediate system deletes the pushed data and never forwards the data to the destination. According to another aspect, the intermediate system receives a command, e.g. from a server originating the data, to delete the data if the data has not yet been forwarded to the destination. According to another aspect, the intermediate system receives data whose identifier (e.g. source URL) matches an identifier of data pushed earlier to the same destination but not yet forwarded. The intermediate system deletes the earlier pushed data and never forwards the earlier pushed data.

Abstract: The present invention has been made in consideration of thin devices efficiently communicating ideas and transactions into data networks by using other devices with full functional user interface in the networks. According to one aspect of the present invention, the thin device exclusively controls the authentication of a rendezvous that is associated with a user account in a server. The thin device running a micro-browser provisions the rendezvous with a set of credential information in an authenticated and secure communication session so that the provisioning process is truly proprietary. To access the user account, the other devices equipped with well known browsers must submit the correct credential information to the rendezvous for verification in the server.