Abstract: The preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for administering custom network device groups for network devices connected in a large network that comprises establishing criteria specifications for one or more custom device groups of network devices, establishing one or more custom device groups based upon said criteria specifications, and assigning each network device to a particular custom device group based upon said device having criteria specifications corresponding to said particular custom device group.

Abstract: A method and system for event-driven network management. A network management application is configured to detect a network event generated by an external application and to execute an action in response to detecting said network event, wherein the network management application is configurable to receive information describing the network event and the action. The network event is monitored for. In response to detecting the network event, the action is executed.

Abstract: A structure and method for supplying a graphic user interface for a computer. The graphic user interface comprises a schedule having at least one time slot identifying at least one activity and at least one link associated with the activity. The link starts at least one computer program and opens a computer file associated with the activity.

Abstract: Described is a method of coating a metallic substrate comprising: providing a metallic substrate; applying an electrocoating composition by a cathodic electrocoating process to the substrate; and applying to the electrocoated substrate an aqueous coating composition comprised of a siloxane material. Also described is the product produced by the process having improved hardness, adhesion, corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance and appearance.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices are provided for device driver selection. One embodiment of a management station includes a processor, memory in communication with the processor, and program instructions stored in memory and executable on the processor. The program instructions are executable to initiate execution of a particular device function that will use a driver, select a set of drivers based upon defined device information, and call a routine in a particular driver from the selected set of drivers which executes to determine whether the particular driver is most appropriate to perform the particular device function for a particular device.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and device are provided for device status identification. One method embodiment includes transmitting an SNMP message to a device. The method includes opening a socket connection on the device in response to an SNMP error message returned from the device. And, the method includes initiating a time-out function upon opening the socket connection.

Abstract: A gutter cover for directing the flow of rainwater from a building roof into a gutter mounted to the peripheral edge thereof while preventing debris such as leaves and twigs from entering and clogging the gutter. The cover is secured to the roof of the building such that rainwater flowing down the shingles will flow across the cover at the bottom roof line. A lower end of the cover has an arcuate nose disposed substantially above the outer edge of the gutter. The surface of the gutter is treated with one or more combinations of coatings and/or substrate textures to slow the flow of water while improving flow to the cover surface. Rainwater will flow around the arcuate nose into the gutter while debris carried by the rainwater is expelled outwardly over the edge of the gutter.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatically gathering, summarizing, and indexing real-time information derived from real-time communication on the Internet, such as Internet chat sessions, or any other comparable form of real-time communication on the Internet. The present invention provides live information selection and analysis and provides basic functionality of crawling, indexing and summarizing chat room data, as well as generating messages, such as advertisements, responsive to the subject matter of the communication.

Abstract: A method of selecting a mirror server for client-host interaction over a network provides automatic, user-transparent, selection of a particular mirror server from among multiple mirror servers that replicate a host server providing web content over the Internet. The method selects the mirror server that has the best response time for a given client computer requesting web content under changing web traffic and mirror server load conditions. The host server creates and maintains a list of addresses of available mirror servers, preferably ranked according to the load on the mirror servers. In response to an initial information request from the client computer, the host server sends the mirror server list to the client computer along with the requested web content.

Abstract: Attractive heat sinks are used to cool the central processing unit and other solid state electronic components in electronic devices such as computers. In preferred embodiments, heat sinks snap onto one or both sides of a laptop computer to provide cooling. The heat sinks may consist of one or more sealed tubes of various cross sections containing a fluid mixture or solution. Preferred embodiments of the heat sinks rely on the principle of Rayleigh-Benard convection to provide a visually attractive “bubble lamp” display, “glitter lamp” display, or other convective fluid lamp display.

Abstract: Attractive heat sinks are used to cool the central processing unit and other solid state electronic components in electronic devices such as computers. In preferred embodiments, heat sinks snap onto one or both sides of a laptop computer to provide cooling. The heat sinks may consist of one or more sealed tubes of various cross sections containing a fluid mixture or solution. Preferred embodiments of the heat sinks rely on the principle of Rayleigh-Benard convection to provide a visually attractive “bubble lamp” display, “glitter lamp” display, or other convective fluid lamp display.

Abstract: A method and system for determining each location and identifier of a plurality of wireless communication devices, computing a distance between a location of a requesting device and the location of each of the plurality of wireless communication devices. The system and method presents to a user of a requesting device a list of at least one of the plurality of wireless communication devices that satisfy a proximity requirement for the requesting device. The user can then select a presented one of the list of at least one of the plurality of wireless communication devices and initiate communications with the selected one wireless communication device. The system and method also can receive an alert notification request from the requesting device and send an alert notification, in response to the alert notification request, to a plurality of wireless communication devices satisfying a proximity requirement for the requesting device.

Abstract: A gutter cover for directing the flow of rainwater from a building roof into a gutter mounted to the peripheral edge thereof while preventing debris such as leaves and twigs from entering and clogging the gutter The cover is secured to the roof of the building such that rainwater flowing down the shingles will flow across the cover at the bottom roof line. A lower end of the cover has an arcuate nose disposed substantially above the outer edge of the gutter The surface of the gutter is treated with one or more combinations of coatings and/or substrate textures to slow the flow of water while improving flow to the cover surface. Rainwater will flow around the arcuate nose into the gutter while debris carried by the rainwater is expelled outwardly over the edge of the gutter.

Abstract: A structure and method for supplying a graphic user interface for a computer. The graphic user interface comprises a schedule having at least one time slot identifying at least one activity and at least one link associated with the activity. The link starts at least one computer program and opens a computer file associated with the activity.

Abstract: Global Positioning System (GPS), Personal Data Assistant (PDA), and wireless communications are combines in order to create a more personalized advertising experience. The invention creates and presents advertising content founded on individual user profiles integrated with the physical geographic location of a consumer. The invention solves the problem of advertising tailored so that it is appropriate to both the user and their current location by including a customer's profile and his/her current location into the advertising message. Also, the invention integrates location tracking, e.g. GPS technology, with a personal electronic calendaring system. Further, an advertising message is more personalized by using a relative address/directions that start from the current customer's location. This information could be provided in the form of driving directions, using the current physical position of the user as a start address.

Abstract: A pointer system provides multiple display pointers that can be created and identified by a computer user such that each pointer is associated with a particular application and location within an application. A user can recall respective pointers and pointer locations by selecting a pointer identifier. One or more of the pointers can be defined as anchored pointers, which are associated with one or more user actions. The user actions can comprise a variety of functions, including mouse button clicks. In this way, a user can define anchored pointers and carry out a string of user actions by selecting the identifying character of an anchored pointer.

Abstract: A data storage library system, preferably arranged in an array of independent libraries, uses a log-structured file (LSF) data architecture and assigned roles for the individual storage devices in the library. Each library includes a plurality of storage devices, such as optical disk drives, and a store of removable media units, such as optical disks, that are mounted and dismounted from the storage devices. The log-structured library is similar to fixed media systems having LSF data architectures in that it employs a directory to map the local address of a data set to its physical storage location, but is different in that it divides the jobs of reading and writing (log accesses) and garbage collection among the different storage devices of the library. As required, the dismountable media units are moved from the storage area and mounted on a device assigned the appropriate role. The roles assigned to the storage devices are flexible and can change as needed.

Abstract: A redundant array of independent data storage libraries of dismountable media units includes parity logging and unique parity update reintegration techniques to improve system performance by reducing the number of media mounts. The media units are arranged into redundancy groups that store the data as sets or parity groups of data blocks and a corresponding parity block. When new data is to be written parity updates are computed and stored in a parity log in nonvolatile storage, such as a magnetic fixed disk drive. The new data blocks are then written onto the media units, but the corresponding new parity blocks are not written if the media units containing the old parity blocks are not mounted at the time the parity updates are computed. If a media unit containing an old parity block is already mounted at the time the parity update is computed, then a new parity block is computed based on the parity update and the new parity block is written to the media unit without logging the parity update.

Abstract: A record media (optical disk) automatic library (back store) houses a plurality of record media for selective mounting in any one of a plurality of media drives (front store). Each record medium has one or more addressable recording surfaces termed data units. Record media currently mounted in said media drives may be replaced by other record media (demounted) only if the individual data unit has been idle (not accessed) for a time longer than a predetermined horizon time (demount eligibility threshold). If the current idle times for all mounted media are less than the respective horizon times, then no media can be demounted. Then, all proposed record media mounts are delayed until one of the currently mounted record media becomes eligible for demounting. If a plurality of mounted record media are eligible for demounting, then a least recently used one of the data units is demounted. The idle time of each mounted data unit is separately timed.