Abstract: In an embodiment of the invention, a method for optimizing package delivery using social networks is provided. The method includes receiving an order to purchase a product by a purchaser in an e-commerce computing application executing in memory of a host server from over a computer communications network, retrieving a list of social networking contacts for the purchaser, determining whether or not a contact amongst the social networking contacts has ordered a product from the e-commerce computing application, and rendering a prompt in the e-commerce computing application to the purchaser to consolidate shipment of the product ordered by the purchaser with a product ordered by the contact in response to determining that the contact has also ordered a product from the e-commerce computing application not yet shipped to the contact.

Abstract: A message generator for use in a publish/subscribe system, the publish/subscribe system having a broker for receiving a plurality of messages from one or more publishers and a subscriber: the message generator comprising: a storage component for retaining the plurality of messages; and an aggregator for aggregating the plurality of messages into an aggregated message.

Abstract: Provided are methods, apparatus and computer programs for remote monitoring of data. Log data output by an application program running on a storage-constrained apparatus is saved to local system memory—either as an in-memory data file or as output from one application piped to the input of another, or as a named pipe that passes data to a local publisher program—and then captured by the local publisher program. The local publisher program sends the data to a publish/subscribe broker, which can retain the most recent publications for analysis by one or more subscribers. This avoids the need to save large amounts of data to disk storage on the storage-constrained apparatus, and ensures that console output data and log data that is often discarded by headless, storage-constrained systems is available for analysis.

Abstract: A message generator for use in a publish/subscribe system, the publish/subscribe system having a broker for receiving a plurality of messages from one or more publishers and a subscriber: the message generator comprising: a storage component for retaining the plurality of messages; and an aggregator for aggregating the plurality of messages into an aggregated message.

Abstract: Methods support a sleep mode for an embedded device. Embedded devices like sensors and actuators used in wireless sensor networks have a limited power supply. To conserve energy and thus increase the lifetime of these devices, the devices should be put into a stand-by mode (also called sleep-mode) when they are not used. These methods support the sleep mode at a higher level than the MAC layer, thus avoiding the problems of prior art approaches. Methods are exemplarily described for the case of the message queuing telemetry transport protocol for sensor networks. They can easily be adapted to other protocols.

Abstract: A method and arrangement (100) for impermanent connectivity between a client unit (110) and a server (120) in a network, comprising: at the client unit, a client proxy function (114) for receiving information from/for a client application (112), for storing said information, and for relaying said information between the client unit and the server when a connectivity link (130) therebetween is established. The arrangement may further comprise a server proxy function (124), and a messaging subsystem (116, 122). The information may be SMTP, POP3, HTTP or FTP information. An FTP file ‘GET’ command may be performed by, in response to the ‘GET’ command, writing a local file at the client unit having a unique signature, and when the connectivity link is established, obtaining the requested file from the server, finding the file at the client unit having the unique signature, and over-writing the found file with the obtained file.

Abstract: A message generator for use in a publish/subscribe system, the publish/subscribe system having a broker for receiving a plurality of messages from one or more publishers and a subscriber: the message generator comprising: a storage component for retaining the plurality of messages; and an aggregator for aggregating the plurality of messages into an aggregated message.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and software is disclosed for providing a portal. The portal, running on a client device, comprises one or more portlets for displaying data. The portal and portlets can be dynamically configured depending on the data sources being displayed.

Abstract: This specification concerns signal processing apparatus for processing line synchronization pulses in a line synchronization signal that define an analog video signal line period. The apparatus comprises a phase locked loop (40) for generating a clock signal of a frequency that is a multiple of the line synchronization signal frequency. The phase locked loop (40) comprises a counter (100) for dividing the clock signal by said multiple. The apparatus further comprises logic (110,50) for resetting the counter (100) upon detection of a spurious pulse introducing a time interval into the line synchronization signal of less than the line period of the video signal. The apparatus is particularly useful in image processing systems for digitizing analog video signals that have been replayed via a conventional, domestic video tape player, and therefore may comprise spurious line sync pulses introduced by playback head skip.

Abstract: A controller for a first in first out (FIFO) memory comprises detector logic for detecting any difference between the number of addresses in the memory into which data is written and the number of addresses in the memory from which data is read. Comparator logic connected to the detector logic generates a request data transfer signal in response to said difference becoming greater than or equal to a threshold. Threshold select logic connected to the comparator logic is responsive to data having first and second portions being written to the memory. The threshold select logic sets the threshold to a first value when the first portion is being written and sets the threshold to a second value, greater than the first value, when the second portion is being written.

Abstract: Signal processing apparatus comprises a chrominance subsampler (10) for sampling the U and V components of a PAL video signal in response to an enable signal. A counter (30) responsive to the horizontal synchronization component of the PAL video signal generates the enable signal upon detection of a predetermined number of horizontal synchronization pulses. Logic (60,70,80) responsive to the vertical synchronization component of the PAL video signal resets and disables the counter (30) upon detection of a vertical synchronization pulse. Logic (50,60,70,80) restarts the counter (30) from a reset state upon detection of a predetermined polarity in the V component of the PAL video signal.