Abstract: A complete system for the purchasing of goods or information over a computer network is presented. Merchant computers on the network maintain databases of digital advertisements that are accessed by buyer computers. In response to user inquiries, buyer computers retrieve and display digital advertisements from merchant computers. A digital advertisement can further include a program that is interpreted by a buyer's computer. The buyer computers include a means for a user to purchase the product described by a digital advertisement. If a user has not specified a means of payment at the time of purchase, it can be requested after a purchase transaction is initiated. A network payment system performs payment order authorization in a network with untrusted switching, transmission, and host components. Payment orders are backed by accounts in an external financial system network, and the payment system obtains account authorizations from this external network in real-time.

Abstract: The present invention is a new method called replica routing that automatically directs client computers that request a service to a server replica for that service. The replica chosen by replica routing is the replica that is expected to provide the best performance to the client based upon the client's location in the internetwork topology and the estimated performance of the internetwork. In addition, the system and method is designed to permit new replicas to be flexibly added undue administrative overhead.

Abstract: A complete system for the purchasing of goods or information over a computer network is presented. Merchant computers on the network maintain databases of digital advertisements that are accessed by buyer computers. In response to user inquiries, buyer computers retrieve and display digital advertisements from merchant computers. A digital advertisement can further include a program that is interpreted by a buyer's computer. The buyer computers include a means for a user to purchase the product described by a digital advertisement. If a user has not specified a means of payment at the time of purchase, it can be requested after a purchase transaction is initiated. A network payment system performs payment order authorization in a network with untrusted switching, transmission, and host components. Payment orders are backed by accounts in an external financial system network, and the payment system obtains account authorizations from this external network in real-time.

Abstract: This invention relates to methods for providing access to network servers. In particular, the process described in the invention includes client-server sessions over the Internet involving hypertext files. In the hypertext environment, a client views a document transmitted by a content server with a standard program known as the browser. Each hypertext document or page contains links to other hypertext pages which the user may select to traverse. The user may also access a hypertext page by providing a conventional telephone number or other descriptor. The server maps such a telephone number or descriptor to a target page identifier using a translation database and automatically directs the client to retrieve the desired page.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of genetic screening for a nucleotide variation, the method including the steps of (A) providing a mixture of nucleic acids comprising heteroduplex nucleic acids and excess homoduplex nucleic acids, wherein each said heteroduplex comprises a test nucleic acid strand isolated from an organism and a reference nucleic acid strand, each said heteroduplex also comprising a mismatched nucleotide pair, wherein said excess homoduplex nucleic acids are generated by reannealing of a first test or reference nucleic acid strand with a fully complementary second test or reference nucleic acid strand; (B) subjecting said mixture to a mismatch binding protein under conditions which promote binding to form a heteroduplex/binding protein complex; and C) detecting the presence of said mismatched nucleotide pair as an indication of the presence of genetic variation between said test and reference nucleic acids.

Abstract: A complete system for the purchasing of goods or information over a computer network is presented. Merchant computers on the network maintain databases of digital advertisements that are accessed by buyer computers. In response to user inquiries, buyer computers retrieve and display digital advertisements from merchant computers. A digital advertisement can further include a program that is interpreted by a buyer's computer. The buyer computers include a means for a user to purchase the product described by a digital advertisement. If a user has not specified a means of payment at the time of purchase, it can be requested after a purchase transaction is initiated. A network payment system performs payment order authorization in a network with untrusted switching, transmission, and host components. Payment orders are backed by accounts in an external financial system network, and the payment system obtains account authorizations from this external network in real-time.

Abstract: A highly-parallel processing system in which a number of processing elements are interconnected by a network, and are also connected to a system bus and controlled by a central processing unit. Each processing element includes a memory, and all of the memories in the processing elements form at least part of the memory available to the CPU. The processing elements normally execute programs in MIMD mode, and the CPU or another unit can interrupt them to execute a SIMD instruction. The network allows for transmission of variable length messages and also for combining messages when received at a common processing element.

Abstract: A highly-parallel processing system in which a number of processing elements are interconnected by a network, and are also connected to a system bus and are controlled by a central processing unit. Each processing element includes a memory, and all of the memories in the processing elements form at least part of the memory available to the CPU. The processing elements normally execute programs in MIMD mode, and the CPU or another unit can interrupt them to execute a SIMD instruction. The network allows for transmission of variable length messages and also for combining messages when received at a common processing element.

Abstract: A highly-parallel processing system in which a number of processing elements are interconnected by a network, and are also connected to a system bus and are controlled by a central processing unit. Each processing element includes a memory, and all of the memories in the processing elements form at least part of the memory available to the CPU. The processing elements normally execute programs in MIMD mode, and the CPU or another unit can interrupt them to execute a SIMD instruciton. The network allows for transmission of variable length messages and also for combining messages when received at a common processing element.

Abstract: A highly-parallel processing system in which a number of processing elements are interconnected by a network, and are also connected to a system bus and are controlled by a central processing unit. Each processing element includes a memory, and all of the memories in the processing elements form at least part of the memory available to the CPU. The processing elements normally execute programs in MIMD mode, and the CPU or another unit can interrupt them to execute a SIMD instruction. The network allows for transmission of variable length messages and also for combining messages when received at a common processing element.

Abstract: An information delivery method and apparatus uses a simplex channel from a central data base site for transmitting data stored at the site to a plurality of remote local terminals. The local terminals receive the broadcast data and selectively store a subset of the data. The local terminals can process user initiated queries directed to the stored data, and determine whether the data is available at the local terminal or at the central data base site. The local terminal can automatically access data not available in its data base. The remote local terminal has a facility for selectively storing only that information of particular interest to the local user and provides for listing desired information in a prioritized fashion and allocating memory to each category. A predicate data base model is developed for advantageously storing the information.