Abstract: Techniques are provided to obtain event scheduling information for one or more events occurring within a time period and to obtain a reference time. A composite display widget is generated comprising a radial time indicator for the reference time and a radial event indicator for a first event of the one or more events based on the scheduling information. The composite display widget is displayed. The composite display widget can be used to display time integrated with events scheduled from a plurality of scheduling applications to provide a small icon-based scheduling package that can be viewed at a glance by a user.

Abstract: Techniques are provided to obtain event scheduling information for one or more events occurring within a time period and to obtain a reference time. A composite display widget is generated comprising a radial time indicator for the reference time and a radial event indicator for a first event of the one or more events based on the scheduling information. The composite display widget is displayed. The composite display widget can be used to display time integrated with events scheduled from a plurality of scheduling applications to provide a small icon-based scheduling package that can be viewed at a glance by a user.

Abstract: A network-based game system includes one or more web servers each configured to receive a plurality of requests from one or more game client applications each running on a computer device and to produce data base queries in accordance with the plurality of requests, a plurality of data bases configured to store game information that can be retrieved in response to the data base queries, and a connection pool server in communication with the one or more web servers and the plurality of data bases. The connection pool server is configured to direct one of the data base queries to one of the plurality of data bases on which the game information related to the data base query is stored.

Abstract: A network system includes a first server that can receive a first message from a client application running on one of the plurality of computer devices in a non-persistent network connection. The first message includes client status information about the client application. The first server can produce a data base query in response to the first message. A data base can store the client status information about the client application in the first message. The first server can produce a second message in response to results of the data base query. The first server can send the second message to the client application in the non-persistent network connection. A second server can receive a third message from the client application in a persistent network connection and respond to the client application in real time without requiring a data query at a data base.

Abstract: A network-based game system includes a load balancer and one or more web servers. The load balancer can receive a plurality of requests from one or more game client applications each running on a computer device. The load balancer can store the plurality of requests in a request queue and to send one of the requests in the request queue to a web server when the web server is available to receive a new request. The one or more web servers can process one or more requests received from the load balancer. A web server can inform the load balancer that the web server is available to receive a new request when the number of requests simultaneously processed by the web server is below a predetermined number.

Abstract: A network-based game system includes one or more web servers each configured to receive a plurality of requests from one or more game client applications each running on a computer device and to produce data base queries in accordance with the plurality of requests, a plurality of data bases configured to store game information that can be retrieved in response to the data base queries, and a connection pool server in communication with the one or more web servers and the plurality of data bases. The connection pool server is configured to direct one of the data base queries to one of the plurality of data bases on which the game information related to the data base query is stored.

Abstract: A network-based game system includes a computer network configured to communicate with game client applications running on a plurality of computer devices, wherein at least two of the game client applications are engaged in the same game room, a first server connected to the computer network, configured to store a game engine application capable of communicating with the plurality of game client applications, a computer storage device connected to the computer network, configured to store a protocol for message encryption and message decryption, and a second server connected to the computer network, configured to store a game-system-interface (GSI) program that can receive a plurality of first encrypted messages from the plurality of game client applications and decrypt the first encrypted messages using the protocol stored on the computer storage device.

Abstract: A network-based game system includes a computer network and a computer storage device and a first server connected to the computer network. The computer storage device can store a plurality of protocols for message encryption and message decryption, The first server stores a game-system-interface program that is configured to receive a first encrypted message from a game client application running on a computer device in communication with the computer network and decrypt the first encrypted message using one or more of the plurality of the protocols.

Abstract: A network-based game system includes a computer network, and a first server and a second server connected to the computer network. The first server is configured to store a game engine application that can communicate with a game client application running on a computer device connected to the computer network in a persistent network connection. The second server is configured to store a game-system-interface (GSI) program that can respond to requests from the game client application running on the computer device in a non-persistent network connection.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing computer code updates through an integrated circuit card (smart card) interface. The smart card interface within a computer control device determines whether the card that is inserted into the smart card interface is either a memory card or a conventional smart card. Once the smart card interface has detected that the memory card has been inserted, the interface requests data from the card. The interface provides the computer code to the memory of the computer controlled device to update the computer code therein.