Abstract: The suitability of a service provider for performing a task having a sensitivity level is gauged by using a trust level associated with the provider, in conjunction with the sensitivity level, to gauge whether or not to allocate the task to the service provider.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a distributed computing system and method. Conventional distributed computing environments require complex arrangements to distribute tasks and to collate the results of any distributed processing. There has been a recent trend towards using the spare computing capacity of computers connected to the Internet to provide distributed computing resources. However, various security issues have been identified in relation to such an arrangement. Suitably, the present invention uses a power management system in which a user or system context, which is created and saved when an associated computing system enters a power management state, to provide a distributed computing platform. Once a computer system has entered a power saving state and the user system context has been saved to an HDD, the computer system is arranged to wake-up and to establish, or use, a pre-prepared distributed computing task system context.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a power management system and method. The current ACPI specification defines data that should be saved to a non-volatile storage medium to allow recovery from a sleeping state. However, the ACPI specification does not address restoration of the system context following a power failure during a sleeping state. The RAM image includes all applications and data that are currently resident in RAM together with device register values that may be lost during a reduced power consumption state of the computer system. It will be appreciated that it takes a significant amount of time to collate and save the data required to maintain the system context of the client machine. Suitably, the present invention provides for the compression of data representing the system memory context prior to the system memory context data being saved to a non-volatile storage medium. The compression results in fewer bytes needing to be saved to the non-volatile storage medium.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a power management apparatus and method. Many organisations have reached an agreement with the power companies to reduce their power consumption during periods of relatively high demand. Reducing the power consumption often entails temporarily switching off air conditioning or heating or reducing the effectiveness of them. However, in some circumstances, these measures are insufficient. Therefore, the present invention is arranged to reduce the power consumption state of, for example, computers. A server transmits to each computer a network message which instructions those computers that have already entered a reduced power consumption state to adopt a different power consumption state, which has a power consumption that is less than their existing power consumption state. Since the computers that are addressed are already in a reduced power consumption state, it is very likely that the users of those machines have not used them for some time and may be away from their desk.

Abstract: A method of authenticating a user of a security token which has confidential information accessible only in response to a predetermined access code, the method including capturing biometric information of the user, creating a user biometric profile from the captured biometric information, comparing the user biometric profile created from the captured biometric information with a plurality of a biometric profiles contained within a database containing the user biometric profile and other biometric profiles, each biometric profile in the database of biometric profiles having a unique associated code, selecting from the database of biometric profiles the biometric profile corresponding most closely to the user profile created from the captured biometric data, and providing the code associated with the selected biometric profile to the security token.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a data processing system and method for a client machine. Current working practices mean that an employee no longer has a permanent desk or fixed place of work. The PC that they may typically use to perform their role within an organisation may not be exclusively assigned to them. Clearly, this practice presents the difficulty of providing access to working files and data while the employee roams throughout the organisation. Therefore, the present invention provides a data processing method for a system in which the system context required for power management is saved to a network drive rather than to a local HDD. By storing the system context remotely, the employee can roam freely throughout the organisation and restore their system context at any machine at which they log-on. Furthermore, the present invention can be used to provide power management functions to thin client machines, which are typically used within such a roaming environment.

Abstract: A boot process for a computer comprising, in a client environment,

Abstract: A method of providing user-specific data to an information source to enable the information to be obtained in accordance with the user-specific data, the data being conveyed in encrypted form and wherein the data key used to provide the information source with unencrypted data is obtained using a broker.

Abstract: A Computer based on a dual processing structure, with a main processing subsystem associated to an alternate processing subsystem. The main subsystem includes a main processor, a keyboard and a display, and the alternate processing subsystem has a quicker response time than the main processing subsystem. Additional multiplexing means are used for sharing said display and said keyboard between the two processing subsystems. The computer includes a powering control unit (40) for controlling the powering of the components of said main or said alternate processing subsystem, said powering control unit being controlled by a main power-on control and a alternate power-on control keys. The actuation on the main power-on control key causes the power-on control unit to power the two processors while actuating the alternate power-on control key causes the powering of the alternate processing subsystem only.

Abstract: A process for automatically indexing the documents stored in a computer involving the step of executing at regular interval a periodical backup operation of the system files and the user's documents. The backup operation is based on a scanning of all the files for the purpose of computing a signature, and the same operation is advantageously used for elaborating an index of the user's document stored within the computer. Preferably, the invention is used in a network environment and the backup and indexing operations are carried out by a server which takes advantage of the internal synergy between the backup and the indexing operation for the purpose of elaborating a centralized index of the documents available in the network which documents could be retrieved from the database associated to the backup process. Access control rights are used for controlling the indexing process and for defining selective access to said documents.

Abstract: A long-haul PCI bridge pier is provided that comprises a PCI interface for connection to a PCI bus, a high speed link interface for connection to a high speed link, and a PCI adapter operative to transform PCI information received at said PCI interface into high speed information to be transmitted through the high speed interface, and operative to transform high speed information received at said high speed interface into PCI information to be transmitted through the PCI interface. The PCI bridge pier permits remote connection of a PCI bus with a high speed link such as a serial link. Two such PCI bridge piers, in combination with a high speed link may be used for implementing a long haul PCI-to-PCI bridge.

Abstract: In an electronic assembly, a first integrated circuit device (chip) is provided with a lock circuitry that controls operational enablement of a functional block of the chip. To unlock the lock circuitry, a "chip-key" must be supplied to the chip. The chip is also provided with chip-key output circuit for outputting a chip key associated with one or more other chips of the electronic assembly; the chip-key output circuit may be part of the functional block controlled by the lock circuitry of the same chip.

Abstract: An integrated circuit device (chip) has lock circuitry that controls operational enablement of a functional block of the chip. To unlock the lock circuitry, a "chip-key" must be supplied to the chip over a secure communications link, the chip-key being communicated in encrypted form and then decrypted in a secure communication block of the chip. To prevent internal examination of the chip revealing the chip key, the latter is not stored as such in the chip. Instead, only a signature of the chip-key is stored, the latter being formed from the chip-key by subjecting the latter to a one-way function. The chip-key input to the lock circuitry is subjected to the same one-way function in block before being compared with the stored chip-key in comparator; if a match is found, a gating circuit is enabled to pass a necessary signal (such as a clock signal) to the functional block.

Abstract: A duplex modem for processing data needed for cancelling far-end echo includes at least one high-speed processor of the data pump type performing filtering operations and a microcontroller. The data, corresponding to transmitted data and necessary for cancelling far-end echoes, are stored in a memory associated with and controlled by the microcontroller.

Abstract: A process and a circuit for carrying out the process for adapting coefficients in a modem equalizer comprises a memory cell for storing a coefficient, an adapter receiving the output of the cell and providing a first signal having a first correction, and an adder receiving the first signal and providing a second signal to the cell. The adder also receives a value k much smaller than 1 having the sign provided by a comparator comparing an initial value of the considered coefficient and its current value.