Abstract: A telephone status monitoring method an apparatus that monitors the status of a called party's telephone to maximize the probability of a calling party reaching the called party. The system uses a telephone status monitor to monitor the various characteristics and condition of consumer telephones such as on-hook/off-hook, number of rings to voice mail, call forwarding information and other consumer options for telephone service that are offered by telephone companies. A calling party that desires to know if a called party is available accesses a telephone status file over a network and determines if the called party is available. If the called party is available, a call can be placed. By periodically updating the telephone status file, the telephone status monitor keeps the file current for the telephones being monitored. Other capabilities allow for e-mail conversion to voice mail and “beeping” a calling party when a called party telephone is available for a call.

Abstract: A system and method for merchant invoked electronic commerce allowing consumers to purchase items over a network and merchants to receive payment information relating to the purchases. The system includes a server having software which gathers the purchasing information from a consumer to complete a purchasing transaction over a network. The system has a consumer data structure that stores purchasing information for registered consumers. The software is able to access the consumer data structure and enter the consumer's purchasing information during subsequent purchases. Having the software obtain and enter the consumer's purchasing information, the consumer does not have to enter the same information every time they purchase an item over the network. In alternate embodiments, the same technology can be applied to other arenas where a user may have to enter the same repetitive information.