Abstract: Nanocellular expanded polymer beads with cells have an average size less than 1 ?m, a relative density less than 0.25, wherein the relative density is the ratio between the density of the expanded polymer beads with respect to the density of the solid polymer beads, and a solid skin with a thickness less than 5 ?m. A method for manufacturing the beads by dissolution foaming of a foaming agent, use of the nanocellular expanded polymer beads for manufacturing a nanocellular polymeric material or a nanocellular powder, and the nanocellular polymeric material or nanocellular powder having the nanocellular expanded polymer beads are also related.

Abstract: This invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing automated personal messaging assistance with the capability of checking a user's destination for arrival and forwarding messages by a preferred modality. The present invention is directed to, in a general aspect, a method of providing personal messaging using a virtual messaging assistant. The virtual messaging assistant has a voice user interface and provides a human-like voice which interfaces with the user' and with callers. The personal messaging assistant provides forwarding of messages to a destination in accordance with user selected preferences. The personal messaging assistant receives incoming messages. The personal messaging checks the user's calendar to find out where the user is expected to be. Then the personal messaging assistant calls the expected destination and inquires whether the user has arrived.

Abstract: A system that hides information in a customer supplied graphic. The apparatus of this invention provides a device for verifiable security in a postage meter or other devices using dot or drop printing. Security is achieved by counting the number of signal pulses that are used to produce ink drops or ink dots that are required to reproduce the customer supplied graphic. The aforementioned may be accomplished by adding a smart module to digital print head modules. The smart module would capture driver pulses from the print head module and interpret the pulses associated with regions of the graphic. Thus, the smart module would take data from the printer controller that is used to cut off printing when the ink is consumed and relate “set” values to the drops produced during the production of the graphic or portions of the graphic, thereby linking the postal value printed in the indicia to the information hidden in the graphic or portions of the graphic.

Abstract: A system for enabling a user of a computer attached to a computer network, and accessing sites on the network, to manage user-characterizing protocol headers on the user's computer. A particular application of the present invention is to manage so-called Internet cookies on a computer attached to the Internet and using a browser to access websites through the World Wide Web. Such cookies have a type and a value. The managing includes displaying to a user an interpretation of cookies that have been set on the user's computer; the interpretation is made by an interpreter referring to a local cookie dictionary, on the user's computer, having entries corresponding to different types of cookies. In various alternative embodiments, the managing also includes changing the values set by the websites, and fabricating cookies of types not necessarily used by a website in order to express to the website preferences a user wants the website to know.

Abstract: The specification describes wafer fabrication cleaning processes for silicon optical bench technology. The cleaning processes are designed to remove debris in situ after dicing silicon wafers mounted on a tape carrier. They were also developed specifically to avoid staining and residues that often result from using standard dicing approaches in silicon optical bench integrated circuit manufacture.