Abstract: An agent device is connected to a user device for browsing a merchant site, for selling products online and being served up on the Internet, the merchant site, and a server device of a credit-card company. In the case where an instruction of purchasing a product browsed by the user device is output, the instruction is sent to the agent device. The agent device extracts a credit card number of a credit card held by a user having purchased the product, and inquires of the server device of the credit card company whether the product is to be purchased with the credit card. As an inquiry result, in the case where the product can be purchased online with the credit card, the agent device sends an instruction that the user purchases the product online with the credit card.

Abstract: An agent device is connected to a user device for browsing a merchant site, for selling products online and being served up on the Internet, the merchant site, and a server device of a credit-card company. In the case where an instruction of purchasing a product browsed by the user device is output, the instruction is sent to the agent device. The agent device extracts a credit card number of a credit card held by a user having purchased the product, and inquires of the server device of the credit card company whether the product is to be purchased with the credit card. As an inquiry result, in the case where the product can be purchased online with the credit card, the agent device sends an instruction that the user purchases the product online with the credit card.

Abstract: A server device, which has a content storage section, a content provider, a program table provider, a request processor and the like and can be accessed by a plurality of client devices, is arranged on the Internet. The content provider has a list, in which information about contents with relevance to their transmission times are registered. The content provider reads out the contents from the content storage section based on the list. The request processor controls the content provider to sent the read contents to a client device which has sent a request for transmission of the contents. The program table provider provides the client device, whose request is processed by the request processor, with a program table storing classifications of contents with relevance to their corresponding transmission times. This program table includes information for setting reservation for transmission of contents.

Abstract: To realize e-mail capable of modifying contents by itself. A document processing apparatus is utilized as a mailer for sending and receiving e-mail. A document to be sent as e-mail describes logic that functions as a document modification part for modifying contents of the document itself. The logic described in the document is executed by a VC unit when the document processing apparatus, receiving the document as e-mail, opens the document. The document modification part includes logic for modifying the contents of the document based on various types of information obtainable when opening the document, such as the time, the environment of the document processing apparatus, and information acquired from an information provision server. The document processing apparatus modifies a body of the document by reflecting the situation at the time of opening the e-mail.

Abstract: A technique that can generally handle data of an external apparatus connected to an apparatus is provided. A document processing apparatus has a function that edits data, while handling data stored in a XML file as a DOM. An I/O apparatus stores dynamic data acquired from an external apparatus connected to the I/O apparatus, such as a thermometer, a photosensor, a home electric appliance etc, into a Node in a DOM. A document processing apparatus handles data acquired from an external apparatus using the mechanism of handling a DOM. Further, using its editing function, the document processing apparatus controls an external apparatus by visualizing data or by modifying a set parameter of an external apparatus, or the like.

Abstract: An undo technique with improved ease-of-use is provided. A document processing apparatus executes editing, printing, and storage for a document file. An undo manager records the operation history of the document processing apparatus in an undo stack. Upon reception of an instruction from a user to undo an operation, the undo manager reads out the operation history from the undo stack, and executes the reverse operation, thereby returning the state to the state before the operation was executed. The undo manager continuously holds both the operation history before an operation is undone and the operation history after an operation is undone, i.e., the undo manager discards neither operation history.

Abstract: An undo technique with improved ease-of-use is provided. A document processing apparatus executes editing, printing, and storage for a document file. An undo manager records the operation history of the document processing apparatus in an undo stack. Upon reception of a request from a user to record the operation state, the undo manager records the operation state in the undo stack in a manner that allows the operation state to be distinguished from other operation states. When the undo manager indicates the operation history for the user, the undo manager indicates the operation state that the user has requested to be recorded in a manner that allows this operation state to be distinguished from other operation states.

Abstract: An agent device is connected to a user device for browsing a merchant site, for selling products online and being served up on the Internet, the merchant site, and a server device of a credit-card company. In the case where an instruction of purchasing a product browsed by the user device is output, the instruction is sent to the agent device. The agent device extracts a credit card number of a credit card held by a user having purchased the product, and inquires of the server device of the credit card company whether the product is to be purchased with the credit card. As an inquiry result, in the case where the product can be purchased online with the credit card, the agent device sends an instruction that the user purchases the product online with the credit card.

Abstract: Prepare a server comprising an information provider, a login processor, a user storage unit, a mail sender, and the like, on the internet. The information provider provides information while improving contents of incentive (prize or the like) as increase of the number of terminals which have logged in via the internet. The login processor refers to the user storage unit. If the terminal being login is a new corner, the login processor notifies the information provider of it. The information provider counts the number of the terminals which are logging in based on the notification. The mail sender sends mails for promoting usage of new information (promotional mail) to users who have already utilized the similar service. The mail sender also sends the promotional mails to persons who have introduced by the members of the service.

Abstract: A server device having a content provider, a voice provider and an access number counter, etc. is arranged on the Internet. The content provider provides terminal devices connected to the Internet with the contents (e.g., contents of a chat) which are updated at predetermined intervals. The access number counter counts the number of terminal devices which have currently logged in to the contents provided by the content provider and have not logged out therefrom. The voice provider sets a voice level in accordance with a value counted by the access number counter, every time new contents are provided by the content provider, and provides voice data.

Abstract: An agent device is connected to a user device for browsing a merchant site, for selling products online and being served up on the Internet, the merchant site, and a server device of a credit-card company. In the case where an instruction of purchasing a product browsed by the user device is output, the instruction is sent to the agent device. The agent device extracts a credit card number of a credit card held by a user having purchased the product, and inquires of the server device of the credit card company whether the product is to be purchased with the credit card. As an inquiry result, in the case where the product can be purchased online with the credit card, the agent device sends an instruction that the user purchases the product online with the credit card.

Abstract: When persons who meet each other in the business scene exchange their business cards, and business card IDs specific to themselves and send the obtained other person's business card ID together with information indicating the situation when the IDs are exchanged, from the cellular phones to register the ID in the business card managing server. The business card managing server includes user's own information databases, besides other persons' information databases. A user who intends to browse another person's business card information, sends the user's own business card ID and the other person's business card ID to the business card managing server from the business card managing client. The business card managing server retrieves necessary information from the other persons' information database of the user and the user's own information database of the other person, and sends retrieved information to the business card managing client as the business card information.

Abstract: Image data and natural language data indicating a visual impression of an image prepared based on the image data are correlated to each other and stored in the correlated form in the image database, and when retrieving an image using the retrieving section, natural language data indicating a text for retrieval is inputted from a natural language input section, and image data relating to natural language data having a common visual impression is extracted from the image database by collating the inputted natural language data to natural language data on the image database.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a Chinese character information outputting step for outputting Chinese character information corresponding to an input arbitrary character string by referring to a Chinese dictionary in which Chinese character information comprising a command and/or at least one Chinese character correlated to a character string. Chinese character information is received from the Chinese character information outputting step and the correlated Chinese character is displayed as a candidate for conversion in a list. The present invention includes a selecting step of selecting a desired Chinese character or a command from the Chinese character information displayed in the list and a determining step for determining which of a Chinese character and a command has been selected. The command is executed when a command has been selected and the input character string is replaced with Chinese characters displayed when it is determined in the determining step that a Chinese character has been selected.