Abstract: A tamper-resistant anti-theft system suitable for vehicles includes a radio signal receiver capable of receiving periodically broadcast keep-alive signals. The keep-alive signals, each coded for a particular protected vehicle, are provided by a monitoring agency with which the protected property is registered. The anti-theft system includes logic for validating a received signal. The system also includes a run signal generator for generating a limited-duration run signal that permits the protected property to be used normally for the duration. If the vehicle is reported stolen, the monitoring agency stops broadcasting keep-alive signals for the vehicle. Once the current run signal lapses, operations are initiated to prevent further normal use of the vehicle. Property other than vehicles can be protected by the system.

Abstract: A terminal is designed so that a user who employs numerical keys, allocated for the entry of dots, can enter Braille dot combinations that are used for the input of characters. The input characters may be output as speech for feedback. Further, when a terminal accesses a server, Braille dot combinations can be entered in the above described manner, and speech can be fed back from the server. Furthermore, the server can provide a service for the user in accordance with a character string input at the terminal.

Abstract: The present invention can be used to improve speech recognition accuracy, especially with regard to characters, words and the like which can correspond to a plurality of readings. The same person can be apt to maintain the same reading in the same conversation. For example, a person who pronounced “7” “shichi” is apt to pronounce “shichi” consistently in the conversation. By utilizing this tendency, recognition from the second time is executed after reducing a recognition probability corresponding to the reading, which is not used by the person in the first response of the conversation. In the case where a system repeats a recognition result by speech synthesis, the system repeats the recognition result corresponding to the reading of a speaker that is already recognized. For example, when the speaker pronounced “7” “shichi”, the system pronounces “shichi” at the time of repetition.

Abstract: An automatic voice response section transfers voice input from a caller to a voice recognition section, and the voice recognition section generates a voice recognition result. The voice recognition result is synthesized at the voice response section into a voice confirmation message and sent back to the caller for confirmation that the voice input was correctly recognized. When a response by the caller to the confirmation message is negative, the automatic voice response section plays the previously received voice input from the caller as audio to a screener interface. A screener listens to the audio and enters a screener recognition result at the screener interface. The screener recognition result is synthesized into a voice response message by the voice response unit and transmitted to the caller for confirmation. Only if the caller responds negatively to the message based upon the screener recognition result is the call switched to an operator for manual handling of the callers special problems.

Abstract: Each of HDDs 6 and 7 is partitioned into two drives, comprising an outer zone and an inner zone. Each outer zone having a faster read/write access rate is called the “faster portion”, whereas each inner zone having a slower read/write access rate is called the “slower portion”. In accordance with a control program in RAM 3, CPU 1 is caused to execute “mirroring” such that the faster portion of one of HDDs 6, 7 is paired with the slower portion of the other one of HDDs 6, 7. In so configuring, it is possible to execute “mirroring” such that a difference between the access rates of the faster zone of one of the disks and the slower zone of the other one of the disks is always kept large. Thus, whenever one of the disks having a faster access rate becomes ready earlier, it is possible to immediately start the next read/write to this disk without waiting for completion of the write to the other disk having a slower access rate, thereby to improve access efficiency.

Abstract: To improve security in a networking environment an external network 102 is connected through an outside host 104. This host 104 implements a first connection program 112 for providing network security. Further, the outside host is connected to an inside host 106 via a dedicated transmission path 116. The inside host implements a second connection program 114 as well. The first and second connection programs 112 and 114 each comprises a program at the application level and a driver program for driving the dedicated communication path. By virtue of restricted communication between the two connection programs only, it is possible to prevent invasion from the outside world. Further, it is also possible to prevent access to another portion in the system.