Abstract: An audio-on-demand communication system provides real-time playback of audio data transferred via telephone lines or other communication links. One or more audio servers include memory banks which store compressed audio data. At the request of a user at a subscriber PC, an audio server transmits the compressed audio data over the communication link to the subscriber PC. The subscriber PC receives and decompresses the transmitted audio data in less than real-time using only the processing power of the CPU within the subscriber PC. According to one aspect of the present invention, high quality audio data compressed according to lossless compression techniques is transmitted together with normal quality audio data. According to another aspect of the present invention, metadata, or extra data, such as text, captions, still images, etc., is transmitted with audio data and is simultaneously displayed with corresponding audio data.

Abstract: An audio-on-demand communication system provides real-time playback of audio data transferred via telephone lines or other communication links. One or more audio servers include memory banks which store compressed audio data. At the request of a user at a subscriber PC, an audio server transmits the compressed audio data over the communication link to the subscriber PC. The subscriber PC receives and decompresses the transmitted audio data in less than real-time using only the processing power of the CPU within the subscriber PC., According to one aspect of the present invention, high quality audio data compressed according to lossless compression techniques is transmitted together with normal quality audio data. According to another aspect of the present invention, metadata, or extra data, such as text, captions, still images, etc., is transmitted with audio data and is simultaneously displayed with corresponding audio data.

Abstract: Testing of a semiconductor integrated circuit is conducted by determining all paths leading to a failed location on a chip. Potentially faulty locations are then determined by finding faults which occurred at the same time the failing vector was scanned, and the intersection of the paths and the faulty locations form a smaller set of potentially faulty locations on the IC. Further testing of the nodes which are in this smaller set is performed until a single location or small portion of a chip may be visually inspected with little effort.

Abstract: A method for suppressing noise encountered during testing of large semiconductor chips is disclosed herein. Output drivers on the semiconductor chip may occasionally produce errant signals during testing, and such errant signals may be coupled through ground or nearby pins which are asynchronous edge sensitive pins to produce false internal transitions. The false internal transitions can cause the chip to fail the test. The proposed method suppresses the noise by disabling the output drivers during portions of the test which may induce errant signals and enables the output drivers when such potentially errant signals have passed.

Abstract: A filter device for use in a residential water supply system, or the like. The device includes a container having an enclosed cavity, and includes a filter unit disposed in the cavity. The device includes a two-stage filter having a first radial flow filter subassembly and a second axial flow filter subassembly.

Abstract: A filter device for use in a domestic or office water supply system is provided. The device includes a container having an enclosed cavity, and includes a filter unit disposed in the cavity. The device is a two-stage device having a first radial flow filter subassembly and a second axial flow filter subassembly. The radial flow subassembly includes a radially inner perforated tube, a carbon block cylinder over the tube, prefilter cylinders over the carbon block cylinder, and a screen-like wrap layer over the radially outer second prefilter cylinder. The axial flow subassembly has a plurality of axial filter fiber tubes which have a support header wall. The header wall is mounted in a cup-shaped member. The cup-shaped member has a plurality of outlet passage slots at the closed end thereof and supports the header wall at the other end thereof.