Abstract: Metadata is associated with media elements in a content store during automatic composition of media articles. The metadata includes relationship data indicating how what is portrayed by that media element relates to what is portrayed by one or more other media elements. Because relationship metadata is included media articles can be generated automatically with the need for the production of a detailed framework describing that media article.

Abstract: A computer apparatus which uses a database (22) to offer persistent storage of metadata (36) describing the content of media files (32). Metadata is used to create a personalized media article (48) from those media files. That metadata also indicates relationships between those media files. In order to accelerate the creation of the personalized media article (48), media element metadata items are stored in a cache. The usefulness of this cache is improved further by reading related media elements data from retrieved metadata items (36), and then pre-fetching those items and placing them in the cache. Because the relatedness of the data items means that the related data item is more likely to be required in the near future, the caching method is more useful than known caching methods. Furthermore, the improved usefulness of the cache is achieved without placing constraints on where the data items are placed in the persistent storage.

Abstract: Apparatus for providing contextual information about content of a presentation to a user, including presentation means for presenting the content, the content including content metadata, searching means for obtaining the contextual information from a data source, wherein the searching means is arranged in use to find a match in the data source using the content metadata, and providing means for presenting the contextual information to the user.

Abstract: Apparatus for dynamically generating a personalised version of a presentation for a user, the presentation comprising a first assembled selection of more than one of a plurality of media components, each of the plurality of media components being associated with metadata specific to it, the apparatus including—selection means for selection of at least one of the plurality of media components, wherein the selection is performed in dependence on the metadata associated with the selected media component or components,—assembly means for assembly of the selection of the at least one of the plurality of media components, where more than one of the plurality of media components is selected, and—user interface means for activating the selection means and assembly means, wherein in use the user can activate the selection means and assembly means using the user interface means after commencement of the presentation, to dynamically generate the personalised version of the presentation comprising a second assembled sele

Abstract: Media objects such as film clips that have been stored for subsequent retrieval are represented in a display. In order to apply metadata tags to the objects, a user selects an individual media object from the display, and allocates a designated tag or set of such tags to the selected media object by placing a representation of the selected media object in a region of the display representing the designated tag or set of tags, whereby data relating to the selected media object is stored associating it with the tags so identified.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for the automatic composition of media articles is disclosed. Previous attempts to do this have involved the manual production of a detailed framework listing the types of media elements that might be inserted into the slots specified in that framework and the subsequent selection of media elements for those slots. The present invention improves upon this by associating metadata (51) with the media elements in a content store, which metadata includes relationship data indicating how what is portrayed by that media element relates to what is portrayed by one or more other media elements. Because relationship metadata is included media articles can be generated automatically with the need for the production of a detailed framework describing that media article.

Abstract: An interface for a World Wide Web (WWW) browser is described which recognizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) links embedded in WWW pages. Normally, such links are highlighted on a graphics screen and are activated using a pointing device such as a computer mouse. When each HTML link is recognized by the interface, it is assigned an identifier which can be selected by a user of a system incorporating the interface by means defined by the interface other than a mouse, for example by a keypad.

Abstract: Pages of a web site can be selectively altered or added by remote users, by e-mailing updates to a computer configuration that supports the site. The web site comprises hypermedia produced from data organised in a hierarchical file structure with hyperlinks corresponding to the hierarchy of the file structure. An electronic mail message is constructed, addressed to a computer configuration, by clicking on a hyperlink in the web site. The e-mail automatically is provided with the address of the computer configuration together with file location data for placing the web page data into a predetermined position in the hierarchical file structure. The user places web page data corresponding to an update to be included in the web site, into the e-mail. The e-mail is then mailed to the computer configuration where the web page data is included in said hierarchical file structure according to the file location data.

Abstract: An interface (105, 125, 120) for a World Wide Web (WWW) (110) browser is described which recognizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) links embedded in WWW pages. Normally, such links are highlighted on a graphics screen and are activated using a pointing device such as a computer mouse. When each HTML link is recognized by the interface (105, 125, 120), it is assigned an identifier which can be selected by a user of a system incorporating the interface by means defined by the interface other than a mouse, for example by a keypad (105).