Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus including: a receiving section that receives function information about one or more functions from an external device connected via a network; a display section that displays a list of the functions of the external device, the functions being included in the function information; a selected-information acquiring section that acquires selected information pertaining to a function selected by a user from the list of the functions displayed by the display section; and a coordinate function executing section that causes the external device to execute the function selected by the user. Such a configuration provides the information processing apparatus designed such that even if the information processing apparatus and the external device do not have information about each other, the function of the external device can be executed by operating the information processing apparatus.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus including an information acquiring unit for acquiring, from external apparatuses connected via a network, processing information about a processing to be executed by each of the external apparatuses and/or about a result of a processing executed thereby and information about a function that each of the external apparatuses can execute in cooperation with the information processing apparatus; an information display unit for displaying the processing information of each of the external apparatuses and program information about program contents and displaying, on the basis of the information about the function of each of the external apparatuses, functions that can be executed by each of the external apparatuses with respect to the one or more program contents; and a function execution unit for causing the external apparatus to execute a selected function with respect to a selected program content.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus which is capable of executing applications includes first control means for controlling a system of the information processing apparatus and second control means for controlling the execution of the applications, and the second control means has state transition control means for defining states of application not dependent on the system and controlling transitions of the defined states and conversion means for converting a command into a format which can be recognized by the system when the command instructing a state transition to the state transition control means is issued.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus which is capable of executing applications includes first control means for controlling a system of the information processing apparatus and second control means for controlling the execution of the applications, and the second control means has state transition control means for defining states of application not dependent on the system and controlling transitions of the defined states and conversion means for converting a command into a format which can be recognized by the system when the command instructing a state transition to the state transition control means is issued.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus which is capable of executing applications includes first control means for controlling a system of the information processing apparatus and second control means for controlling the execution of the applications, and the second control means has state transition control means for defining states of application not dependent on the system and controlling transitions of the defined states and conversion means for converting a command into a format which can be recognized by the system when the command instructing a state transition to the state transition control means is issued.

Abstract: Disclosed is a conflict management program that ensures that an application can be programmed without having to consider a conflict with another application. An application manager (25) is provided with an execution list (61) for registering a currently executed application and an execution wait list (62) for registering an application on standby. In the event of an application conflict, an application management block (64) references a conflict condition table that relates to the state of the currently executed application and to the state of the application on standby, which are registered in each list (61) and (62), and determines the states (running, terminated, waiting for execution, etc.) to which the applications should switch in accordance with the priorities of the current states of the applications. An application control block (65) respectively places the applications in the states determined by the application management block (64), thereby exercising application conflict management.

Abstract: This invention provides a method and an apparatus for allocating resources between applications efficiently and flexibly to permit exclusive, conflict-free resource usage. When an application APP1 is using a resource, a resource manager (ResMan) may receive a resource acquisition request from an application APP2 (in step S5). The resource manager then determines whether the applications APP1 and APP2 are in conflict with one another about resource usage (in step S6). An acquisition-denied notice is returned to the application APP2 of a lower priority (in step S7). On receiving a request to be notified of release of the resource from the application APP2 (in step S9), followed by the receipt of a notice saying that the resource has been released from the application APP1 (in step S11), the resource manager checks to see if there is any other conflicting request for the resource (in step S15).

Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus including an information acquiring unit for acquiring, from external apparatuses connected via a network, processing information about a processing to be executed by each of the external apparatuses and/or about a result of a processing executed thereby and information about a function that each of the external apparatuses can execute in cooperation with the information processing apparatus; an information display unit for displaying the processing information of each of the external apparatuses and program information about program contents and displaying, on the basis of the information about the function of each of the external apparatuses, functions that can be executed by each of the external apparatuses with respect to the one or more program contents; and a function execution unit for causing the external apparatus to execute a selected function with respect to a selected program content.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes: an external device's information obtaining unit for obtaining external device's information containing held function's information on functions held by an external device from the network-connected external device; an application obtaining unit for obtaining an application used for utilizing a function requested to be executed by the external device from a network-connected application providing server, the function being contained in the held function's information; and an external device's function execution request unit for requesting the external device to execute a function held by the external device based on the obtained external device's information and the application.

Abstract: There is provided an information processing apparatus including: a receiving section that receives function information about one or more functions from an external device connected via a network; a display section that displays a list of the functions of the external device, the functions being included in the function information; a selected-information acquiring section that acquires selected information pertaining to a function selected by a user from the list of the functions displayed by the display section; and a coordinate function executing section that causes the external device to execute the function selected by the user. Such a configuration provides the information processing apparatus designed such that even if the information processing apparatus and the external device do not have information about each other, the function of the external device can be executed by operating the information processing apparatus.

Abstract: This invention provides a method and an apparatus for allocating resources between applications efficiently and flexibly to permit exclusive, conflict-free resource usage. When an application APP1 is using a resource, a resource manager (ResMan) may receive a resource acquisition request from an application APP2 (in step S5). The resource manager then determines whether the applications APP1 and APP2 are in conflict with one another about resource usage (in step S6). An acquisition-denied notice is returned to the application APP2 of a lower priority (in step S7). On receiving a request to be notified of release of the resource from the application APP2 (in step S9), followed by the receipt of a notice saying that the resource has been released from the application APP1 (in step S11), the resource manager checks to see if there is any other conflicting request for the resource (in step S15).

Abstract: An information processing apparatus which is capable of executing applications includes first control means for controlling a system of the information processing apparatus and second control means for controlling the execution of the applications, and the second control means has state transition control means for defining states of application not dependent on the system and controlling transitions of the defined states and conversion means for converting a command into a format which can be recognized by the system when the command instructing a state transition to the state transition control means is issued.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus capable of executing an application includes system state transition managing means for managing a transition of a state which depends on a system on which the application can operate, application state transition managing means for defining the state transition of the application using a primitive element so as to manage the state transition of the application, and instruction sending/receiving means for storing information indicating a relationship between instructions each recognizable by the system state transition managing means or the application state transition managing means and, on the basis of the information, executing sending/receiving of the instructions to and from the system state transition managing means and the application state transition managing means.

Abstract: Disclosed is a conflict management program that ensures that an application can be programmed without having to consider a conflict with another application. An application manager (25) is provided with an execution list (61) for registering a currently executed application and an execution wait list (62) for registering an application on standby. In the event of an application conflict, an application management block (64) references a conflict condition table that relates to the state of the currently executed application and to the state of the application on standby, which are registered in each list (61) and (62), and determines the states (running, terminated, waiting for execution, etc.) to which the applications should switch in accordance with the priorities of the current states of the applications. An application control block (65) respectively places the applications in the states determined by the application management block (64), thereby exercising application conflict management.

Abstract: In the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the program according to the embodiment of the present invention, With the execution of the application program by the first information processing means, a plurality of processingd assigned to a plurality of second information processing means is set to be a processing unit proposing one function as a whole, the execution of the distributed processing for proposing a function corresponding to the processing unit in the second information processing means is controlled, first information relating to any one of abnormalities of the second information processing means executing the distributed processing is acquired, second information set depending on the processing unit and designating the operation when the abnormality is detected is acquired, and the distributed processing corresponding to the processing unit is controlled based on the second information.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus to allow a user to simply designate an operation target and intuitively operate the information processing apparatus is provided. The information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention includes: a communication section communicating with one or more different information processing apparatuses, and receiving image and sound information including at least one of an image and a sound, apparatus information of different information processing apparatuses, and association information for associating the image and sound information with the apparatus information; a storage section storing the image and sound information, the apparatus information, and the association information received by the communication section; and a display section displaying contents of apparatus information of each information processing apparatus by using at least one of an image and a sound based on the information stored by the storage section.

Abstract: A magnetic tape apparatus includes a head which reproduces data from or records data onto a magnetic tape, taken out from a cassette, when the tape is running. A supply reel shaft rotates a supply reel to supply the tape from the cassette to the head. A take-up reel shaft rotates a take-up reel to wind the tape from the head around the take-up reel. A back tension applying mechanism has a brake part which presses the supply reel shaft to produce a braking force on the supply reel shaft, the back tension applying mechanism applying a back tension to the tape when the braking force is produced. A pressing force varying mechanism controls a pressing force of the brake part on the supply reel shaft such that the pressing force is maintained at an appropriate level for a type of cassette.