Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, generating a tone during first communications with another communication device, providing the tone to a gateway to cause the gateway to transmit a re-invite message without the gateway providing the tone to the other communication device, receiving the re-invite message where the re-invite message includes a request for a higher bandwidth than the first communications, providing a response message to the gateway responsive to the re-invite message where the providing of the response message causes the gateway to provide the tone to the other communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: Storage devices with multimedia interface connectors and methods are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a data storage device includes a controller coupled to a memory, a streaming media capture circuit coupled to the controller, and a video playback circuit coupled to the controller. A multimedia interface connector is coupled to the streaming media capture circuit and further coupled to the video playback circuit. In response to detecting streaming multimedia data incoming from an external device via the multimedia interface connector, the incoming streaming multimedia data is provided to the streaming media capture circuit to generate multimedia file format data that is stored to the memory as a multimedia file.

Abstract: In a communications network, a method and apparatus are disclosed for using a graphical user interface for telephony call control. A method is also disclosed for sending a datagram from a called party to a calling party. Call control of a call is diverted to a voice-mail system. The IP address of the caller is determined. The IP address of the caller is determined by either a search on a look-up table or from a voice over Internet call set up message. Call control information, or a datagram is sent to the caller. In the case of call control information, the caller inputs call control commands which are received by the voice mail system. The invention provides an easier method and apparatus to navigate voice-mail menus and reduces the problem of “voice-mail jail”.

Abstract: A system and method for providing telephone type services over the internetwork commonly known as the Internet. Public switched telephone networks utilizing program controlled switching systems are arranged in an architecture with the Internet to provide a methodology for facilitating telephone use of the Internet by customers on an impromptu basis. Provision is made to permit a caller to set-up and carry out a telephone call over the Internet from telephone station to telephone station without access to computer equipment, without the necessity of maintaining a subscription to any Internet service, and without the requiring Internet literacy or knowledge. Calls may be made on an inter or intra LATA, region or state, nationwide or worldwide basis. Billing may be implemented on a per call, timed, time and distance or other basis. Usage may be made of common channel interoffice signaling to set up the call and establish the necessary Internet connections and addressing.

Abstract: There is provided method and apparatus for connecting computer network ip telephones using a speech recognition engine and a ip address database on an INTERNET server, The method comprises opening a voice channel from an ip phones to a speech recognition server; determining the name of the addressee from a speech input sent over the voice channel to the speech recognition server by the caller; determining an ip address from an ip address database corresponding to the determined addressee's name; opening a data channel from the database and transmitting the ip address to one or other of said telephones; and routing logic on said one or other ip phones using the ip address to establish a connection with the other ip phone. This allows the ip phones to access remote resources of speech recognition and a large database thereby taking advantage of more powerful resources that would be available locally.

Abstract: An interactive voice response (IVR) system collects data associated with a telephone call, and provides the data to a server. The server transforms the data into a format consistent with a different telephony platform specification implemented by clients attached to the server such that the data can be retrieved by any client to which a telephone call is transferred. Data is also shared between remote servers when calls are transferred. The servers each broadcast their identity when initially connected to a wide area network. In response, each server on the network responds with their identify. Each server updates a table of servers in accordance with the messages exchanged.

Abstract: A system and a method for generating a speech recognition dictionary that can be used in a telephone system having speech recognition capabilities, in particular capabilities to effect a connection when the calling party utters the name of a subscriber (called party). The method generates transcriptions associated to respective vocabulary items in the speech recognition dictionary from audio greetings recorded by the telephone system subscribers. Normally such audio greetings are used in voice messaging applications. Typically, the greetings are played before allowing callers to leave messages in a voice mailbox of subscribers. An individual greeting is audio information that contains the name of the subscriber. This audio information is processed to generate a transcription associated to a vocabulary item in the speech recognition dictionary, representative of the subscriber name.

Abstract: A called party is alerted to the presence of a voice call on the Internet (110) by a page that is automatically transmitted to the called party's pager (120) upon initiation of the call by a calling party from his terminal (101) running Internet voice communications software and equipped with a microphone (102) and speaker (103). The page is transmitted in response to a message sent by a service provider (115) on the Internet, which receives from the calling party's terminal on the Internet, information for identifying the called party's pager. The called party, upon receiving the page, connects to the called party on the Internet through his home terminal (105) that is running that same voice communications software and is also equipped with a microphone (106) and speaker (107), or through any such similarly equipped portable or fixed terminal (125) at any location from which the Internet can be accessed.

Abstract: A telephone line monitoring circuit uses an optoisolator to convert the telephone line current to a voltage which is applied to the input of an AID converter. The A/D values are coarse values representing telephone line current. The A/D is sampled at a predetermined interval to identify changes introduced by the telephone company central office, and to take those changes into account when deciding if an extension telephone has gone off-hook. When a customer causes an extension telephone to go off-hook, the line current divides between the extension telephone and the IRD modem, and such change is detected.

Abstract: A method for controlling flow, through a computer hardware resource, of information to and from computer applications. When a flow of information is initiated from one of the applications, a determination is made whether the resource is being accessed by another one of the applications and, if so, the flow of information from the first application is delayed. If not, then the flow of information is enabled. When a flow of information is initiated toward the applications, a determination is made to which one of the applications the information is flowing, and the flow is directed to that one application. A graphical interface associates, in the mind of a user, a computer hardware resource with a corresponding real office device, the computer resource enabling the computer to function like the consumer device.

Abstract: A method of transparent call discrimination includes providing a call discrimination data message within a Caller ID message frame structure of an outgoing call from a call originating equipment. A type of call on an incoming telephone line of a call receiving equipment is discriminated in response to the call discrimination message, wherein the type of call is discriminated prior to an occurrence of an OFF-HOOK state of the telephone line. An appropriate device of the call receiving equipment is then activated in response to the type of call, in preparation for responding to the incoming call. Lastly, the incoming call is routed to the appropriate device in response to the discriminated type of call at the occurrence of the OFF-HOOK state. An apparatus for transparent call discrimination is also disclosed.