2197 results about "Internet based" patented technology

A portable wireless communications subscriber audio and / or video player apparatus and system and method for selecting, requesting, downloading, and playing audio and / or video data content files from an Internet-based database server. The wireless link is preferably implemented in accordance with the WiFi protocol, which allows connectivity to the Internet by being in proximity with a local base station or WiFi hotspot (i.e., publicly available local wireless access hub connected to the Internet). The portable wireless communications subscriber audio and / or video player apparatus and system preferably include a security means for monitoring and blocking unauthorized use of the player apparatus and system. The player apparatus further preferably has the capability to communicate with other neighboring player apparatus for the purpose of exchanging content data files, playlists and personal messages.

A system and method for remote asset management is described which can provide the basis for a diverse product group including an improved remote location monitoring system, a means for communicating with and for monitoring the status and or location of a plurality of diverse assets, as well as the means for communicating with said assets for the purpose of modifying the operational status of one or more of said assets according to one or more stored data parameters such as location, use, battery power, and such like. The remote asset management system comprise a wireless module, which is associated with at least one of the plurality of assets and which is interfaced with the operating system of said asset and or with an electromechanical control means, which may control one or more features of the operation of said assets. A supporting network-based, or internet-based service platform controls and manages the status of each of the plurality of assets, either automatically, or in response to received messages from fixed or wireless communication devices, and which is capable of selectively communicating data to said assets for changing the operational status of said assets according to pre-programmed conditions.

A method and apparatus for providing hypermedia content maintained remotely on a network to a wireless device without a browser are described. A Short Message Service (SMS) request for Internet-based content is received from the wireless device at a proxy server, via an SMS Center (SMSC). The SMS request is transmitted to the SMSC on a wireless network. The proxy server transcodes the SMS request from a character set of the SMSC to a character set of an application and extracts a keyword from the trancoded request. The proxy server maintains a mapping of keywords to URLs. The proxy server looks up the extracted keyword in the keyword-to-URL mapping to identify the URL of an application associated with the keyword. The proxy server constructs an HTTP POST operation containing the keyword and the URL, and submits the HTTP POST operation to the application over a wireline network such as the Internet. Upon receiving an HTTP response containing the requested content from the application in response to the POST operation, the proxy server extracts the content from the HTTP response. The proxy server then translates the content from the content-type used by the application to the content-type used by the SMSC and transcodes the content from the character set used by the application to the character set used by the SMSC. The proxy server then sends the translated and transcoded content in an SMS response to the SMSC, for subsequent delivery to wireless device as an SMS message.

A full-featured e-mail system is used in both Internet-based and client-side (personal computer) forms. In each form, either basic e-mail service is provided to system subscribers or a secure, premium service with authentication, concealment, integrity, and non-repudiation functions for electronic messaging services is provided. In either form and at either level of service, subscribers can work off-line on their own computers with proprietary software loaded or, alternatively, on-line on any computer with an Internet connection. The system is interoperable, to preserve security, with all S / MIME compliant software applications, even for those users not subscribing to a service implementing the disclosed system. Digital certificates can be provided as a security service of the disclosed system, rather than requiring a second source with separate verification procedures. As additional optional features, the subscriber can control compression of outgoing attachment files, rather than having that function absent or operate in some automatic way. Decompression of such file attachments when received occurs automatically for subscribers, without having to invoke a different program or system. Interactive help features, book hierarchy uniformity for messages, accounts, certificates, virus warnings, and dual naming capability are also provided and available to subscribers in both the Web-based and the client-side application forms disclosed herein, and in both basic and premium service levels.

A system and method for remote asset management is described which can provide the basis for a diverse product group including an improved remote location monitoring system, a means for communicating with and for monitoring the status and or location of a plurality of diverse assets, as well as the means for communicating with said assets for the purpose of modifying the operational status of one or more of said assets according to one or more stored data parameters such as location, use, battery power, and such like. The remote asset management system comprises a wireless module, which is associated with at least one of the plurality of asset and which is interfaced with the operating system of said assert and or with an electromechanical control means, which may control one or more features of the operation of said assets. A supporting network-based, or internet-based service platform, controls and manages the status of each of the plurality of assets, either automatically, or in response to received messages from fixed or wireless communication devices, and which is capable of selectively communicating data to said assets for changing the operational status of said assets according to pre-programmed conditions.

A method and apparatus for providing streaming content over telephones is described. The creation of a voice portal is supported by the invention. Embodiments of the invention use allows users to place a telephone call to access the voice portal. The user can access many different types of content. This content can include text based content which is read to the user by a text to speech system (e.g., news reports, stock prices, text content of Internet sites), audio content which can be played to the user (e.g., voicemail messages, music), and streaming audio content (e.g., Internet broadcast radio shows, streaming news reports, and streaming live broadcasts). This content can be accessed from many different places. For example, the content can be retrieved from a news feed, a local streaming content server, an audio repository, and / or an Internet based streaming content server. The streaming content allows the user to access live web broadcasts even though the user may not have access to a computer. The system allows audio signals from multiple sources to be combined to enhance the user experience. Additionally, the user can control many aspects of the delivery of the streaming content. Personalization features of the voice portal allow for an improved user experience during streaming content delivery.

An Internet-based server with speech support for enhanced interactivity is disclosed. This server hosts a server-side speech recognition engine and additional linguistic and database functions that cooperate to provide enhanced interactivity for clients so that their browsing experience is more satisfying, efficient and productive. This human-like interactivity which allows the user to ask queries about topics that range from customer delivery, product descriptions, payment details, is facilitated by the allowing the user to articulate the his or her questions directly in his or her natural language. The answer typically provided in real-time, can also be interfaced and integrated with existing telephone, e-mail and other mixed media services to provide a single point of interactivity for the user when browsing at a web-site.

An Internet-based purchase credit award interchange center is described which interfaces with a credit award exchange center for conversion of any form of merchant or purchase credit award resulting from customer purchase of goods or services to investment in a mutual fund and / or investment vehicle utilizing computer data processing methods. Preassigned purchase credit accumulations earned by a consumer are exchanged from a merchant or creditor through or combination of credit cards, co-branded credit cards, PIN cards, debit and smart cards, coupons, stamps, proof of purchase, rebates, or any form of purchase award of merchant or creditors choice for an investment in a mutual fund or other investment vehicle. A specific implementation is described wherein a credit card account having investment credit awards is issued through the Internet to a customer. While inputting information through the Internet necessary for establishing the credit card account, the customer also provides any information needed to authorize the purchase of investment vehicles on his or her behalf. Any forms that need to be signed by the customer to authorize purchase of the investment vehicles may be printed out by the customer. The customer may also select, via the Internet, particular investment vehicles out of a group of possible investment vehicles. Subsequent use of the credit card by the customer automatically results in accrual of credit award accumulations in the selected investment vehicle.

An in-vehicle device data communicates with global network based data processing resources for the purpose of transacting e-commerce and e-business. The in-vehicle device and the global network based data processing resources can effectuate a wide variety of e-commerce and e-business including accessing auto part databases, warranty, customer, and other remote databases. In addition, e-commerce and e-business transactions can include vehicle security and vehicle service management, data communicating Internet based radio, audio, MP3, MPEG, video, and other types of data. Furthermore, e-commerce and e-business transactions can include interactive advertising, promotional offers, coupons, and supporting other remote data communications.Furthermore, the in-vehicle device can also effectuate remote monitoring of vehicle performance, data communicating and accessing remote global network based content and data, and effectuating adjustments and control of vehicle operation. Remote monitoring and control of vehicle operation can be by way of a global network based data processing resources.

A system and methods for implementing education online by providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of courses to be taken by students online, the courses including assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the students over a network such as the Internet. Various levels of functionality are provided through a three-tiered licensing program that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. In addition, an open platform system is provided such that anyone with access to the Internet can create, manage, and offer a course to anyone else with access to the Internet without the need for an affiliation with an institution, thus enabling the virtual classroom to extend worldwide.

An improved system and method of fairly and securely enabling timed-constrained competitions over the Internet among millions of competitors while compensating for the variable network communication latencies experienced by client machines used by the competitors. The system employs globally time-synchronized Internet information servers and client machines in order to synchronize the initial display of each invitation to respond (e.g. stock price to buy or sell, query to answer, or problem to solve) on a client machine so each competitor can respond to the invitation at substantially the same time, regardless of his or her location on the planet, or the type of Internet-connection used by his or her client machine. Also, by using globally time-synchronized client machines, each competitor's response is securely time and space stamped at the client machine to ensure that competitor responses are resolved within microsecond accuracy.

A method and system for providing flexible subscriber VCR control of an interactive media system that limits the consumption of bandwidth capacity, the method comprising establishing a viewing time window during which a subscriber can watch an ordered program, enabling the subscriber to freely pause, rewind, and fast-forward the program so long as the end of the program does not exceed the end of the window, automatically tracking the remaining program running time against the time remaining in the window, deactivating the pause and rewind features if the remaining program running time equals the time remaining in the window, and reactivating the pause and rewind features if the program is fast-forwarded such that the time remaining in the window exceeds the remaining program running time. The system of the present invention is any interactive media system that delivers video streams such as an interactive television system that supports services such as pay-per-view and video-on-demand, or an internet-based interactive media system that downloads video streams through the internet to be played on a subscriber's personal computer or other viewing device.

The present invention provides a system for detecting an event within a premises and providing data such as live or recorded video and audio regarding that event to a web site. The event may be an unauthorized entry to the premises, a fire, or a maintenance malfunction within the premises. The web site may be accessed by a variety of authorized users including the owner or manager of the premises, a central monitor, local police, fire, or emergency medical personnel, or other entities specified by the owner or manager of the premises. The system permits authorized users to view the event in real time or as recorded on the web site after the event has occurred to determine the type of event and an appropriate course of action to rectify it.

A system for monitoring a patient's vital signs that features a vital-sign monitor including sensors for measuring from the patient at least one of the following vital-sign data: O2 saturation, blood pressure, electro-cardiogram, respirator rate, and blood glucose level. The system also includes a global positioning system that determines location-based data. A wireless transmitter, in electrical contact with the vital-sign monitor and global positioning system, receives the vital-sign and location-based data and wirelessly transmits these data through a conventional wireless network. A gateway software piece receives and processes the data from the wireless network and stores these data in a computer memory associated with a database software piece. The system also includes an Internet-based user interface that displays the vital sign data for both individual patients and care-providers.

The present invention is directed to a computer-implemented method and apparatus for searching in response to Internet-based search queries using a search engine and an electronic database. According to one example embodiment of the present invention, data sets representing published items are input, for example, scanned-in or sent electronically, and stored in a searchable database. Each data set includes text from at least one published item. Responsive to the search query, a search engine searches for and identifies relevant web pages and data sets representing published items and, in a more specific embodiment, ranked characterizations are returned for the relevant web pages and published items. An electronic path can be provided with the published item for accessing further information about the published item. In one embodiment, the electronic path is a hyperlink from a characterization of a relevant published item to a more complete electronic representation of the relevant published item. Publishers provide authorization to display copyrighted materials through a permission protocol.

An Internet-based consumer service marketing, merchandising and education / information system which enables service-providers, retailers and their respective agents, and consumers to carry out service-related functions along the demand side of the retail chain. A central USN / SM / SN / URL RDBMS stores a central database of USN / SM / SN / URL links, wherein the USN represents a Universal Service Number assigned to a particular service offered by a service-provider, the SM represents a Service Mark used in connection with the particular service, the SD is representative of one or more Universal Resource Locators pointing to information resources on the WWW relating to the particular service. A first subsystem enables a service-provider's marketing, brand and / or service managers to create and manage a local database of USN / SM / SN / URL links related to the consumer services of the service-provider being offered for sale in both physical and / or electronic marketplaces, and periodically transport the local database of USN / SM / SN / URL links to the central USN / SM / SN URL RDBMS by electronic data transport techniques. The local database of USN / SM / SN / URL links is managed with a local USN / SM / SN / URL RDBMS, and selected by the service-provider's marketing, brand and / or service managers so as to create a desired brand image for each consumer service of the service-provider. A second subsystem enables consumers to access one or more USN / SM / SN / URL links in the central USN / SM / SN / URL RDBMS, to request and obtain information about a service-provider's consumer service so as to make informed / educated purchases along the demand side of the retail chain. A third subsystem enables service-providers and their advertising and marketing agents to access one or more USN / SM / SN / URL links in the central USN / SM / SN / URL RDBMS, to display consumer service advertisements to consumers, at or near the point of purchase or sale within both physical and / or electronic retail shopping environments so as to project the desired brand image to consumers. A fourth subsystem enables retailers and their marketing and promotional agents to access one or more USN / SM / SN / URL links in the central USN / SM / SN / URL RDBMS, to promote consumer services to consumers, at or near the point of purchase or sale within both physical and / or electronic retail shopping environments so as to promote the sale of such services.

A computer-based system is provided for composing menus of URL-encoded bar code symbols specifying the location of Internet-based information resources on the Internet. In the illustrative embodiment, the system comprises a computer system operably connectable to the Internet and including a visual display screen, a keyboard, and printer. The system also includes a GUI-based Internet browser program and a URL-menu composition program supported by the computer system. The function of the GUI-based Internet browser program is to enable a user to access and display Internet-based information resources stored on an Internet information server at a location specified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The function of the URL-menu composition program is to enable the user to compose a menu of URL-encoded bar code symbols while surfing the Internet using the GUI-based Internet browser program. After the menu of URL-encoded bar code symbols has been composed, it may be edited and then printed on a selected print medium. By virtue of the present invention, any Internet-based information resource can be automatically accessed and displayed by reading its URL-encoded bar code symbol from the printed menu using a bar code symbol reader operably connected to an Internet-enabled computer system supporting a bar code driven Internet browser program.

A fluid infusion system as described herein includes a number of local “body network” devices, such as an infusion pump, a handheld monitor or controller, a physiological sensor, and a bedside or hospital monitor. The body network devices can be configured to support communication of status data, physiological information, alerts, control signals, and other information between one another. In addition, the body network devices can be configured to support networked communication of status data, physiological information, alerts, control signals, and other information between the body network devices and “external” devices, systems, or communication networks. Such external communication allows the infusion system to be extended beyond the traditional short-range user environment. One particular system embodiment includes a network router device that functions as a centralized storage, processing, and routing unit for data received from the body network devices. The network router device is configured to generate HTML documents (web pages) to facilitate Internet-based setup, management, and control.

A home control and automation system and method. The system generally includes one or more wireless remote controls, a plurality of appliances (including network enabled appliances and traditional legacy appliances in the exemplary system), associated control centric devices, and associated content centric devices. Various methods for control and operation of appliances in the networked home control and automation environment are disclosed. Specifically, methods are disclosed which enable advanced home control features such as location based control setup and operation, network enabled legacy appliances and system integration, save and recall capabilities for appliance and media states, generic command based appliance controls, dynamic / complex macro command generation, and Internet based control capabilities from remote locations are disclosed in conjunction with the system of the current invention.

A system for monitoring a patient's vital signs that features a vital-sign monitor including sensors for measuring from the patient at least one of the following vital-sign data: O2 saturation, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, respirator rate, and blood glucose level. The system also includes a global positioning system that determines location-based data. A wireless transmitter, in electrical contact with the vital-sign monitor and global positioning system, receives the vital-sign and location-based data and wirelessly transmits these data through a conventional wireless network. A gateway software piece receives and processes the data from the wireless network and stores these data in a computer memory associated with a database software piece. The system also includes an Internet-based user interface that displays the vital sign data for both individual patients and care-providers.

The present invention is a software product that provides merchants that sell time-slot inventories tools to capitalize on the Internet revolution. The present invention enables the creation of web-sites for merchants with a built-in web-based reservation booking system. This offers customers the on-line benefits of access, selection and immediacy in making real-time reservation / appointments over the Internet. The software product also simplifies the merchant's booking process by providing a central web-based reservation / appointment management system that can be used for all bookings, regardless if made by telephone, by a walk-in customer, or by a customer via the Internet. The software product also provides the merchant with a powerful direct marketing tool. As a merchant uses the software product, user-customer profiles and demographics are captured in the database module, thus creating (in Web jargon) a “community” of customers specific to the merchant. The merchant is thus empowered, using the mail module, to directly communicate with its customer base, using customer profiles and demographics to create a highly targeted and effective marketing and promotional ad campaign. The software product also allows the merchant to auction off time-slot inventory over the Internet. Lastly, the software product enables the creation of Web “super-communities” consisting of the aggregate of all the individual merchant's customer-communities using the software product.

A system for automatically creating and maintaining a database of information utilizing user opinions about subjects, particularly exceptional experiences. Described is an Internet system assisting / motivating a population of users interested in information about certain categories of subjects to automatically maintain the database content and to improve the usefulness and quality of the database information without any substantial management by the website owner-manager. The user opinions are primarily in the form of both comments and ratings about which natural-language terms best describe a particular subject, enabling user searches of the subject database to be by way of preferred such descriptive natural-language terms, which terms are further preferred to be evaluative and approving. Also, a system for automatically creating and maintaining a database of information utilizing user knowledge about sales related subjects. Described is an Internet-based system for assisting / motivating a population of users interested in information about certain categories of sales related subjects to automatically maintain the database content and to improve the usefulness and quality of the database information without any substantial management by the website owner-manager. The user opinions are primarily in the form of both comments and ratings of which sales related subjects best provide assistance in completing a sale.

Bridging between ad hoc local networks and Internet based peer-to-peer networks involves coupling a bridge device to a local network using an ad-hoc, peer-to-peer protocol used for exchanging data between consumer electronics devices. The bridge device is coupled to a public network using an Internet-based peer-to-peer networking protocol. In one arrangement, metadata related to media accessible from a media server of the local network is determined via the bridge device, and the metadata is transformed via the bridge device to enable peer-to-peer devices of the public network to discover the media via the bridge device using the Internet-based peer-to-peer networking protocol. In another arrangement, metadata related to media accessible from the public network is determined via the peer-to-peer networking protocol, and the metadata is transformed via the bridge device to enable a device of the local network to discover the media via the bridge device using the ad-hoc, peer-to-peer protocol.

The Shared Internet Storage Resource provides Internet-based file storage, retrieval, access, control, and manipulation for a user. Additionally, an easy-to-use user interface is provided both for a browser or stand-alone application. The entire method provides means by which users can establish, use, and maintain files on the Internet in a manner remote from their local computers yet in a manner that is similar to the file manipulation used on their local computers. A high capacity or other storage system is attached to the Internet via an optional internal network that also serves to generate and direct metadata regarding the stored files. A web server using a CGI, Java(R)-based, or other interface transmits and retrieves TCP / IP packets or other Internet information through a load balancer / firewall by using XML to wrap the data packets. File instructions may be transmitted over the Internet to the Shared Resource System. The user's account may be password protected so that only the user may access his or her files. On the user's side, a stand-alone client application or JavaScript object interpreted through a browser provide two means by which the XML or other markup language data stream may be received and put to use by the user. Internet-to-Internet file transfers may be effected by directly downloading to the user's account space.

Methods, secure elements, validation entities, and computer program products for effecting secure communication of payment information to merchants for Internet-based purchases. Payment information for a user's real payment information is installed in a secure element of a computer, the payment information may comprise a pseudo PAN number for the portable consumer device provided by a validation entity. The secure element is shielded from the computer's operating system to thwart hacker attacks. The user accesses the secure element to make a purchase. In response, the secure element contacts the validation entity with the pseudo account number, and in response obtains dynamic payment information that the secure element can used to effect the payment. The dynamic payment information comprises an account number that is different from the pseudo PAN, and which has at least one difference which respect to the user's real payment information.

The present invention provides an internet based or locally hosted business to business full service secure commercial electronic marketplace which facilitates transactions between suppliers and buyers. The system transforms the suppliers' content into generic content and enables the suppliers to review, correct and update the supplier content. The system distributes the content back to the supplier and to selected buyers in a generic and usable format across multiple forums. The system further provides multiple levels of sourcing for the suppliers and buyers including a private on-contract sourcing level, a, private off-contract sourcing level, a private index off-contract sourcing level, a private supplier or seller sourcing level, a public buyer sourcing level, and content distribution for buy side sourcing levels, supply side sourcing levels, multi-buyer exchanges and multi-supplier exchanges.

Various methods, systems and apparatus for displaying content associated with a point-of-interest (“POI”) in a digital mapping system, are disclosed. One such method may include detecting a change in the zoom level of an electronic map displayed on a computing device, determining if the new zoom-level is at a pre-determined zoom level (e.g. at maximum zoom), identifying a POI on the map, retrieving content associated with the POI (“POI content”) and displaying the POI content. The method may further include detecting a change in the zoom, or pan, of the digital map while POI content is displayed, and removing the POI content in response. One apparatus, according to aspects of the present invention, may include means of detecting a change in the zoom level in a digital map displayed through an application (e.g. a web browser, an application on web-enabled cellular phones, etc., displaying a map generated by a service such as Google Maps®, Yahoo! Maps®, Windows Live Search Maps®, MapQuest®, etc.) on a computing device (e.g. personal computer, workstation, thin client, PDA, cellular phone / smart phone, GPS device, etc.) means of identifying a POI at the pre-determined zoom level, means of obtaining content associated with the POI, and means of displaying the POI content. POI content may be retrieved from a database (e.g. internet-based database); or, in an alternate embodiment, gathered by crawling websites associated with the POI. In one embodiment, POI content may be displayed as an image (e.g. a PNG file, GIF, Flash® component, etc.) superimposed on the digital map (e.g. as an overlay object on the map image.) In alternate embodiments, POI content may replace the digital map and may contain links to other content.

In embodiments of the present invention improved capabilities are described for a computer program product embodied in a computer readable medium that, when executing on one or more computers, helps determine an unknown user's preferences through the use of internet based social interactive graphical representations on a computer facility by performing the steps of (1) ascertaining preferences of a plurality of users who are part of an internet based social interactive construct, wherein the plurality of users become a plurality of known users; (2) determining the internet based social interactive graphical representation for the plurality of known users; and (3) inferring the preferences of an unknown user present in the internet based social interactive graphical representation of the plurality of known users based on the interrelationships between the unknown user and the plurality of known users within the graphical representation.

Methods and systems coordinate an Internet-based financial transaction between an Internet merchant and a customer. A first information packet is received with a payment network from the Internet merchant. The first information packet has a credential assigned to the customer and transaction information specifying at least a cost of the Internet-based financial transaction. With the payment network, account information is determined that identifies a financial account maintained by the customer at a financial institution and authorization information that allows debit access to the identified financial account. A second information packet that includes the transaction information, the account information, and the authorization information is generated with the payment network. The second information packet is transmitted with the payment network to the financial institution with a request to perform a debit transaction from the identified financial account for the specified cost of the Internet-based financial transaction.