An intelligent automated assistant system engages with the user in an integrated, conversational manner using natural language dialog, and invokes external services when appropriate to obtain information or perform various actions. The system can be implemented using any of a number of different platforms, such as the web, email, smartphone, and the like, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the system is based on sets of interrelated domains and tasks, and employs additional functionally powered by external services with which the system can interact.

Intelligent Automated Assistant

A network adapter for a synchronous logical ring network operates on existing physical twisted-pair telephone topologies. Information propagates around the logical ring, reaching every device on each revolution around the network. Network devices are full-duplex, transmitting and receiving information on every clock cycle. Network devices arbitrate to be elected the network clock device. By synchronizing all network devices to a single reference clock, and providing fixed frames of information propagating around the network at consistent time intervals, the logical ring network ensures that information propagates from one device to another at consistent time intervals. The fixed-length frames are divided into two independent streams: a data stream for the distribution of real-time continuous digital media streams; and a system command stream for the distribution of system commands.

Synchronous network for digital media streams

The present invention provides a firewall that achieves maximum network security and maximum user convenience. The firewall employs “envoys” that exhibit the security robustness of prior-art proxies and the transparency and ease-of-use of prior-art packet filters, combining the best of both worlds. No traffic can pass through the firewall unless the firewall has established an envoy for that traffic. Both connection-oriented (e.g., TCP) and connectionless (e.g., UDP-based) services may be handled using envoys. Establishment of an envoy may be subjected to a myriad of tests to “qualify” the user, the requested communication, or both. Therefore, a high level of security may be achieved. The usual added burden of prior-art proxy systems is avoided in such a way as to achieve fall transparency-the user can use standard applications and need not even know of the existence of the firewall. To achieve full transparency, the firewall is configured as two or more sets of virtual hosts. The firewall is, therefore, “multi-homed,” each home being independently configurable. One set of hosts responds to addresses on a first network interface of the firewall. Another set of hosts responds to addresses on a second network interface of the firewall. In one aspect, programmable transparency is achieved by establishing DNS mappings between remote hosts to be accessed through one of the network interfaces and respective virtual hosts on that interface. In another aspect, automatic transparency may be achieved using code for dynamically mapping remote hosts to virtual hosts in accordance with a technique referred to herein as dynamic DNS, or DDNS.

Firewall providing enhanced network security and user transparency

Location sharing and tracking using mobile phones or other wireless devices

In general, the invention features methods by which more than one client program connected to a network stores the same data item on a storage device of a data repository connected to the network. In one aspect, the method comprises encrypting the data item using a key derived from the content of the data item, determining a digital fingerprint of the data item, and storing the data item on the storage device at a location or locations associated with the digital fingerprint. In a second aspect, the method comprises determining a digital fingerprint of the data item, testing for whether the data item is already stored in the repository by comparing the digital fingerprint of the data item to the digital fingerprints of data items already in storage in the repository, and challenging a client that is attempting to deposit a data item already stored in the repository, to ascertain that the client has the full data item.

Data repository and method for promoting network storage of data

The port in a packet network switching system that a packet should be associated with is determined by retrieving packet address information for a packet that is to be transmitted. A predetermined number of bits from the packet address information is selected to use a hash key, which is used to compute a table address. The contents of the table at that address are compared with the packet address information. If it matches, the packet is transmitted over the port associated with that particular destination address. If it does not match, the table address is incremented by one, and the contents of the new table location identified by the incremented address are compared with the packet address information. A high speed digital video network apparatus which utilizes the hashing function is implemented on a single integrated circuit chip, and includes a network protocol processing system interconnection, compression/decompression circuits, and encoder/decoder circuits.

Method for hashing in a packet network switching system

A high speed digital video network apparatus is implemented on a single integrated circuit chip, and includes a network protocol processing system interconnection, compression/decompression circuits, and encoder/decoder circuits. The interconnection includes a packet conversion logic which converts between a network protocol, such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) packets, and the data protocol used to handle large data streams, such as Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) packets. The interconnection further includes a Virtual Channel Memory (VCM) for storing ATM cells for segmentation and reassembly, a Direct Memory Access (DMA) controller for connecting the VCR to the compression/decompression circuits, a Parallel Cell Interface (PCI) for connecting the VCM to an ATM network, a Pacing Rate Unit (PCU) for automatically reducing the maximum transmission rate in response to a sensed congestion condition in the network, and a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) microprocessor for controlling the DMA controller and transfers between the memory, a host and the ATM network, for performing segmentation and reassembly of Conversion Sublayer Payload Data Units (CD-PDUs), and for performing conversion between the ATM Protocol and the MPEG protocol. The compression/decompression and decoder/encoder circuits may utilize MPEG to compress digitized images and motion video into compact data streams that can be moved across networks with bandwidths too narrow to accommodate the uncompressed data. The operating program for the RISC microprocessor is stored in a volatile Instruction Random Access Memory (IRAM) in the form of firmware which can be downloaded at initialization.

High speed single chip digital video network apparatus

A wireless communication device may take the form of a cellular telephone, of a portable personal communication device, or even of a desk top personal computer which is equipped to communicate over the wireless cellular communication system in effect in a particular area. The wireless communication device is configured to self-adapt to various operating frequencies and communication protocols which may be present in the cellular communication environment so that the device is able to provide communications in several service areas even though the frequencies of operation and the communication protocols in use in the service areas may be incompatible with one another. The wireless communication device may also include facilities for transmitting and receiving video, graphics, and data files over an RF bandwidth. The various communication standards and protocols which may be used for these communications are recognized by the communication device, and it self-adapts to provide communications in the formats, standards, and operating frequencies which are available in particular cellular communication environments.

Multi-frequency multi-protocol wireless communication device

A traffic control system includes a traffic planner that communicates with a cellular telephone system to help manage the flow of traffic, especially when emergency vehicles are rushing to a destination. The cellular communication system determines the location of the emergency vehicle, and relays the location to the traffic planner. The traffic planner, in turn, controls the traffic lights to clear the traffic along the route traveled by the emergency vehicle. The cellular communication system can also determine the location of any vehicle carrying a subscriber unit and provide navigational information that helps the vehicle arrive at its destination. The navigational information includes road maps and directions.

Traffic control system utilizing cellular telephone system

A single chip network adapter apparatus has each component disposed on a single semiconductor chip. The network adapter includes a host interface circuit which is adapted for connection directly to a host system bus. The host interface circuit sends information to and receives information form the host system bus, and has random access memory coupled thereto. A processor is coupled to the random access memory and formats information received from the host system bus to a network protocol format. The processor also converts information received in a network protocol format to a form suitable for the host system bus. A network interface circuit is coupled to the random access memory and is adapted for connection directly to a network. The network interface circuit sends information formatted by the processor to the network and receives information to be converted by the processor from the network.

John Daane

Papers

Method for hashing in a packet network switching system

High speed single chip digital video network apparatus

Multi-frequency multi-protocol wireless communication device

Traffic control system utilizing cellular telephone system

Single chip network adapter apparatus