A method and apparatus for displaying information regarding an event are provided. The method and apparatus meets objectives of increasing sales and marketing efficiency and efficiency of technical and customer support by providing a multi-dimensional display of event information to a user. As such, a radar screen-like presentation of data is generated that allows the user to see a visual representation of the best prospective opportunities based on the strategic business importance of an event. The method and apparatus functions by determining at least one event to be displayed and generating for graphical display an event object and label corresponding to the event. The radial location of the event object on the display is related to the stage of the particular corresponding event. The location of the event object on the display can also be indicative of other characteristics of the corresponding event. Each event object has variable size, color, and shape, all of which are indicative of characteristics of the corresponding event. In addition, a displayed event object may have an object tail which is indicative of characteristics of the corresponding event. The radar screen-like display may be comprised of sectors, and the location of an event object in a particular sector is indicative of a characteristic of the corresponding event. Each event object provides an electronic link to detailed information about the corresponding event.

Graphical user interface for customer information management

A body fluid sampling system for use on a tissue site includes a single drive force generator. A plurality of penetrating members are operatively coupled to the force generator. The force generator moves each of the members along a path out of a housing with a penetrating member exit, into the tissue site, stops in the tissue site, and withdraws out of the tissue site. A flexible support member couples the penetrating members to define a linear array. The support member is movable and configured to move each of the penetrating members to a launch position associated with the force generator.

Method and Apparatus for Penetrating tissue

Methods and apparatus for delivery of packetized content (e.g., video, audio, data, etc.) over a content delivery network. In one embodiment, the content is packetized using an Internet Protocol (IP), and delivered by a service provider over both managed and unmanaged networks to subscribers of the provider, so as to provide delivery at any time, at any location, and via any designated user device. The delivered content may originate from the service provider, third-party content sources (e.g., networks or studios), the subscriber(s) themselves, or other sources including the Internet. Use of a common control and service functions within the network afford the ability to integrate or blend services together, thereby affording the service provider and subscriber new service and economic opportunities. Content delivery sessions may also be migrated from one device to another. A network-based user interface infrastructure, and gateway-based client-side architecture, are also disclosed.

Methods and apparatus for packetized content delivery over a content delivery network

A collaboration system that integrates separate real-time and asynchronous networks - the former for real-time audio and video, and the latter for control signals and textual, graphical and other data - in a manner which closely approximates the experience of face-to-face collaboration. These capabilities are achieved by exploiting a variety of hardware, software and networking technologies in a manner that preserves the quality and integrity of audio/video/data and other multimedia information, even after wide area transmission, and at a significantly reduced networking cost as compared to what would be required by presently known approaches. The system architecture is readily scalable to the largest enterprise network environments. It accommodates differing levels of collaborative capabilities available to individual users and permits high-quality audio and video capabilities to be readily superimposed onto existing personal computers and workstations (12) and their interconnecting LANs (10) and WANs (15). In the case of a plurality of geographically dispersed LANs (10) interconnected by a WAN (15), the demands made on the WAN are significantly reduced by employing multi-hopping techniques, including avoiding the unnecessary decompression of data at intermediate hops, as well as video mosaicing and cut-and-paste technology.

Multimedia collaboration system

Personal content server apparatus and associated methods that allow a user (e.g., cable or satellite network subscriber) to access content, such as a video program, from a location outside the subscriber's network. In one embodiment, a personal content server streams the content to the subscriber over a network connection from the local e.g., (subscription) network to a remote network upon authorization by a content manager process. Various access, business or operational rules are applied depending on the content and delivery mode; e.g., to live video broadcast, video-on-demand (VOD), or archived content from the subscriber's digital video recorder (DVR) or networked PVR. In another variant, reservation information (for example program or asset ID information) is cached at a headend or hub server, thereby obviating the subscriber (or the network) having to access the subscriber's premises device. In yet another variant, a “virtual” CPE experience is provided for the remote user.

Personal content server apparatus and methods

Systems and methods for implementing dispatch calls using IP multicasting protocols are disclosed. The methods include utilizing a payload multicast group address for distributing payload, and utilizing a control multicast group address for distributing control messages to members of the talkgroup in a single-zone (FIG. 1). A zone controller (116) dynamically identifies payload and control multicast group addresses and sends them to participating sites (102, 104). The participating sites (102, 104) issue Join commands to associated network devices (108, 110) to receive payload and control messages addressed to the respective payload and control multicast group addresses. There is further disclosed a system and method for implementing dispatch calls for members in multiple zones (FIG. 8). Zone controllers (830, 832) separately identify control multicast group addresses and send them to affiliating devices in their respective zones. A controlling zone controller (830) dynamically identifies a payload multicast group address that is used by participating devices in both zones. The participating sites (806, 816) issue Join commands to associated network devices (810, 822) to receive payload messages addressed to the payload multicast group address and control messages addressed to their control multicast group address.

Methods for implementing a talkgroup call in a multicast ip network

When a group communication group call is initiated in a multi-site communication system, the communication processing information for that particular communication group call must be established. The communication processing information is formatted by a central controller which in turn transfers that information to a destination data base of a processing multiplexer switch. The information is then stored in the destination data base such that the particular communication group call may be quickly processed. When the communication unit that initiated the call ceases to transmit and another communication unit begins to transmit, the communication processing information is updated to reflect the change in the transmitting communication unit. This continues to happen until the particular communication group call has ended; once it has ended, the communication processing information is deleted from the destination data base.

Method for establishing and maintaining communication processing information for a group call

During an existing communication between a first communication unit and at least a second communication unit, any communication unit in the existing communication may add another communication unit to the communication. This may be accomplished by initiating a request to add another communication unit. The request is routed to the affiliated system data database circuits, wherein each system data database circuit reserves an entry in each signal destination field affiliated with a communication unit that is participating in the communication when an entry is available. With the entries reserved, each of the system data database circuits adds, in the entries, individualized information of the new communication unit such that the new communication unit can now participate in the communication.

Communication system network that includes full duplex conference calling

System and methods for confining multicast routing trees to within single zones of a multi-zone communication systems, thereby enabling faster convergence of the trees relative to trees spanning multiple zones. Separate multicast routing trees are established using different multicast addresses in a source zone and one or more listening zones. Packets for a call distributed by routers (104, 116) of a packet network within the source zone are received by a packet duplicator (132); packet duplicator forwards the packets, via routers (116, 118, 120, 122) of the packet network using unicast routing, to various listening zone packet duplicators (136, 138). The listening zone packet duplicators, upon receiving the packets, separately distribute the packets within their respective zones via the packet network using different multicast addresses of the listening zones. The source zone and listening zones may be redefined during the call as the source changes or moves to different zones.

Multicast IP zones for fast spanning tree convergence in wide-area packet network systems

Methods for implementing talkgroup calls in an IP multicast network (100) among competing sources, including console (138, 140) dispatch takeover of an active call from a subscriber (150), subscriber unit (150) attempted takeover of an active call from a console (138, 140), and operation of commmunication devices in different receive modes. In the takeover or attempted takeover situation, the methods allow for a first group of participating devices (e.g., consoles) to hear both competing sources, and for a second group of participating devices (e.g., base site repeaters) to hear only the higher priority source. The methods allow for different dekeying sequences between the competing sources after the takeover or attempted takeover, as appropriate, such that participating devices will hear the remaining source. where multiple payloads are addressed to the same multicast group address, an exclusive receive mode enables a group of communication devices (e.g., base site repeaters) having joined the address to exclusively receive a selected one of the payloads.

John W. Maher

Papers

Methods for implementing a talkgroup call in a multicast ip network

Method for establishing and maintaining communication processing information for a group call

Communication system network that includes full duplex conference calling

Multicast IP zones for fast spanning tree convergence in wide-area packet network systems

Methods for implementing a talkgroup call with competing sources in a multicast ip network