Streaming compressed digital hypervideo received upon a digital communications network is decoded (decompressed) and played in a client-computer-based "video on web VCR" software system. Scene changes, if not previously marked upstream, are automatically detected, and typically twenty-one past scenes are displayed as thumbnail images. Hyperlinks within the main video scene, and/or any thumbnail image, show as hotspots, with text annotations typically appearing upon a cursor "mouse over". All hyperlinks--as are provided and inserted by, inter alia, the upstream network service provider (the "ISP")--may be, and preferably are, full-custom dynamically-resolved to each subscriber/user/viewer ("SUV") upon volitional "click throughs" by the SUV, including retrospectively on past hypervideo scenes as appear within the thumbnail images. Hyperlinking permits (i) retrieving information and commercials, including streaming video/hypervideo, from any of local storage, a network (or Internet) service provider ("ISP"), a network content provider, and/or an advertiser network site, (ii) entering a contest of skill or a lottery of chance, (iii) gambling, (iv) buying (and less often, selling), (v) responding to a survey, and expressing an opinion, and/or (vi) sounding an alert.

Real-time receipt, decompression and play of compressed streaming video/hypervideo; with thumbnail display of past scenes and with replay, hyperlinking and/or recording permissively intiated retrospectively

An alternate display content controller provides a technique for controlling a video display separately from and in addition to the content displayed on the operating system display surface. Where the display is a computer monitor, the alternate display content controller interacts with the computer utility operating system and hardware drivers to control allocation of display space and create and control one or more parallel graphical user interfaces adjacent the operating system desktop. An alternate display content controller may be incorporated in either hardware or software. As software, an alternate display content controller may be an application running on the computer operating system, or may include an operating system kernel of varying complexity ranging from dependent on the utility operating system for hardware system services to a parallel system independent of the utility operating system and capable of supporting dedicated applications. The alternate display content controller may also include content and operating software delivered over the internet or any other LAN. The alternate display content controller may also be included in a television decoder/settop box to permit two or more parallel graphical user interfaces to be displayed simultaneously.

Method and system for controlling a complementary user interface on a display surface

The present invention relates to simultaneous computer screen and voice monitoring from a remote location, and particularly relates to synchronized telephone and screen monitoring of a computer workstation from a remote location. Such monitoring is useful for providing training and assistance to those using such workstations, especially in connection with telephone use, can also be useful for providing an audit trial of significant on-screen events, or can be used as a trigger to initiate other separate events. In one embodiment, graphics primitives are used to determine localized screen changes which are periodically copied from the monitored workstation desktop and sent over a network to a remote, monitoring, workstation. In another embodiment, localized screen changes are determined by full screen comparison, and sent over a network to a remote, monitoring, workstation.

Method and apparatus for simultaneously monitoring computer user screen and telephone activity from a remote location

An entertainment head-end provides broadcast programming, video-on-demand services, and HTML-based interactive programming through a distribution network to client terminals in subscribers' homes. A number of different features are provided, including novel user interfaces, enhanced video-on-demand controls, a variety of interactive services (personalized news, jukebox, games, celebrity chat), and techniques that combine to provide user experiences evocative of conventional television.

Interactive video programming methods

The system and method of the present invention provides a user interface for providing peripheral awareness of information to a user. The information to be provided is either determined automatically, or specified by the user. Once the information to be provided is determined or specified, it is automatically tracked or watched via at least one conventional communications interface. Current information is then automatically dynamically provided in an interactive peripheral display which minimizes any potential distraction to the user. Determining or specifying, tracking or watching, and providing the information is accomplished using at least one customizable dynamic encapsulated object, a “ticket,” that when paired with a “viewer,” provides peripheral awareness of information to the user. Further, in one embodiment, the tickets are sharable among users, and may be copied, cut, pasted, saved, transmitted, dragged and dropped from web pages, etc., like any other electronic file using conventional techniques.

User Interface for a System and Process for Providing Dynamic Communication Access and Information Awareness in an Interactive Peripheral Display

A method and apparatus for recording and playing back computer graphics data, including cursor movement data, and audio data which requires no X-Window command extensions. During recording, the command data stream to a display controller is intercepted, time stamped at regular intervals, and sent to and stored in a first file in a mass storage device. Cursor movement and operation data also is intercepted, time stamped and stored in a second file. During recording, display state data is generated and recorded into a third file at specified intervals. For playback, the system operator is presented with a graphic user interface resembling the control panel of a video cassette recorder. The system operator can play back the recorded information starting from a designated instant by operating the "buttons" on the control panel. For playback, the third file is read and forwarded to the display controller. The first and second files are then merged utilizing the time stamps to ensure synchronization and forwarded in a stream to the display controller for playing back the recorded events.

Computer graphics data recording and playback system with a VCR-based graphic user interface

A method and apparatus for establishing an always-visible class of windows in a computer-implemented windowing environment is provided. A user may designate one or more windows as always-visible windows. If an always-visible window overlaps with a non-always-visible window, then the always-visible window is displayed on top of the non-always-visible window. Always-visible windows are prevented from overlapping with each other. Techniques are provided for implementing the always-visible window class in a manner that complies with the X Windows system. According to one technique, the override redirect attribute is used as a flag to designate which windows are always-visible windows. According to an alternative technique, a list of always-visible windows is maintained as a property attached to a root window.

Window system preventing overlap of multiple always-visible windows

Always-visible window class with overlap prevention

A raster scan display system of the type which includes an anti-aliasing circuit for controlling the pixel brightness to remove the stair-step effect common to raster scan displays, wherein the improvement comprises gamma correction means supplied with the anti-aliased display data for correcting for non-linearity in the relationship between the pixel intensity data and the actual intensity of the corresponding pixel of the raster scan display

John Warren Trueblood

Papers

Computer graphics data recording and playback system with a VCR-based graphic user interface

Window system preventing overlap of multiple always-visible windows

Always-visible window class with overlap prevention

Gamma corrected anti-aliased graphic display apparatus