Groupware reflects a change in emphasis from using the computer to solve problems to using the computer to facilitate human interaction. This article describes categories and examples of groupware and discusses some underlying research and development issues. GROVE, a novel group editor, is explained in some detail as a salient groupware example

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Groupware: some issues and experiences

An interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to select programs for recording on a remote media server. Programs may also be recorded on a local media server. The program guide provides users with VCR-like control over programs that are played back from the media servers and over real-time cached copies of the programs. The program guide also provides users with an opportunity to designate gift recipients for whom programs may be recorded.

Client-server based interactive television program guide system with remote server recording

Systems and methods are provided for receiving speech and non-speech communications of natural language questions and/or commands, transcribing the speech and non-speech communications to textual messages, and executing the questions and/or commands. The invention applies context, prior information, domain knowledge, and user specific profile data to achieve a natural environment for one or more users presenting questions or commands across multiple domains. The systems and methods creates, stores and uses extensive personal profile information for each user, thereby improving the reliability of determining the context of the speech and non-speech communications and presenting the expected results for a particular question or command.

Systems and methods for responding to natural language speech utterance

The present invention provides systems and methods for providing television schedule information to a viewer, and for allowing the viewer to link, search, select and interact with information in a remote database, e.g., a database on the internet. The television schedule information can be displayed on a variety of viewer interfaces, such as televisions screens, computer monitors, PCTV screens and the like. The television schedule information may be stored on the viewer's computer, television, PCTV, or a remote server (e.g., a website), or the television schedule information may be downloaded from a remote database to the viewer's computer, television or PCTV.

Systems and methods for linking television viewers with advertisers and broadcasters

An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor receives and stores in a memory television program schedule information for a plurality of television programs to appear on the plurality of television channels. A user control apparatus, such as a remote controller, is utilized by a viewer to choose user control commands and transmit signals in response to the data processor which receives the signals in response to user control commands. A television receiver is used to display the television programs and television program schedule information. A video display generator receives video control commands from the data processor and program schedule information from the memory and displays a portion of the program schedule information in overlaying relationship with a television program appearing on a television channel in at least one mode of operation of the television programming guide. The data processor controls the video display generator with video control commands, issued in response to the user control commands, to display program schedule information for any chosen one of the plurality of television programs in overlaying relationship with at least one television program then appearing on any chosen one of the plurality of channels on the television receiver.

Electronic television program guide schedule system and method

A significant problem with telephone communication is that callers do not have enough awareness about the Personal Presence of people they want to call. The result can be unwanted, interrupting calls. Thelive addressbookis an application that helps users make more informed telephone calls and teleconferences, from anywhere, via their wireless PDA or desktop browser. Unlike other network-based address books, which maintain static information, the live addressbook can display dynamic information about where the recipient currently is (i.e., reach number), and how available he/she currently is for calls. The system accomplishes this by applying to telephony the "Buddy List" concepts made popular in Instant Messaging applications. User trials assess the applicability of Personal Presence information in a telephone context.

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Providing presence cues to telephone users

A bookmarking system is provided that includes a user input device and a network server. A person who is viewing a program, e.g., watching a network news program on television, can bookmark an archived version of that program for future reference. The viewer utilizes the user input device to communicate to the network server the identity of the program of interest. The network server uses the identification information for the program of interest to identify a URL for the archived version of the program. The network server transmits the URL for the archived program to the personal computer of the viewer.

Apparatus and method for a bookmarking system

A communications system facilitates transactions between a sender and a plurality of recipients as part of an electronic messaging system. Messaging means enable a sender to form an electronic template containing a message in the form of a structured response object for a recipient as part of a transaction between a sender and a recipient(s). Controller means receive and store the message in a virtual mailbox assigned to the transaction for access by the sender and the recipient(s). The controller means generate and send to the recipients an indicator or pointer identifying the message at an address for the virtual mailbox. The recipient(s) use the pointer address to view the electronic message in the form of a structured object response at the virtual mailbox in the controller. The recipient may ignore or file the message or send a response to the virtual mailbox. The response or lack of response to the structured object response by the recipient (s) is tracked and recorded by the controller. The status of the transaction is updated as reflected by the structured object response(s) and summarized for display by the controller upon inquiry by the sender. A reminder of a response due to a transaction is sent by the controller to the recipient(s) when selected from the summary display by the sender. When the transaction between the sender and recipient(s) ends, for one reason or another, the electronic message is erased from the virtual mailbox.

Communications system and method of operation for electronic messaging using structured response objects and virtual mailboxes

A message sender status monitor is used to determine the communication status of the sender of an electronic message. In the case of email, upon the recipient opening an email, a query is launched to a “status registry” to determine if the sender of the email is currently logged in to the communication network, or if the sender is currently on the telephone, or currently using a cell phone, etc. This status information is then used by the recipient of the email to determine the communication medium used to send a reply to the email sender. For example, if the status information indicates that the message sender is currently logged in to the data network, the recipient can respond using “instant messaging” (considered, therefore, to be a more efficient type of response that merely responding with an email message).

Message sender status monitor

The Software Technology Program of MCC is investigating the early part of the design process, before requirements are established, for large-scale distributed systems. Face-to-face meetings are an important activity during this phase of a project since they provide a medium for direction, exploration, and consensus building. Project Nick is attempting to apply automated facilities to the process, conduct, and semantic capture of design meetings. Primary topics covered in this paper are meeting analysis, meeting augmentation, and a model of meeting progression that serves as the framework for our work.

Thomas M. Smith

Papers

Providing presence cues to telephone users

Apparatus and method for a bookmarking system

Communications system and method of operation for electronic messaging using structured response objects and virtual mailboxes

Message sender status monitor

Project Nick: meetings augmentation and analysis