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Showing papers by "Google published in 2001"


Journal Article
Amit Singhal1
TL;DR: This article is a brief overview of the key advances in the field of Information Retrieval, and a description of where the state-of-the-art is at inThe field.
Abstract: For thousands of years people have realized the importance of archiving and finding information. With the advent of computers, it became possible to store large amounts of information; and finding useful information from such collections became a necessity. The field of Information Retrieval (IR) was born in the 1950s out of this necessity. Over the last forty years, the field has matured considerably. Several IR systems are used on an everyday basis by a wide variety of users. This article is a brief overview of the key advances in the field of Information Retrieval, and a description of where the state-of-the-art is at in the field.

1,209 citations


Patent
Don Turnbull1, Hinrich Schuetze1
26 Jan 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a search and recommendation system employs the preferences and profiles of individual users and groups within a community of users, as well as information derived from categorically organized content pointers, to augment electronic commerce related searches, re-rank search results, and provide recommendations for commerce related objects based on an initial subject-matter query and an interaction history of a user.
Abstract: A search and recommendation system employs the preferences and profiles of individual users and groups within a community of users, as well as information derived from categorically organized content pointers, to augment electronic commerce related searches, re-rank search results, and provide recommendations for commerce related objects based on an initial subject-matter query and an interaction history of a user. The search and recommendation system operates in the context of a content pointer manager, which stores individual users' content pointers (some of which may be published or shared for group use) on a centralized content pointer database connected to a network. The shared content pointer manager is implemented as a distributed program, portions of which operate on users' terminals and other portions of which operate on the centralized content pointer database. A user's content pointers are organized in accordance with a local topical categorical hierarchy. The hierarchical organization is used to define a relevance context within which returned objects are evaluated and ordered.

454 citations


Patent
10 May 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a system and method for monitoring and analyzing Internet traffic is provided that is efficient, completely automated, and fast enough to handle the busiest websites on the Internet, processing data many times faster than existing systems.
Abstract: A system and method for monitoring and analyzing Internet traffic is provided that is efficient, completely automated, and fast enough to handle the busiest websites on the Internet, processing data many times faster than existing systems. The system and method of the present invention processes data by reading log files produced by web servers, or by interfacing with the web server in real time, processing the data as it occurs. The system and method of the present invention can be applied to one website or thousands of websites, whether they reside on one server or multiple servers. The multi-site and sub-reporting capabilities of the system and method of the present invention makes it applicable to servers containing thousands of websites and entire on-line communities. In one embodiment, the system and method of the present invention includes e-commerce analysis and reporting functionality, in which data from standard traffic logs is received and merged with data from e-commerce systems. The system and method of the present invention can produce reports showing detailed “return on investment” information, including identifying which banner ads, referrals, domains, etc. are producing specific dollars.

447 citations


Patent
Krishna Bharat1
30 Jan 2001
TL;DR: A re-ranking component in the search engine then refined the initially returned document rankings so that documents that are frequently cited in the initial set of relevant documents were preferred over documents that were less frequently cited within the original set.
Abstract: A search engine for searching a corpus improves the relevancy of the results by refining a standard relevancy score based on the interconnectivity of the initially returned set of documents. The search engine obtains an initial set of relevant documents by matching a user's search terms to an index of a corpus. A re-ranking component in the search engine then refines the initially returned document rankings so that documents that are frequently cited in the initial set of relevant documents are preferred over documents that are less frequently cited within the initial set.

330 citations


Patent
02 Mar 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a search query is received and a list of responsive documents is identified, and the responsive documents are organized based in whole or in part on usage statistics, based on the search query.
Abstract: Methods and apparatus consistent with the invention provide improved organization of documents responsive to a search query. In one embodiment, a search query is received and a list of responsive documents is identified. The responsive documents are organized based in whole or in part on usage statistics.

304 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Monika Henzinger1
TL;DR: The article discusses how hyperlink analysis can be applied to ranking algorithms, and surveys other ways Web search engines can use this analysis.
Abstract: Hyperlink analysis algorithms significantly improve the relevance of the search results on the Web, so much so that all major Web search engines claim to use some type of hyperlink analysis. However, the search engines do not disclose details about the type of hyperlink analysis they perform, mostly to avoid manipulation of search results by Web-positioning companies. The article discusses how hyperlink analysis can be applied to ranking algorithms, and surveys other ways Web search engines can use this analysis.

221 citations


Patent
Vitaly Lenchik1, Casey Hill2, David Kilp1, Kevin Baker1, John Jennings1 
24 Apr 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a self configuring multiple element portable electronic device (100) and method is provided, where the device comprises at least a first electronic element and a second electronic element (106) and a joint connecting the first and the second electronic elements, with the joint allowing movement in more than one plane of the first element in relation to the second element.
Abstract: A self configuring multiple element portable electronic device (100) and method is provided. The device comprises at least a first electronic element (104) and a second electronic element (106) and a joint (112) connecting the first electronic element and the second electronic element, with the joint allowing movement in more than one plane of the first electronic element in relation to the second electronic element, wherein the self configuring multiple element portable electronic device is capable of self configuring an operational mode based on a relative position of the first electronic element with respect to the second electronic element. The method comprises the steps of detecting a relative position of the first electronic element relative to the second electronic element, and selecting an operational mode of the device based on the relative position.

217 citations


Patent
02 Nov 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a seamless transfer of a communication session from a first device (56, 100, 150) to a second device (66, 116, 166) without interrupting the active session.
Abstract: Session Inter-Device (SID) mobility networks (50, 100, 150) are described in which a seamless transfer of a communication session from a first device (56. 106, 116) to a second device (66, 116, 166) can be achieved without interrupting the active session. According to the SID mobility network (50), the transfer can be accomplished by transferring away from the Transferring Node or first device (56) the IP address associated with the active session (58) so that the network (50) will route the session to the desired Target Node or second device (66). The Transferring Node (56) transfers its IP address (58) to the Agent (60) and stops requesting data packets addressed to its IP address (58). The Agent (60) then begins to request and eventually receive the packets addressed to the Transferring Node's IP address (58). The Agent (60) then transfers the packets to the Target Node (66). In an alternate SID mobility network (100), the Transferring Node (106) transfers a session specific IP address (114) to the Agent (110). The Agent (110) then transfers packets sent to the session specific IP address (114) to the Target Node (120). In another SID mobility network (150), the Transferring Node (162) obtains a temporary IP address (170) and transfers its IP address (164) to a Session Agent (166). The Session Agent (166) begins to request and eventually receive the packets addressed to the Transferring Node's IP address (164), and for each received packet determines if it belongs to the session the Transferring Node (162) requested to transfer to the Target Node (176). If it does, the Session Agent (166) will transfer the packet to the Target Node (176) at the Target Node's IP address (178). If it does not, the Session Agent (166) will transfer the packet to the Transferring Node (162) at its temporary IP address (170). In each SID mobility network, the session with respect to the Correspondent Node continues without interruption throughout the transfer, thereby providing a seamless transfer of the session from a first device to a second device.

211 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
29 Nov 2001
TL;DR: A modified "copy model" to explain observed link weight distributions as a function of subgraph size is discussed and a data mining application of the hostgraph is described: a related host finding algorithm which achieves a precision of 0.65 at rank 3.
Abstract: Previous studies of the Web graph structure have focused on the graph structure at the level of individual pages. In actuality the Web is a hierarchically nested graph, with domains, hosts and Web sites introducing intermediate levels of affiliation and administrative control. To better understand the growth of the Web we need to understand its macro-structure, in terms of the linkage between Web sites. We approximate this by studying the graph of the linkage between hosts on the Web. This was done based on snapshots of the Web taken by Google in Oct 1999, Aug 2000 and Jun 2001. The connectivity between hosts is represented by a directed graph, with hosts as nodes and weighted edges representing the count of hyperlinks between pages on the corresponding hosts. We demonstrate how such a "hostgraph" can be used to study connectivity properties of hosts and domains over time, and discuss a modified "copy model" to explain observed link weight distributions as a function of subgraph size. We discuss changes in the Web over time in the size and connectivity of Web sites and country domains. We also describe a data mining application of the hostgraph: a related host finding algorithm which achieves a precision of 0.65 at rank 3.

207 citations


Patent
Rabe Duane C1
06 Nov 2001
TL;DR: In this article, a method and apparatus for providing location information is provided, where a location request is received from a source, a location of a mobile device is determined, a plurality of location descriptions corresponding to the location are determined, and a location description is selected from among the location descriptions.
Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing location information is provided. A location request is received (102) from a source. A location of a mobile device is determined (104). A plurality of location descriptions corresponding to the location are determined (105). A location description is selected (107) from among the location descriptions. The location description is provided (108) to the source of the location request.

203 citations


Patent
07 Feb 2001
TL;DR: In this article, a system receives a voice search query from a user, derives one or more recognition hypotheses, each associated with a weight, from the voice search queries, and constructs a weighted boolean query using the recognition hypotheses.
Abstract: A system provides search results from a voice search query. The system receives a voice search query from a user, derives one or more recognition hypotheses, each being associated with a weight, from the voice search query, and constructs a weighted boolean query using the recognition hypotheses. The system then provides the weighted boolean query to a search system and provides the results of the search system to a user.

Patent
24 Oct 2001
TL;DR: In this article, a method and system for sharing online user information in an anonymous manner was proposed, which associates an identifier with anonymized information of the user, and sends the anonymized user information to a receiving party.
Abstract: A method and system for sharing online user information in an anonymous manner. The system associates an identifier (100) with anonymized information of the user, and sends the anonymized user information to a receiving party (130). In one embodiment, the system receives a temporary id with personally identifiable information from a Web site, uses the personally identifiable information as a key to obtain the anonymized information from a data source, and sends the temporary id with the anonymized information to the receiving party. the receiving party uses the temporary id, previously received by the Web site, as a key to obtain the anonymized information of the user. In another embodiment, the system receives a temporary id from a Web site with a cookie from the user, uses the cookie as a key to obtain the anonymized information from a data source, and sends the temporary id with the anonymized information to the receiving party (130). The receiving party (130) uses the temporary id, previously received by the Web site, as a key to obtain the anonymized information of the user.

Patent
14 Dec 2001
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a system and method for providing protection of media by the detection of unauthorized client behaviors and the communication of the unauthorized client behaviours to augment the invention's detection abilities.
Abstract: Described is a system and method for providing protection of media by the detection of unauthorized client behaviors and the communication of the unauthorized client behaviors to augment the invention's detection abilities. A variety of detectors are sent to a client process and the responses are evaluated to detect the presence of an unauthorized software behavior on the client. Unauthorized behaviors include alteration of a client process as well as simultaneously running processes that might enable unauthorized copying of protected media. Communication of unauthorized software behaviors includes sharing of memory detectors among servers on a network, and the sending of memory detectors to other clients to detect previously unseen unauthorized behaviors on the other clients.

Patent
02 Nov 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a method and a communication network for routing a real-time communication message based on a subscriber profile in a communication system, such that a first subscriber is in communication with a second subscriber.
Abstract: A method and a communication network for routing a real-time communication message based on a subscriber profile in a communication system. The communication system provides real-time communication service to a plurality of subscribers such that a first subscriber is in communication with a second subscriber. The communication network (110) receives a real-time communication message from the first subscriber. The communication network (110) also retrieves a subscriber profile associated with the second subscriber. In particular, the subscriber profile includes operating information associated with a wireless device (220 and/or 230) operated by the second subscriber. Based on the subscriber profile, the communication network (110) arranges the message for transmission to the second subscriber. Accordingly, the communication network (110) transmits the arranged message to the second subscriber.

Patent
07 Feb 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, an adaptive resource indexing and lookup method for a customer self service system that performs resource search and selection and includes a resource library having selectable resources is proposed, where an adaptive indexing function implementing a supervised learning algorithm is applied for increasing the value of search results for a current user in their context.
Abstract: An adaptive resource indexing and lookup method for a customer self service system that performs resource search and selection and includes a resource library having selectable resources. The method includes steps of: receiving a current user query for requesting resources; receiving a user context vector associated with the current user query, the user context vector comprising data associating an interaction state with the user; mapping each user query and associated context vector to a sub-set of resources from the resource library; and, generating a response set including the sub-set of resources that are most relevant to the user's query. An adaptive indexing function implementing a supervised learning algorithm is applied for increasing the value of search results for a current user in their context and for enhancing and optimizing the performance of the resource indexing functions by increasing their relevance and specificity for mapping user queries to resources.

Patent
21 Dec 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a data network system (110) and method for forwarding a communication message intended for one device to another device is presented, where the configuration information includes one or more forwarding lists in which each forwarding list identifies at least one next device (another one of 102-108).
Abstract: The invention is a data network system (110) and method for forwarding a communication message intended for one device to another device. A target device (one of 102-108) configures configuration data of the target device for the system. The configuration information includes one or more forwarding lists in which each forwarding list identifies at least one next device (another one of 102-108). The system then receives (204) a communication message from an originating device (yet another one of 102-108) and retrieves (206) configuration data of the target device. Next, the system determines (208) whether the target device is available for interactive communication with the originating device based on the configuration data. If so, then the system routes (210) the communication message to the target device. Otherwise, then the system forwards (228) the communication message to a particular next device identified by the forwarding list.

Patent
Brian K. Classon1, Philippe Sartori1, Vijay Nangia2, Xiangyang Zhuang1, Kevin L. Baum1 
28 Dec 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, different modulation and coding schemes, along with responsive frequency and time diversity resource allocations, are adaptively selected as a function of the level of trustworthiness of a mobile unit.
Abstract: Mobile units in a multicarrier, multidimensional communications system can assess their own channel coherence time attributes (base stations can also access such dynamics for mobile units as well). This information is utilized (either by the mobile unit itself or by an infrastructure component such as a base site) to determine a level of trustworthiness for other channel quality data as might be measured by the mobile unit. Different modulation and coding schemes, along with responsive frequency and time diversity resource allocations, are adaptively selected as a function of this level of trustworthiness.

Patent
05 Jan 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, an optically based location system and method of determining a location at a structure include a lighting infrastructure having lights at a building, each light is configured to illuminate and to transmit a respective relative or absolute terrestrial position through modulation of emitted light.
Abstract: An optically based location system and method of determining a location at a structure include a lighting infrastructure having lights at a structure. Each light is configured to illuminate and to transmit a respective relative or absolute terrestrial position through modulation of emitted light. An optical receiver is configured to detect the lights, to demodulate the position of detected lights, and to determine from the detection a position of the receiver. The receiver can have a conventional optical detector for determining a two-dimensional position of the receiver relative to a detected light, or can have a three-dimensional spot collimating lens and charged couple device optical detector for determining a three-dimensional position of the receiver relative to a detected light. The receiver and lights can be synchronized for converting a delay time into a distance measurement to calculate a distance between a light and the receiver.

Patent
16 Jul 2001
TL;DR: In this article, a method and system for providing a service that delivers location information associated with a caller is presented, which operates in both wireline and wireless networks, providing called parties with the location information of calling parties who use either stationary terminal devices or mobile devices.
Abstract: A method and system for providing a service that delivers location information associated with a caller. The service operates in both wireline and wireless networks, providing called parties with the location information of calling parties who use either stationary terminal devices or mobile devices. The service can operate as a stande alone service or can be a part of a calling name delivery service (or caller-ID service), delivering location information in addition to the conventional name, number, date, and time. The primary components of the present invention include a service control point, an address database in communication with the service control point, and a network that tracks the locations of mobile network users. The system further includes a mapping converter if the location data provided by the network is not meaningful to a subscriber.

Patent
21 Sep 2001
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a method, system and computer program product for interfacing between information requestors and information sources, where information is obtained from one or more information sources in response to client requests.
Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for interfacing between information requestors and information sources. In an embodiment, information is obtained from one or more information sources in response to client requests. In an embodiment, information received from information sources is cached for future use, such as for future client requests. In a caching embodiment, information can also be received by monitoring traffic between an information source and a third party, and/or by proactively querying the information sources. Proactive queries can be generated to populate a cache and/or to update presently cached information. In a caching embodiment, the invention includes methods for determining whether to respond to a request for information out-of-cache and/or with real-time information from an information source. In an embodiment, the invention interfaces with airline availability information sources. The invention also includes, without limitation, methods for interfacing with information sources through proxies, methods for ordering and prioritizing queries, methods for processing queries in a distributed architecture, and time-out features.

Patent
09 Aug 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a fuel cell membrane electrode assembly is formed on the major surface of the base portion and includes an electrically conductive hydrophilic material for the wicking of reaction water and providing for electrical conduction to a current collector.
Abstract: A fuel cell device and method of forming the fuel cell device including a base portion, formed of a singular body, and having a major surface At least one fuel cell membrane electrode assembly is formed on the major surface of the base portion and includes an electrically conductive hydrophilic material for the wicking of reaction water and providing for electrical conduction to a current collector A fluid supply channel including a mixing chamber is defined in the base portion and communicating with the fuel cell membrane electrode assembly for supplying a fuel-bearing fluid to the membrane electrode assembly An exhaust channel including a water recovery and recirculation channel is defined in the base portion and communicating with the membrane electrode assembly and the electrically conductive hydrophilic material The membrane electrode assembly and the cooperating fluid supply channel and cooperating exhaust channel forming a single fuel cell assembly

Patent
Nicholas Thompson, William Welch1, Kevin J. Lang2, Steven McCanne2, Matthew Podolsky2 
06 Jul 2001
TL;DR: In this article, a query originator injects queries of network devices into the network at a query node using query messages, and the network transports the query messages to the network devices, or to network nodes at which queries about network devices can be answered.
Abstract: In a network, a query originator injects queries of network devices into the network at a query node using query messages. The network transports the query messages to the network devices, or to network nodes at which queries about the network devices can be answered. Query responses from the network devices or network nodes are directed through the network to a collection node or nodes. As an internal network node receives multiple query responses from network devices, the internal network node might aggregate, as needed, the multiple query responses into an aggregated query response that preferably occupies less bandwidth than the aggregated multiple query responses. Where the result desired at the collection node is a computed function of the multiple query responses, the computed function can be performed at each internal network node on the multiple query responses received at that node, thus distributing the computation needed to form a collected response to the query. Queries might request real-time or non-real-time responses and queries might request one response, periodic responses or one response for each occurrence of an event. The internal network nodes might store lookup tables, or access a centralized lookup table, that specify details of queries, thus obviating the need for each query message to carry all of the necessary details of the query.

Patent
10 Aug 2001
TL;DR: In this article, a page message (200) is transmitted toward the beginning of a paging slot to indicate what groups of messages will be transmitted in the paging slots, which can return to a power-saving sleep mode more quickly than the prior art.
Abstract: To address the need for a communication unit, a communication infrastructure, and method that extend battery life, the present invention provides a special page message (200) that is transmitted toward the beginning of a paging slot to indicate what groups of messages will be transmitted in the paging slot. This message allows communication units (e.g., 102-104) to determine near the beginning of the paging slot whether they need to continue monitoring the paging slot for messages or pages directed or of interest to them. The message also allows communication units that continue monitoring the paging slot to determine when they can cease the monitoring. Thus, communication units can return to a power-saving sleep mode more quickly than the prior art.

Patent
29 Oct 2001
TL;DR: The power supply in this paper provides AC redundancy while also preventing voltages from multiple AC voltage sources from adding at a common node by ensuring that only one AC voltage source at a time is providing the voltage at the output.
Abstract: The power supply in accordance with the present invention provides AC redundancy while also preventing voltages from multiple AC voltage sources from adding at a common node. The adding of voltages is avoided by ensuring that only one AC voltage source at a time is providing the voltage at the output. Even if the other AC voltage sources are connected afterwards, these later AC voltage source are prevented from providing power at the output. In addition, diodes prevent current from back flowing to the AC voltage sources which are not supplying power to the output. Because the power supply in accordance with the present invention neither uses redundant AC to DC power supplies from independent AC voltage sources, nor does it use a costly transfer switch, the power supply in accordance with the present invention is more cost effective than conventional redundant power supplies.

Patent
Jingmin He1, Sriram Padmanabhan2, Min Wang2
28 Dec 2001
TL;DR: Disclosed as mentioned in this paper is a method of internally encrypting data in a relational database, comprising the steps of providing a security dictionary comprising one or more security catalogs, receiving data from a user associating said data with a database column and at least one authorized user, generating a working encryption key, internal encrypting said working encrypted key using a public key from an authorized user and storing encrypted working key in a security catalog, and using said working key to internally encrypt said data.
Abstract: Disclosed is a method of internally encrypting data in a relational database, comprising the steps of providing a security dictionary comprising one or more security catalogs, receiving data from a user associating said data with a database column and at least one authorized user, generating a working encryption key, internally encrypting said working encryption key using a public key from an authorized user, storing said encrypted working key in a security catalog, and using said working key to internally encrypt said data.

Patent
10 Apr 2001
Abstract: A decoder dynamically terminates iteration calculations in the decoding of a received convolutionally coded signal using quality index criteria. In a turbo decoder with two recursion processors connected in an iterative loop, at least one additional recursion processor is coupled in parallel at the inputs of at least one of the recursion processors. All of the recursion processors perform concurrent iterative calculations on the signal. The at least one additional recursion processor calculates a quality index of the signal for each iteration. A controller terminates the iterations when the measure of the quality index criteria exceeds a predetermined level.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Apr 2001
TL;DR: This paper proposes a novel ranking scheme for popular topics that places the most authoritative pages on the query topic at the top of the ranking, and presents a prototype search engine that implements the scheme and discusses its performance.
Abstract: In response to a query a search engine returns a ranked list of documents. If the query is on a popular topic (i.e., it matches many documents) then the returned list is usually too long to view fully. Studies show that users usually look at only the top 10 to 20 results. However, the best targets for popular topics are usually linked to by enthusiasts in the same domain which can be exploited. In this paper, we propose a novel ranking scheme for popular topics that places the most authoritative pages on the query topic at the top of the ranking. Our algorithm operates on a special index of “expert documents.” These are a subset of the pages on the WWW identified as directories of links to non-affiliated sources on specific topics. Results are ranked based on the match between the query and relevant descriptive text for hyperlinks on expert pages pointing to a given result page. We present a prototype search engine that implements our ranking scheme and discuss its performance. With a relatively small (2.5 million page) expert index, our algorithm was able to perform comparably on popular queries with the best of the mainstream search engines.

Patent
31 Oct 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, a real-image projection apparatus is used for a portable device (140), where an optical projector (110) emits light that is capable of forming an image and a collapsible screen (120) has a collapsed surface area no larger than substantially the surface area of a side of the portable device.
Abstract: A compact real-image projection apparatus is used for a portable device (140). An optical projector (110) emits light that is capable of forming an image. A collapsible screen (120) has a collapsed surface area no larger than substantially the surface area of a side of the portable device and an expanded surface area capable of receiving the light emitted from the optical projector (110). A retractable connecting member (150) is coupled between the screen (120) and the optical projector (110) and has at least a stowed position and an extended position. The extended position is configured to hold the screen (120) and the optical projector (110) relative to one another such that the light emitted from the optical projector forms a real image on the screen.

Patent
22 Jun 2001
TL;DR: In this article, a communication system distributes the functions of a socket abstraction layer of the prior art between a client communication device and an agent communication device, such as an infrastructure serving the mobile subscriber.
Abstract: A communication system distributes the functions of a socket abstraction layer of the prior art between a socket abstraction layer included in an client communication device, such as a mobile subscriber, and a socket abstraction layer in a an agent communication device, such as an infrastructure serving the mobile subscriber. By so distributing the functions of the socket abstraction layer, headers may be reduced in signaling between the client communication device and the corresponding agent communication device as part of call set ups and tear downs and in the exchange of payloads between the client and agent communication devices. By reducing the required headers, overhead is reduced and bandwidth is conserved in communications between the client and agent communication devices, such as in over-the-air communications between a mobile subscriber and an infrastructure serving the mobile subscriber, with resulting increases in system capacity and improvements in system efficiency.

Patent
13 Apr 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a software solution that enables users of handheld Internet appliances to automatically transfer information displayed on web sites to local databases associated with handheld Internet appliance applications using a user interface.
Abstract: Systems and methods for transferring Internet content displayed on a web site in a handheld Internet appliance to a local database in the handheld Internet appliance are provided. The systems and methods of the present invention consist of a software solution that enables users of handheld Internet appliances to automatically transfer information displayed on web sites to local databases associated with handheld Internet appliance applications. A user interface is provided in the web sites for enabling users to automatically transfer the information displayed on the web sites into the handheld Internet appliance.