Internet appliance

About: Internet appliance is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1974 publications have been published within this topic receiving 43571 citations.

Method and Apparatus for Accessing and Interacting With An Internet Web page

Abstract: A facility is provided for interfacing the Internet with a telecommunications network and vice versa so that a user who does not have access to the Internet may, nevertheless, provide a Web page and update the Web page via the telecommunications network and so that a user may access the telecommunications network via the Internet.

Guideposts for Going on Line

Abstract: Public relations professionals scramble to establish direct or indirect access to the Internet for their organizations or clients Communicating effectively in this era of information overload is the public relations challenge of the late '90s and beyond. On the Information Superhighway today, the consumer sits in the driver's seat. With a few keystrokes, a cybernaut can zap a message, fire off a response, start a controversy, squelch a rumor, offer an opinion, ask a question, or buy a product or service. By the same token, the purveyors of information on the Internet and elsewhere have access to the same arsenal of research, communications and data collection resources. Several public relations firms, particularly those with high-tech clients, have already launched their clients and often themselves into cyberspace (see article, page 28). But most are tentatively approaching the on-ramp to the I-way. The proliferation of interactive technologies is putting all kinds of publics within reach of two-way communications with government, social and commercial entities. While sources of information are mushrooming, the act of communication has become highly personalized. Growing numbers of people spend most of their productive hours sitting in front of a computer terminal. Through on-line services or other links, they can access a dizzying array of information, including - but certainly not limited to - press releases and "sponsored" communications. This constantly changing global complex of interconnected networks is called the Internet. "Picture a transcontinental system of superhighways that connects major cities. Smaller freeways branch off the cities to link small towns and byways. This is the Internet - a network of networks with resources dispersed among thousands of individual computers around the world." That description by Kim LaSalle, an independent practitioner, was published in the Indianapolis Business Journal in March. She is the author of an Internet primer. Surfing the Net Thanks to programs that organize each network's information, users can browse or "surf" the Internet for information they want and need. Networks that arrange their material for browsing are said to be part of the World Wide Web. Thus, the software used to navigate the Web is often referred to as a "web browser." An interactive organizer that serves as a table of contents for an institution, public relations firm, or other "host" organization on the Net is called a "home page" (see Glossary, page 34). "Based on average growth over the past four years, Internet hosts are expected to hit 100 million by the first quarter of 1999," LaSalle predicted recently. The commercial domain of the Internet grew 36% in the last quarter of 1994. There are now about four million commercial hosts, our sources estimated. More than 40 million people have direct access to the Internet or are connected to other networks that link up with the Internet. Other networks include private bulletin board systems (BBS) and government networks. Internet use is currently growing at a rate of 10% to 15% per month. A number of public relations professionals and journalists contacted for this Industry Report were skeptical about the Internet's viability right now. Few disputed that this vast web of information, or something like it, will be the wave of the future. No road maps "The Internet is important because it's providing people worldwide with a way to inexpensively link up with one another," said Ron Solberg, APR. He's president of EasyCom, Inc. in Downers Grove, IL. "It's still difficult to navigate...like the nation's highway system before the interstate system was built. There are no road maps that can get you through the system easily....But a form of it will be in our future." Solberg founded and is the sysop (systems operator) of the Public Relations and Marketing Forum (PRSIG) on CompuServe. …

A Low-Cost Internet Connection for Intelligent Appliances of Buildings

Abstract: To date, the Internet has been a network connecting mostly desktop PCs, but soon all kinds of intelligent devices containing a small microprocessor will exchange data over the Internet. This will have a big impact on buildings and their technical systems, which now include a number of processor-based devices. Internet connectivity implies a totally new way to control and manage these devices. The potential benefits will be significant. Therefore, the need to design low-cost Internet appliances is worldwide today, and many commercial products are already available. This paper proposes a new technical approach to connect small processor devices to the Internet. The approach makes possible a connection both through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Global Systems for Mobile Communications (GSM) network. The connection is based on networking software programmed in the processor device and a gateway server, which together transfer data between the PSTN and other communication networks. The data communication utilizes the Short Message Service (SMS) and the Extended Machine Interface (EMI) protocol. Besides the low cost, the proposed system has several benefits, such as uncomplicated structure and operation, standardized data transfer, and an ability to be embedded in an 8-bit processor device. Yet, the approach does not require high-speed data communication. Thus, it is especially suitable for applications controlling slow and non-critical building processes. The proposed system was demonstrated by designing a microprocessor device interfaced to an Air Handling Unit (AHU). Sensor data from the AHU was transferred to the Internet through the PSTN and the GSM networks. In addition, a Web-user interface was created for the remote control of the AHU. The results of the pilot project were encouraging and will be used as a basis for further development of the system

Internet Information Server

Abstract: Internet Information Server (IIS) version 4.0 and later expose configuration information and operations through an ADSI interface.