U.S. patent application number 12/170925 was filed with the patent office on 2010-01-14 for advertisement forwarding storage and retrieval network.
Invention is credited to Gene Fein, Edward Merritt.
Application Number | 20100011084 12/170925 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41427980 |
Filed Date | 2010-01-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100011084 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fein; Gene ; et al. |
January 14, 2010 |
ADVERTISEMENT FORWARDING STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL NETWORK
Abstract
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for
to advertisement forwarding storage and retrieval network. A method
includes, in a network of interconnected computer system nodes,
directing advertisement to a computer memory, directing data to a
computer memory, continuously forwarding each of the unique data,
independent of each other, from one computer memory to another
computer memory in the network of interconnected computer system
nodes without storing on any physical storage device in the
network, continuously forwarding each of the unique advertisements,
independent of each other, from one computer memory to another
computer memory in the network of interconnected computer system
nodes without storing on any physical storage device in the
network, and retrieving one of the advertisements in response to an
activity.
Inventors: |
Fein; Gene; (Malibu, CA)
; Merritt; Edward; (Lenox, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP
ONE INTERNATIONAL PLACE, 20th FL, ATTN: PATENT ADMINISTRATOR
BOSTON
MA
02110
US
|
Family ID: |
41427980 |
Appl. No.: |
12/170925 |
Filed: |
July 10, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/212 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/0635 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101; H04L 43/106 20130101; H04L 43/10 20130101;
H04L 67/327 20130101; H04L 67/1097 20130101; G06F 3/067 20130101;
H04L 67/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/212 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/167 20060101
G06F015/167; G06Q 30/00 20060101 G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: in a network of interconnected computer
system nodes, directing a plurality of advertisement to a node;
directing a plurality of unique data items to a node; in response
to a request from a source system, continuously forwarding each of
the unique data items, independent of each other, among the nodes
in the network of interconnected computer system nodes without
storing the forwarded data items on any fixed storage medium in the
network, the forwarded data items being constantly routed within
the network from node to node, the forwarded data items being
available for retrieval if a request to retrieve the data items is
received; storing the advertisements by continuously forwarding
each of the unique advertisements, independent of each other, among
the nodes in the network of interconnected computer system nodes
without storing the forwarded advertisements on any fixed storage
medium in the network, the forwarded advertisements being
constantly routed within the network from node to node; and
retrieving one of the advertisements in response to an
activity.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein continuously forwarding further
comprises: detecting a presence of any one of the unique data items
or advertisements at a specific node; and forwarding the one of the
unique data items or advertisements to another node in the network
of interconnected computer system nodes without storing the
forwarded data items on any fixed storage medium.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein forwarding comprises determining
an address of a node available to receive the unique data items or
advertisement based on one or more factors.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the one or more factors comprise
network traffic analysis and available memory.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving a request
from the source system to retrieve at least one of the data items
being continuously forwarded in the network of interconnected
computer system nodes; retrieving the at least one of the data
items from a node in response to the request to retrieve the at
least one of data items; and matching a user of the request to an
activity to target specific advertisement to be retrieved.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein retrieving comprises: matching the
data item or advertisement request at a central server using a hash
mark representing the data item and advertisement entering a node;
sending a message to a node that is predicted to have the data item
or advertisement, the message instructing the node to forward the
data item or advertisement to the source system; and sending a
confirmation message to the central server that the data item and
advertisement have been forwarded to the source system.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising receiving an
acknowledgment from the source system that the requested data item
has been received.
8. A network comprising: a group of interconnected computer system
nodes, each node configured to: in response to a request from a
requesting system to store data items or advertisements, receive at
least one data item and advertisement and continuously forward the
data items and advertisements, among the computer system nodes
independent of each other, without storing the forwarded data items
and advertisements on any fixed storage medium, the forwarded data
items and advertisements being constantly routed from node to node
within the group of interconnected computer system nodes; and in
response to an activity of the requesting system, retrieve a
particular data item being continuously forwarded, among the
computer system nodes along with an advertisement being
continuously forwarded among the computer system nodes.
9. The network of claim 8 wherein each node is: adapted to detect
the presence of data items and forward the data items to another
node in the group of interconnected computer systems nodes
according to a node's availability; and adapted to detect the
presence of advertisement and forward the advertisement to another
node in the group of interconnected computer systems nodes
according to a node's availability.
10. The network of claim 9 wherein the node's availability is
determined according to its volume of network traffic.
11. The network of claim 10 wherein each node encrypts the data
item or advertisement.
12. The network of claim 10 wherein the group of nodes comprises a
central server to: match the data item retrieval request using a
hash mark representing the data item or advertisement entering a
node; send a message to a node that is predicted to have the data
item or advertisement, the message instructing the node to forward
the data item or advertisement to the requesting system; and
receive a confirmation message that the data item or advertisement
has been forwarded to the requesting system.
13. A tangible computer readable medium embodying instructions for
causing a data processing apparatus to perform a method for storing
and retrieving data items and advertisements in a network of
interconnected computer system nodes, the method comprising:
directing a plurality of advertisement to a node; directing a
plurality of unique data items to a node; in response to a request
from a source system, continuously forwarding each of the unique
data items, independent of each other, among the nodes in the
network of interconnected computer system nodes without storing the
forwarded data items on any fixed storage medium in the network,
the forwarded data items being constantly routed within the network
from node to node, the forwarded data items being available for
retrieval if a request to retrieve the data items is received; in
response to the request from the source system, continuously
forwarding each of the unique advertisements, independent of each
other, among the nodes in the network of interconnected computer
system nodes without storing the forwarded advertisements on any
fixed storage medium in the network, the forwarded advertisements
being constantly routed within the network from node to node; and
retrieving one of the advertisements in response to an
activity.
14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein continuously
forwarding further comprises: detecting a presence of any one of
the unique data items or advertisement at a specific node; and
forwarding the one of the unique data items or advertisement to
another node in the network of interconnected computer system nodes
without storing the forwarded data item or advertisement on any
fixed storage medium.
15. The computer readable medium of claim 14 wherein forwarding
comprises determining an address of a node available to receive the
unique data item or advertisement based on one or more factors.
16. The computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein the one or
more factors comprise network traffic analysis and available
memory.
17. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the method
further comprises: receiving a request from the source system to
retrieve at least one of the data items or advertisement being
continuously forwarded in the network of interconnected computer
system nodes; and retrieving the at least one of the data items or
advertisement from a node in response to the request to retrieve
the at least on of the data items or advertisement; and matching a
user of the request to an activity.
18. The computer readable medium of claim 17 wherein retrieving
comprises: matching the data item or advertisement request at a
central server using a hash mark representing the at least one data
item or advertisement entering a node; sending a message to a node
that is predicted to have the at least one data item or
advertisement, the message instructing the node to forward the at
least one data item or advertisement to the source system; and
sending a confirmation message to the central server that the at
least one data item or advertisement have been forwarded to the
source system.
19. The computer readable medium of claim 18 wherein the method
further comprises receiving an acknowledgment from the source
system that the requested at least one data item has been
received.
20. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the
advertisement includes any of text, audio, visual, multiple
configurations in order to satisfy different systems delivery
specifications, or any combination thereof.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] At least some embodiments disclosed herein relate to data
storage, and more particularly, to advertisement forwarding storage
and retrieval network.
[0002] The volume of data that must be stored by individuals,
organizations, businesses and government is growing every year. In
addition to just keeping up with demand, organizations face other
storage challenges. With the move to on-line, real-time business
and government, critical data must be protected from loss or
inaccessibility due to software or hardware failure. Today, many
storage products do not provide complete failure protection and
expose users to the risk of data loss or unavailability. For
example, many storage solutions on the market today offer
protection against some failure modes, such as processor failure,
but not against others, such as disk drive failure. Many
organizations are exposed to the risk of data loss or data
unavailability due to component failure in their data storage
system.
[0003] The data storage market is typically divided into two major
segments, i.e., Direct Attached Storage (DAS) and Network Storage.
DAS includes disks connected directly to a server.
[0004] Network Storage includes disks that are attached to a
network rather than a specific server and can then be accessed and
shared by other devices and applications on that network. Network
Storage is typically divided into two segments, i.e., Storage Area
Networks (SANs) and Network Attached Storage (NAS).
[0005] A SAN is a high-speed special-purpose network (or
subnetwork) that interconnects different kinds of data storage
devices with associated data servers on behalf of a larger network
of users. Typically, a SAN is part of the overall network of
computing resources for an enterprise. A storage area network is
usually clustered in close proximity to other computing resources
but may also extend to remote locations for backup and archival
storage, using wide area (WAN) network carrier technologies.
[0006] NAS is hard disk storage that is set up with its own network
address rather than being attached to the local computer that is
serving applications to a network's workstation users. By removing
storage access and its management from the local server, both
application programming and files can be served faster because they
are not competing for the same processor resources. The NAS is
attached to a local area network (typically, an Ethernet network)
and assigned an IP address. File requests are mapped by the main
server to the NAS file server.
[0007] All of the above share one common feature that can be an
Achilles tendon in more ways than one, i.e., data is stored on a
physical medium, such as a disk drive, CD drive, and so forth.
SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION
[0008] The present invention provides methods and apparatus,
including computer program products, for advertisement forwarding
storage and retrieval network.
[0009] In general, in one aspect, the invention features a method
including, in a network of interconnected computer system nodes,
directing advertisement to a computer memory, directing data to a
computer memory, continuously forwarding each of the unique data,
independent of each other, from one computer memory to another
computer memory in the network of interconnected computer system
nodes without storing on any physical storage device in the
network, continuously forwarding each of the unique advertisements,
independent of each other, from one computer memory to another
computer memory in the network of interconnected computer system
nodes without storing on any physical storage device in the
network, and retrieving one of the advertisements in response to an
activity.
[0010] In another aspect, the invention features a network
including a group of interconnected computer system nodes each
adapted to receive data and advertisements, continuously forward
the data and advertisements from computer memory to computer
memory, independent of each other, without storing on any physical
storage device in response to a request to store the data or
advertisements from a requesting system and retrieve a particular
data being continuously forwarded from computer memory to computer
memory, along with an advertisement being continuously forwarded
from computer memory to computer memory, in response to an activity
of the requesting system.
[0011] The details of one or more implementations of the invention
are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description
below. Further features, aspects, and advantages of the invention
will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not
limitation in the FIGs. of the accompanying drawings in which like
references indicate similar elements.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary network.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary user system.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary network
system.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a process.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Unlike peer to peer networks, which use data forwarding in a
transient fashion so that data is eventually stored on a physical
medium such as a disk drive, the present invention is a continuous
data forwarding system, i.e., data is stored by continually
forwarding it from one node memory to another node memory.
[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary network 10 includes a user
system 12 and a number of network systems 14, 16, 18, 20, 22. Each
of the network systems 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 can be considered to be a
node in the network 10 and one such network system may be
designated as a central server, such as network system 14, which
may assume a control position in network 10. Each of the nodes 14,
16, 18, 20, 22 may be established as a privately controlled network
of peers under direct control of the central server 14. Peered
nodes may also be a mix of private and public nodes, and thus not
under the direct physical control of the central server 14. The
network 10 may also be wholly public where the central server 14
(or servers) has no direct ownership or direct physical control of
any of the peered nodes.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the user system 12 can include a
processor 30, memory 32 and input/output (I/O) device 34. Memory 32
can include an operating system (OS) 36, such as Linux, Apple.RTM.
OS or Windows.RTM., one or more application processes 38, and a
storage process 100, explained in detail below. Application
processes 38 can include user productivity software, such as
OpenOffice or Microsoft.RTM. Office. The I/O device 34 can include
a graphical user interface (GUI) 40 for display to a user 42.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, each of the network systems, such as
network system 14, can include a processor 50 and memory 52. Memory
52 can include an OS 54, such as Linux, Apple.RTM. OS or
Windows.RTM., and a data forwarding process 200, explained in
detail below.
[0023] In traditional systems, application processes 38 need to
store and retrieve data. In these traditional systems, data is
stored on local or remote physical devices. And in some systems,
this data can be segmented into different pieces or packets and
stored locally or remotely on physical mediums of storage. Use of
fixed physical data storage devices add cost, maintenance,
management and generate a fixed physical record of the data,
whether or not that is the desire of the user 42.
[0024] The present invention does not use fixed physical data
storage to store data. When a request to store data is received by
the central server 14 from storage process 100, data is directed to
a node in the network 10 where it is then continuously forwarded
from node memory to node memory in the network 10 by the data
forwarding process 200 in each of the network nodes without storing
on any physical storage medium such as a disk drive. The forwarded
data resides only for a very brief period of time in the memory of
any one node in the network 10. Data is not stored on any physical
storage medium in any network node.
[0025] In a like manner, when a request to retrieve data is
received by the central server 14 from storage process 100, the
requested data, which is being forwarded from node memory to node
memory in the network 10, is retrieved.
[0026] Data forwarded in this manner can be segmented and segments
forwarded as described above. Sill, the segmented data is not
stored on any physical storage medium in any network node, but
merely forwarded from the memory of one node to the memory of
another node.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, storage process 100 includes sending
(102) a request to a central server 14 to store or retrieve data.
If the request is a retrieve data request, storage process 100
receives the requested data from the central server 14 or node in
the network.
[0028] If the request to the central server 14 is a store data
request, storage process 100 receives (104) an address of a node
from the central server 14 and forwards (106) the data to the node
memory represented by the received address. Determining an address
of a node available to receive the data can be based on one or more
factors, such as network traffic analysis, available memory,
combinations of factors, and so forth. A time stamp can be applied
to the data in the computer memory of the specific node.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 5, data forwarding process 200 includes
receiving (202) a request to store or retrieve data. If the
received request is a request to store data, data forwarding
process 200 determines (204) an address of a node available to
receive the data in memory. This determination (204) can include
pinging the network and determining which of the nodes in a network
is available, or determining which node in the network has the
least traffic, or determining which node in the network has the
largest available memory, or any combination of these or other
factors.
[0030] Process 200 sends (206) a message to the user system with
the address of a specific node for the requester to forward the
data.
[0031] Process 200 detects (208) the presence of data in node
memory. Process 200 forwards (210) the data in memory to another
node in the network of nodes and continues to repeat detecting
(208) and forwarding (210) of the data from node memory to node
memory. When data arrives in any node memory, process 200 affixes
(212) a time stamp to the data.
[0032] Forwarding (210) can include pinging the node in the network
to determine which of the nodes in the network is available, or
determining which node in the network has the least traffic, or
determining which node in the network has the largest available
memory, or any combination of these or other factors.
[0033] In one specific example, at the point of entry to a node,
data undergoes an encrypted "handshake" with the node or central
server 14 or user. This can be a public or private encryption
system, such as the Cashmere system, which can use public-private
keys. Cashmere decouples the encrypted forwarding path and message
payload, which improves the performance as the source only needs to
perform a single public key encryption on each message that uses
the destination's unique public key. This has the benefit that only
the true destination node will be able to decrypt the message
payload and not every node in the corresponding relay group.
Cashmere provides the capability that the destination can send
anonymous reply messages without knowing the source's identity.
This is done in a similar way, where the source creates a reply
path and encrypts it in a similar manner as the forwarding
path.
[0034] In another example, other routing schemes are utilized.
[0035] If the received request is a request to retrieve data being
continuously forwarded from node memory to node memory, data
forwarding process 200 matches (214) at the central server 14 using
a hash mark or other unique code that can be "sniffed" by the node
upon the data entering the node via the encryption handshake. This
can occur by pinging the nodes in the network. Process 200 sends
(216) the message to return the data to the user directly to the
node or node state where the central server 14 believes the data
will likely appear. The more the central server 14 can narrow the
node state that it pings to, then the more efficient the retrieval
will become and the less burdened by unnecessary messaging traffic
to nodes that are not necessary for a transaction between the
central server 14 and the node capable of forwarding the data.
[0036] Once the correct node receives the message to forward the
data in node memory to the requester, process 200 forwards (218) in
node memory the data to the requester and forwards (220) a
confirmation message that the data has been sent to the user. This
routing message may be sent directly to the central server 14 or
may be passed to the central server 14 or servers via other node(s)
or supernode(s) in the network 10. Upon the user receiving the
requested data the user's application functions to automatically
ping the central server 14 that the data requested has been
received. Thus the network 10 creates data storage without caching,
downloading and/or storing the data on any physical storage medium.
Data storage and management is accomplished via a continuous
routing of the data from node memory to node memory, the forwarded
data only downloaded when the user requests the data to be returned
to the user from the network 10.
[0037] New nodes and node states may be added and/or deleted from
the network 10 based upon performance. Users may have access to all
nodes or may be segmented to certain nodes or "node states" by the
central server(s) or via the specific architecture of the private,
public or private-public network.
[0038] Individual nodes, nodes states and supernodes may also be
extranet peers, wireless network peers, satellite peered nodes,
Wi-Fi peered nodes, broadband networks, and so forth, in public or
private networks. Peered nodes or users may be used as routing
participants in the network 10 from any valid peer point with the
same security systems employed, as well as custom solutions
suitable for the rigors of specific deployments, such as wireless
encryption schemes for wireless peers, and so forth.
[0039] In process 200, rather than have data cached or held in
remote servers, hard drives or other fixed storage medium, the data
are passed, routed, forwarded from node memory to node memory. The
data are never downloaded until the authorized user calls for the
data. A user on the system may authorize more than one user to have
access to the data.
[0040] A primary goal in process 200 is to generate a data
forwarding storage and management system where the data is never
fixed in physical storage, but in fact, is continually being
routed/forwarded from node memory to node memory in the network.
The path of the nodes to which data is forwarded may also be
altered by the central server 14 to adjust for system capacities
and to eliminate redundant paths of data that may weaken the
security of the network due to the increased probability of data
path without this feature.
[0041] This data forwarding storage and management system in which
the data is never fixed in physical storage, but in fact, is
continually being routed/forwarded from node memory to node memory
in the network, can be used as a backend system(s) in many
applications that currently used fixed medium storage. In one
example, this data forwarding storage and management system where
the data is continually being routed/forwarded from node memory to
node memory in the network is used as an advertisement forwarding
and retrieval system. Advertisement is deployed into the data
forwarding storage and management system from a master server or
control station and recalled on demand or in response to a stimulus
or activity. Here, we consider advertisement as a broad term that
can include any content, including, but limited to, text, audio,
visual or any combination thereof. Advertisement can be deployed
into the data forwarding storage network and recalled/retrieved
when needed, e.g., directed to an IP address of a specific user
system, directed to paid and/or unpaid subscribers of applications
within the data forwarding storage network, and/or directed to
users outside of the data forwarding storage network. Advertisement
being continuously forwarded in the data forwarding storage network
can be sent to all users or specifically targeted according to one
or more user characteristics, user profiles, usage patterns,
history and/or past or present viewed page content. The
advertisement being continuously forwarded in the data forwarding
storage network can be displayed to a current user within an
application or web browser or delivered to a wired or wireless
radio, television and/or television network. Advertisements can be
retrieved in response to a stimulus or activity, such as the user's
profile, traffic patterns of one or more users, application
profiles, and so forth. Advertisements can be stored and delivered
in any media form and either pre-configured by specific file type
and size for a specific end user or site delivery
requirements/formats, or delivered and formatted by virtue of the
end user or middleware software compatibility systems.
[0042] In one example, selected advertisement can be delivered to a
user through a web browser. More particularly, a plug-in and/or
helper application can be associated with a user's web browser. In
general, a plug-in is a computer program that interacts with a host
application (a web browser or an email client, for example) to
provide a certain, usually very specific, function "on demand." As
a user navigates to a particular web page, the plug-in can parse
displayed text. The plug-in can then request specific advertisement
being continuously forwarded in the data forwarding storage network
that matches the parsed text to the web browser of the user for
display in a section of the display screen or as a pop-up.
[0043] In another example, a user requesting retrieval of a data
file being continuously forwarded in the data forwarding storage
network may be presented with specific advertisement being
continuously forwarded in the data forwarding storage network that
matches the user's profile. The user's profile may include various
personal and/or demographic data that aids in directing appropriate
advertisement to the user. The advertisement may then be displayed
as a banner or in a shared window or in a separate window.
[0044] In each of the examples above, the network includes a group
of interconnected computer system nodes each adapted to receive
data and advertisement and continuously forward the data and
advertisement from computer memory to computer memory, independent
of each other, without storing on any physical storage device, in
response to a request to store the data from a requesting system
and retrieve data being continuously forwarded from computer memory
to computer memory in response to a request to retrieve the data
from the requesting system. Each node in the network is adapted to
detect the presence of a data and advertisement in its memory and
forward the data and advertisement to a computer memory of another
node in the interconnected computer systems nodes according to a
node's availability. The node's availability can be determined
according to its volume of network traffic. Each node can encrypt
the data.
[0045] A central node can be adapted to match the data retrieval
request at a central server using a hash mark representing the data
or advertisement entering a node, send a message to a node that is
predicted to have the data or advertisement in memory, the message
instructing the node to forward the data and/or advertisement in
memory to the requester, and send a confirmation message to the
central server that the data or advertisement in memory has been
forwarded to the requester.
[0046] As shown in FIG. 6, a process 300 includes directing (302)
advertisement to a computer memory. The advertisement can include
any content, including, but limited to, text, audio, visual or any
combination thereof. The advertisement can include multiple
configurations in order to satisfy different systems delivery
specifications. Advertisements can be stored and delivered in any
media form and either pre-configured by specific file type and size
for a specific end user or site delivery requirements/formats, or
delivered and formatted by virtue of the end user or middleware
software compatibility systems.
[0047] Process 300 directs (304) data to a computer memory.
[0048] Process 300 continuously forwards (306) each of the unique
data, independent of each other, from one computer memory to
another computer memory in the network of interconnected computer
system nodes without storing on any physical storage device in the
network.
[0049] Process 300 continuously forwards (308) each of the unique
advertisements, independent of each other, from one computer memory
to another computer memory in the network of interconnected
computer system nodes without storing on any physical storage
device in the network.
[0050] Process 300 retrieves (310) one of the advertisements in
response to an activity.
[0051] The invention can be implemented to realize one or more of
the following advantages. A network creates data storage without
caching or downloads. Data storage and management are accomplished
via a constant routing of the data.
[0052] Embodiments of the invention can be implemented in digital
electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software,
or in combinations of them. Embodiments of the invention can be
implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program
tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine
readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution
by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus,
e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers.
A computer program can be written in any form of programming
language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can
be deployed in any form, including as a stand alone program or as a
module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a
computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be
executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or
distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a
communication network.
[0053] Method steps of embodiments of the invention can be
performed by one or more programmable processors executing a
computer program to perform functions of the invention by operating
on input data and generating output. Method steps can also be
performed by, and apparatus of the invention can be implemented as,
special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable
gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated
circuit).
[0054] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program
include, by way of example, both general and special purpose
microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of
digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions
and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both.
The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing
instructions and one or more memory devices for storing
instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or
be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or
both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,
magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. Information
carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and
data include all forms of non volatile memory, including by way of
example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and
flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or
removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM
disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or
incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry.
[0055] It is to be understood that the foregoing description is
intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention,
which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other
embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *