Cisco Technology, Inc.

Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc.

Other

Firdaus Bhathena

Raymond C Kurzweil

Pasha Roberts

Francis A Honor&eacute;

Francis A Honoré

Stephen R Baum

Internet content is coordinated with audio communications, such that two or more parties can view the same media content on the Internet while simultaneously communicating over a traditional telephony network or via voice over network. A user computer displays shared content that corresponds to a second computer's display, such that both parties view the same content on their browsers. Either of the parties is allowed to update the visual content of their browsers. Updates in the visual content are transmitted to the other parties so that all parties view the same, shared content. The shared content can include web pages, forms, applications, images, conferences, and files among other information.

Method and apparatus for coordinating internet multi-media content with telephone and audio communications

Methods and apparatus are described whereby Internet content is coordinated with audio communications, such that two or more parties can view the same media content on the Internet while also simultaneously communicating over a traditional telephony network or by using voice over network implementations. The visual interaction is achieved by having a user computer display shared content that corresponds to a second computer's display, such that both parties will be viewing a copy containing the same content on each of their browsers. The visual interaction further provides a method for allowing either of the parties to update the visual content of their browsers.

Method and apparatus to allow users and representatives to conduct simultaneous voice and joint browsing sessions

A call center system allows a representative and a user to jointly browse World Wide Web content while simultaneously conducting a voice conversation over either a circuit switched or packet switched network. A user may initiate a joint browsing, or synchronous collaboration, session by accessing a web page associated with the call center. A call center server downloads a user applet to the user's computer. The user applet communicates state information about the user computer's browser display, or user view, to the server. The server stores this state information. The server then downloads a service applet to the browser of a selected call center representative. The service applet generates a service view including a representation of the user view and a script frame that controls the representation of the user view. The representative may, for example, alter the representation of the user view by selecting a hyperlink or entering information into an HTML form. The service applet communicates these alterations to the server. The user applet periodically polls the server to detect the representatives alterations to the representation of the user view and updates the user view accordingly. In a similar manner, the user applet conveys to the server the user's alterations to the user view so the representative computer's representation of the user view may be updated. Although only the single user and representative case is described here, multiple users and multiple representatives may conduct a single conference.

Call center system where users and representatives conduct simultaneous voice and joint browsing sessions

A reading system includes a computer and a mass storage device including software comprising instructions for causing a computer to accept an image file generated from optically scanning an image of a document. The software convert the image file into a converted text file that includes text information, and positional information associating the text with the position of its representation in the image file. The reading system has the ability therefore to display the image representation of the scanned image on a computer monitor and permit a user to control operation of the reader by with respect to the displayed image representation of the document by using the locational information associated with the converted text file. Also described are techniques for dual highlighting spoken text and a technique for determining the nearest word to a position selected by use of mouse or other pointing device operating on the image representation as displayed on the monitor.

Reading system displaying scanned images with dual highlighting

Reading system which reads aloud from an image representation of a

A reading machine for a blind or visually impaired person includes a computer system that causes the computer to load a definition file in accordance with the current word whose definition a user desires the reading machine to read aloud, extract from said definition file text corresponding to at least a first definition contained in said file, and synthesize speech corresponding to the extracted text to permit the definition to be read aloud. The reading machine includes a user input device including a user activated button that produces a signal that causes the computer to enter a definition mode to read a definition of current word being spoken by the reading machine.

Reading machine system for the blind having a dictionary

A reading system includes a computer and a mass storage device including software comprising instructions for causing a computer to accept an image file generated from optically scanning an image of a document. The software converts the image file into a converted text file that includes text information, and positional information associating the text with the position of its representation in the image file. The reading system has the ability therefore to display the image representation of the scanned image on a computer monitor and permit a user to control operation of the reader with respect to the displayed image representation of the document by using the locational information associated with the converted text file. Also described are techniques for dual highlighting spoken text and a technique for determining the nearest word to a position selected by use of mouse or other pointing device operating on the image representation as displayed on the monitor.

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Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Firdaus Bhathena