Sony Corporation

Hiroto Narioka

Kazushi Yoshida

Hiroyuki Bando

Masafumi Minami

Ryuichi Watanabe

Masahiro Kobayashi

Takeo Inagaki

Takashi Kuwayama

Yuji Kumai

Takayuki Yumoto

A hierarchical hysteresis menu area is such an area in which the hysteresis information from the hysteresis of past operations up to the current hierarchical layer is displayed responsive to an operation on an operating unit and in which selection by a user is made using the operating unit. As the hierarchy progresses, new rows such as 'Top Menu', ' . . . Menu A', &#x201c; . . . Menu A-&#x201d; are created progressively, until the current layer [ . . . menu A-&#x201c; . . . menu A-&#x201d;] is demonstrated as the lowermost layer. Indents and marks are used to denote a hierarchical structure. If a cursor is moved by an operating unit to decide on a certain selected layer, reversion may be made directly to the layer. The current menu area indicates the item of the current layer. A folder mark is displayed for a menu having a further lower item. The current hierarchical layer is indicated in this manner in the operating menu system of a hierarchical structure employing a user interface device.

Information processing method and apparatus and information processing program

An information providing device for providing various provide information formed with the predetermined format responding to a transfer request, and the information receiving system comprised of information processing device for receiving the provide information to be transmitted from the information providing device via the predetermined network and conducting information processing; the information providing device forms provide information by describing the comment data with the format readable by the information processing device in the comment area set with the format according to the predetermined program of the provider side, the information processing device receives the provided information to be transmitted via the network, and analyzing this according to the predetermined analyzing program, reads out the comment data of comment area, and delivers the comment data to the predetermined application software and conducts the predetermined information processing according to the application software.

Information system, method, device and method providing system for conveying predetermined information as comment data

Information receiving system, information receiving method, information providing device, information providing method, information providing method providing medium, information processing device, information processing method and information processing method providing medium

A position information generating unit of a personal computer generates position information using GPS and/or PHS, and outputs the generated information to a supplementary information generating unit. The generating unit supplements the position information from the position information generating unit with additional information such as map data, and outputs the supplemented information to an HTML generating unit. The HTML generating unit generates an HTML file out of the supplemented position information from the supplementary information generating unit, and transmits the generated file to a content server. A position information transmission-reception control unit of the content server stores the HTML-format position information thus sent from the personal computer into a storage unit. An HTML acquiring unit of the personal computer acquires position information in HTML format about another member from the storage of the position information transmission-reception control unit, and causes the obtained information to appear on a display unit.

Information processing apparatus and method, and program storage medium

A digital map display zooming method for continuously enlarging and reducing a displayed portion of a digital map as map information in digital form within a display screen is provided which comprises the steps of displaying the displayed portion of the digital map at the display screen, displaying a scroll part within the display screen for shifting the displayed portion, making the scroll part function as a scale setting part for carrying out enlarging and reducing operations of the displayed portion of the digital map within the display screen, and carrying out enlarging and reducing operations of the displayed portion of the digital map within the display screen by shifting a shifting operation part of the scale setting part.

Digital map display zooming method, digital map display zooming device, and storage medium for storing digital map display zooming program

A remote control system is constructed from a simple device configuration in which a device like a relay is not used. A higher degree of flexibility is provided to types of devices to be controlled which can be remotely controlled, and a control device which performs remote control. ABILITY information indicating the ability of an input operation function of the control device is transmitted from the control device to the device to be controlled. The device to be controlled creates conversion-into-remote-controller data on the basis of this ability information and transmits the data to the control device. Then, the control device creates a GUI by using the received conversion-into-remote-controller data. As a result, an electronic device serving as a control device can function as a remote controller which remotely controls a specific device to be controlled.

Remote control system, electronic device, and program

Disclosed is an information processing apparatus including a device for measuring a position, a time generator for generating time data representing times of day at which the positions are measured, a storage for storing data constituted by the measured position measuring and by an output of the time generator, the two outputs having an associative relation established therebetween, and an outputting device for outputting the stored data from the storage to an external entity.

A navigation apparatus allowing a user to know an outline of a route searched for and selected. The apparatus includes: a searching element for searching for a route to a destination; a determining element for determining a pattern of the route searched for by the searching element; an extracting element for extracting information pertaining to the route searched for by the searching element; a preparing element for preparing an abstract of the route by applying the information extracted by the extracting element to the pattern determined by the determining element; and an outputting element for outputting the abstract of the route prepared by the preparing element.

Apparatus and method for navigation and medium for providing the method

An apparatus for providing map information includes a route calculating module for extracting crossing information on a map, a navigation guidance generating module for generating images near the crossing extracted and a rally map generating module for disposing the generated images near the crossing in fixed sequence, and is constructed to output the images of the crossing disposed in the fixed sequence. Therefore, even if a personal computers are not provided with the same software and a navigation apparatus made by the same manufacturer and a portable computer are not carried, it is able to provide the apparatus for providing map information that is possible to provide or use easily to understand searched route information.

Apparatus and method for providing map information in image form

The present invention enables to provide a route information obtained by a search, even in a personal computer not provided with the same application software. The present invention includes: a route calculation module for creating a predetermined sequence of image information representing a route connecting at least two points of a starting point and a destination; a navigation guidance creation module; and a self-reproduction file creation module for creating a reproduction control data for reproducing the predetermined sequence of image information and filing the image information and the reproduction control data.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Hiroto Narioka