Cisco Technology, Inc.

Creative Labs, Inc.

Matthew F Williams

David P Rossum

Stephen Paul Belair

Sudhakar Mamillapalli

Robert S Crawford

Donald F Ruffcorn

Satisha K Bhat

Venkatasiva Mortala

Michael Guzewicz

Stephan P Belair

Shawn Morrissey

A method is disclosed for providing likely updates to views of group members in unstable group communication systems. A group message is received from a sender associated with a sending node in a network. The group message includes a message view having a counter and an acknowledgment set. The acknowledgment set identifies one or more receiving nodes to which the group message is directed. Issuance of an acknowledgment of the group message to the sending node is deferred. The group message is delivered to the receiving nodes. An acknowledgment of the message is received from one of the receiving nodes. The message view is updated by removing each receiving node that issues an acknowledgment from the acknowledgement set. The updated message view is provided to the sender.

Method and apparatus for providing likely updates to views of group members in unstable group communication systems

A group communication mechanism for optimized reliable non-member group communication through write-only membership is disclosed. The group communication mechanism comprises two or more group member processes that receive all messages that are sent to a group. The group communication mechanism further comprises a non-group member process that has a 'write-only' group membership status and does not receive any messages that are sent to the group. The non-group member process is configured to send (a) one or more messages to the group, and (b) in connection with each message that it sends to the group, a different sequence value. Each sequence value identifies an order of a message relative to other messages that the non-group member process sends to the group.

Method and system for optimized reliable non-member group communication through write-only membership

An audio data format in which an instrument is described using a combination of sound samples and articulation instructions which determine modifications made to the sound sample is provided. The instruments form a first, initial layer, with a second layer having presets which can user defined to provide additional articulation instructions which can modify the articulation instructions at the instrument level. The articulation instructions are specified using various parameters. The present invention provides a format in which all of the parameters are specified in units which relate to a physical phenomena, and thus are not tied to any particular machine for creating or playing the audio samples. The articulation parameters include generators and modulators, which provide a connection between a real-time signal and a generator. The parameter units are specified in perceptually additive units, to make the data portable and easily edited. New units are defined to give perceptual additive parameters throughout.

Method and apparatus for formatting digital audio data

Growing community of inventors

Santa Cruz, CA, United States of America

Matthew F Williams