Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.p.

Hewlett-Packard Company

Simon Edwin Crouch

John Deryk Waters

James Thomas Edward McDonnell

Michael P Spratt

Andrew D Thomas

Jonathan Jedwab

Rycharde Jeffery Hawkes

Miranda Jane Mowbray

Alan R Albrecht

Colin S I'Anson

Lawrence Wilcock

Alistair Neil Coles

James Andrew Davis

Joseph A Curcio

Kenneth Graham Paterson

Martin Sadler

Daniel J Dove

Stephen John Hinde

David George Cunningham

Steven H Goody

Huw Edward Oliver

Eric Henri Deliot

Johannes Maria V Daanen

A method for controlling a computer entity to participate in a peer to peer network of a plurality of computer entities comprises, for each computer entity, operating a peer to peer protocol for enabling the computer entity to utilise resources of at least one other computer entity of the network, and for enabling at least one other computer entity of the network to utilise resources of the computer entity. Each computer entity is arranged to automatically operate a process for managing at least one other computer entity in the network, whenever the computer entity takes part in the peer to peer network using the peer to peer protocol.

Use of nodes to monitor or manage peer to peer networks

Location data about a mobile entity () is provided in encrypted form by a location server () to a recipient that is one of the mobile entity () or a service system () usable by the mobile entity. The location data (P) is encrypted such that it can only to be decrypted using a secret available to a decryption entity () that is not under the control of the recipient. This permits location data (P) to be provided in a confidential manner to service systems () and also protects billing relationships between participants. A mechanism is also described for limiting the accuracy of decrypted location data (L) made available to a service system ().

Providing location data about a mobile entity

Location data about a mobile entity () is periodically provided to a location-sensitive application, for example, a route-tracking application. The location data is updated at a frequency that is adaptively varied in dependence on the provision of location data about the mobile entity from other sources (). The update frequency can also be made dependent on further factors such as: the motion of the mobile entity('V'), the current environment of the mobile entity ('E'), and the progress of the location-sensitive application (&#x201c;Z&#x201d;).

Obtaining location updates about a mobile entity for use in a location-sensitive application

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of modelling a network comprising operating the network as a neural network and executing a neural network modelling algorithm on the network, whereby the network models its own response to a requested action.

Network modelling

Location information about a communicating entity (), in particular a mobile entity, is derived by identifying intermediate nodes () along the communication path being used by the entity, and then looking up, in a database (), the geographic significance of at least one of these nodes when considered in a direction along the communication path towards the entity of interest. Preferably, account is taken of any identified downstream/upstream nodes to refine the geographic significance of a node. The geographic significance information can be compiled by taking location fixes at a plurality of endpoint locations and associating the location data thus obtained with the intermediate nodes traversed when communication is effected from the corresponding endpoint locations.

Deriving location information about a communicating entity

A browser with a sound input receives a sound passage associated with a content site. The browser sends a representation of the sound passage to a service system where it is compared with stored representations of sound passages that each have an associated URI. On finding a match, the service system sends back the URI associated with the matched stored sound-passage representation. The browser uses this URI to access the content site.

Sound link translation

A method and device is provided for obscuring the location of a mobile entity to a specified accuracy level. Available location data that has a known accuracy greater than the specified accuracy has its accuracy decreased (85) by combining with the components of the available location data, additional components randomized over a range set by the difference between the known accuracy of the available location data and the specified accuracy level.

A mobile entity ( ) provides accuracy limit data (Q) that indicates a desired accuracy of location data (L) about the mobile entity. This data (Q) is passed, either directly or indirectly from the mobile entity ( ), to a location handling system ( ) which provides location data (L) about the corresponding mobile entity limited to the desired accuracy. In one embodiment, the location handling system is a location server. In another embodiment the location handling system is a decryption entity ( ) for decrypting encrypted location data.

A method for searching for a lost asset equipped with a short-range wireless transceiver includes a finder service sending out a search request including a lost-asset identifier, this request being sent over a mobile radio infrastructure to a plurality of mobile devices. These devices transmit on the request in their immediate vicinity using short-range wireless transceivers. Upon a mobile device receiving back a response from the lost asset, it returns a found message over the mobile radio infrastructure to the finder service. This message includes location data concerning the whereabouts of the lost asset or the message enables such data to be obtained by the finder service.

System and method for a distributed search for a lost asset

A distributed telemetry method is effected by coordinating the taking of readings of a parameter by mobile phone users, the parameter readings being then sent to a service system together with location information on the users. Collating the readings and location information enables a representation to be generated of the geographic variation of the measured parameter. Incentives can be offered to encourage cell phone users to participate in the telemetry method.

Distributed telemetry method and system

A data packet is transmitted by dividing it into sub-packets, for example by distributing successive bytes of the data packet to different sub-packets each containing at most p.sup.n -1 symbols, where p is a prime number, and transmitting the sub-packets along two or more respective paths. CRC checksums are added to the sub-packets, the checksum for each path being generated using a different and respective generator polynomial of degree b. These generator polynomials are selected so that, for arithmetic carried out modulo p, each polynomial has a respective factor of degree at least b-n+1, and the collection of polynomials which are each exactly divisible by all such factors constitutes a BCH code. As a result the system has advantageous properties in respect of error detection and implementation.

System and method for transmitting data

Data code block transmission using preselected control signals and

Encoding data

A method for transmitting data packets, grouped as data octets, over a LAN having a central hub linked to each of a plurality of network nodes via a physical medium consisting of four pairs of unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. The transmission method sequentially divides the data into data quintets. The quintets are then arranged into blocks of data quintets and sequentially distributed into four individual serial code streams. The four serial code streams are sequentially scrambled to produce four streams of randomized quintets. The randomized data streams are sequentially block encoded into 6-bit symbol data which are then transmitted using NRZ modulation across the network by transmitting each data stream over one of said pairs of cable.

High speed data transfer over twisted pair cabling

A data stream to be communicated over a plurality of channels is divided into blocks (A1,B1,C1,D1,A2,B2, . . . ), and each successive block is transmitted along a different channel (A,B,C,D) on a cyclic basis. To reduce or eliminate the possibility of undetectable errors occurring owing to noise affecting all channels simultaneously and thereby corrupting data in several successive blocks propagating in parallel through the channels, the blocks in at least one channel (A,B) are offset in time relative to the blocks in another channel (C,D). In the case of four channels, such as four-conductor cable, the blocks on two channels are offset by half the length of a block relative to the blocks on the remaining two channels.

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Bristol, United Kingdom

Simon Edwin Crouch