Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Sony Corporation

Toyoshi Okada

Muneki Shimada

Masakazu Suzuoki

Kenjiro Komaki

Keiso Shimakawa

Yousuke Kimoto

Akio Ohba

Minoru Hashimoto

Masayoshi Tanaka

Kazuhiro Kanee

Takahiro Fujii

Shuji Hiramatsu

Shigeru Enomoto

Tomokazu Kake

Teiji Yutaka

Shinichi Okamoto

Hiromasa Horie

Yuta Kimura

Hidehisa Onai

Mitsuhiro Nakamura

Ken Kutaragi

Masaaki Oka

Makoto Furuhashi

Toshiyuki Hiroi

Toru Akazawa

Masaharu Yoshimori

Yasuyuki Yamamoto

Tsutomu Inui

Yosuke Kimoto

Makoto Kubo

Methods and apparatus in accordance with the present invention are operable to carry out certain functions including: receiving an encrypted program at a processing apparatus; transmitting a machine ID over a network to an administrator; receiving registration data over the network from the administrator in response to the machine ID; transmitting the registration data over the network to a distributor; receiving an encrypted decryption key and an encrypted virtual ID at the processing apparatus over the network from the distributor in response to the registration data; decrypting the encrypted decryption key using the virtual ID, and decrypting the encrypted program using the decryption key; re-encrypting the program using the virtual ID; and storing the encrypted virtual ID and the re-encrypted program in a first storage device.

Methods and apparatus for secure distribution of program content

When a user designates a communication application, a communication server machine searches a database for another user who can have a communication with the former user through the communication application designated by the former user, and then connects the users with each other through the designated communication application. As a result, the users can have an optimum smooth communication.

Communication system

Methods and apparatus in accordance with the present invention are operable to carry out certain functions including: receiving an encrypted program at a processing apparatus; transmitting at least some identification information related to the processing apparatus over a network to an administrator; receiving an encrypted decryption key at the processing apparatus over the network from the administrator in response to the at least some identification information; decrypting the encrypted decryption key; decrypting the encrypted program using the decryption key; re-encrypting the program using at least some of the identification information ; and storing the identification information and the re-encrypted program in a first storage device.

A digital contents distribution system has a multi-layered structure including a server device (CS device) of one or a small number of managers which are each to be a manager main body, a plurality of server devices (DS devices) of middle managers, and client terminal devices (SC terminal devices) of a large number of users. Accesses from the respective users are processed in the server devices of respective ones of the middle managers. It is therefore possible to prevent an inconvenience in which the accesses from a large number of users concentrate on the CS device of the manager. As a result, it is possible to reduce the load imposed on the CS device, and to perform a smooth distribution service of digital contents.

Contents distribution system

A display apparatus including a communication line connected to a network, an information acquisition device for acquiring in real time at least information relating to a predetermined site on the network via the communication line, the communication line being held by a communication line holding device. The display apparatus includes a display control device for displaying in real time information relating to a plurality of sites acquired by the information acquisition device, and forming symbols corresponding to the plurality of sites, displaying the symbols three-dimensionally in a contrastable state from each other. The information acquired by the information acquisition device is displayed will a symbol, which corresponds to the site, and the information acquisition device acquires at least one of or a plurality of pieces of information indicating congestion status, update status, response, type, popularity, cost, and links of each site, and congestion status of the network.

Display apparatus for accessing desired web site

A management server receives first user identification information and designation information for designating a service which are sent from a user terminal; detects specific information corresponding to a service provider which provides the desired service from a database containing specific information uniquely assigned to each service provider; generates second user identification information based on the detected specific information and the first user identification information; and then transmits the second user identification information to the user terminal. Using the second user identification information, the user terminal accesses the server of the service provider providing the desiring service. This prevents important information such as device IDs from being used when a user receives a service through a network from a service provider other than device manufacturers, and relieves the burden on such service provider upon providing a service.

Method for issuing identification information

Objects which are created in conformity with the data format of objects to be handled in a virtual world are offered to users on the terminal computers of the users independently of the virtual world. The users transmit the offered objects to a server computer which generates the virtual world, while the server computer stores these objects in association with the operators. Since these objects are recorded in a format which can be interpreted by the server computer for generating the virtual world, they can be handled in the virtual world in the same manner as the other objects which have been defined in the virtual world beforehand. Thus, the users are permitted to use in the virtual world objects which are different from the objects which were defined in the virtual world beforehand.

Virtual world system, server computer and information processor

In a contents distributing system, a monitoring server is equipped on a network with which all user terminals being capable of utilizing contents are allowed to connect, and a member card is issued to a user operating the user terminal. In the contents distributed from an information service server, a middleware for storing a history of utilizing contents (log data etc.) to the member card and for transmitting this history of utilizing contents along with a user ID to the monitoring server is embedded. The monitoring server generates utilization information indicating how much the particular contents are utilized by the user, based on the collected history of utilizing contents and the collected user ID.

Method and system for monitoring utilizing condition of contents, computer program and recording medium

An ID (MID) is attached to each individual optical disk, and content is encrypted with a Content-Key and registered. In addition, a system server device maintains a Client ID of a client terminal device, HDD-ID of a hard disk drive (HDD), and MC-ID of a memory card respectively held as user entry information. When the user wants to copy the content, together with the optical disk MID, the MC-ID is sent to the system server side. The system server device identifies the user by referencing the MC-ID in the user entry information, and returns a Content-Key, which is used when encoding content. On the user side, content stored in the optical disk is decrypted using the returned Content-Key and copied to the HDD. Accordingly, copying of content is allowed only for an authorized user who is the lawful owner of the storage media.

Computer program copy management system

The present invention relates to the architecture and use of a computer system optimized for the efficient modeling of graphics. The computer system has a primary processor and a graphics processor. The primary processor has two vector processor units within it, one which is closely connected to central processor unit. Simultaneously performing complex modeling calculations on the first vector processor and CPU, and geometry transformation calculations on the second vector processor, allows for efficient modeling of graphics. Furthermore, the graphics processor is optimized to rapidly switch between data flow from the two vector processors. In addition, the graphics processor is able to render many pixels simultaneously, and has a local memory on the graphics processor chip that acts as a frame buffer, texture buffer, and z buffer. This allows a high fill rate to the frame buffer.

Game system with graphics processor

An entertainment apparatus is configured to enable a program for an older version of the apparatus to be executed. In a normal mode, a main processing unit (MPU) operates as a main CPU, a graphics processor (GP) operates as a graphics processor, and an input/output subprocessor (IOP) operates as a subprocessor for input and output. In a compatible mode in which a program for an older version of the apparatus is executed, the IOP capable of executing the program for the older version of the apparatus operates as a main CPU, and the MPU and GP emulate a graphics processor for the older version of the apparatus.

Entertainment apparatus having compatibility and computer system

The second graphic data for display is obtained by performing reduction processing using over-sampling on the first graphic data corresponding to the image generated by performing texture mapping processing based on polygon data, thereby the resolution of an image comprising the first graphic data is enhanced maintaining the memory capacity minimized, thus the display resolution of the second graphic data is enhanced. Further, each pixel of an component of the second graphic data is the average value of adjacent four pixels in the first graphic data, hence, for example, a 16 bit direct color image is equivalent to a 24-bit full color image.

Method and system for generating graphic data

There are provided a geometry transfer engine (GTE) 61 and a graphic processing unit (GPU 62) which act in combination as a transforming means for converting three-dimensional image data retrieved from a CD-ROM disk into two-dimensional image data for drawing an image on a two-dimensional display screen, and a frame buffer 63 which serves as a memory having an image data storage area (picture data area) for storage of the image data and at least a color data tables storage area (CLUT area) for storage of multiple color lookup data tables in a two-dimensional arrangement, each color data table including a color data wherein the structure is arranged substantially identical to that of each pixel of data in the image. A greater number of colors are thus facilitated and the data processing is simplified.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Toyoshi Okada