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According to a notice issued by KSE, shares of Wateen were listed in the market starting from 8th of April.
This is a provisional listing. The notice stated that the shares may get to the ready market starting from 27th May 2010.
The opening rate was Rs. 10.
Wateen has also offered its shares for the public subscription on 20 and 21 of April. The price per share was the same.
In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I was notified about this offer quite a while ago but I did not invest any money in this opportunity: why?
Well because I have been monitoring KSE for a while now and I thought that Wateen share price was a bit high. Please note that I am no expert and it is only my personal opinion based on my personal experience at KSE.
Anyway, the first thing that came in my mind is the price of the other company whose owner is the same as of Wateen. Yes I am talking about Bank Alfalah. What is the price of bank Alfalah share?
Nowadays, the price of one share of Bank Alfalah is around Rs. 11
We all know that this is one of the top Banks in Pakistan. If this bank's share value is hovering around Rs. 11 these days then what future can we expect for the internet provider share value? [Which is a young company and possibly is not as financially strong as Alfalah is]
Anyway, let's wait and see where Wateen share value will go: 10+ or below 10 ? : )
on 5march 2012 wateen share rate, plz tell me
plz tell me current rate of wateen share on 5.3.2012
please tell me the current rate of share of wateen on 21-09-2011 thanks
plz tell me wateen shares rate?
i wana know about the wateen shares .is wateen give divedant of his shareholders plz reply me iam shareholder of wateen still did not get any divedant
tell me Wateen shares rate…..
IF ANY BODY HAVE EXTRA AMOUNT PURCHASE THIS SHARES AND SALES THIS SHARES after six months give you a very big profit
i want to by your shares tell me process of it
if you want to buy wateen shares you can contact me. now the current rate is Rs.10 per share but i will give u at Rs.9. contact me
tell me the rate of shares
Please tell me the price of Wateen Share at 25 Jan 2011.
Please let me know the share price at 15 oct 2010, also please let me know the URL link where i got the wateen share price Regards
sir tell me wateen share price for today and kindly tell me what is wateen share future.
and what future of wateen share.
sir wateen progress is very good but which reason wateen share price is very increase day by day and kindly tell me wateen share price for today.
sir kindly tell me wateen share price for today
Hope it will be go forward to invest more in market.
Looking Forward.
Thanks & Regards….
Imran Pasha
Forget it.
Still waiting for a response from Wateen regarding allotment of shares in the public offering of their shares on April 20-21. No intimation even after more than 2 months. Some efficiency.
Dear Sir,
Thanks for your prompt response. I'll be greatful if you can share your views and thoughts on Wateen shares value forecast? It was anticipated that in first year the value will be declined cause of debts but moving forwward to next fiscal year the values are expected to rise. Waiting for your feedback or please email me your thoughts.
Dear Sir,
Thanks for sharing the details and your concerns. Please advise the update if Wateen is listed on KSE or not yet? It was suppose to be on the 27th May but seems not yet? And moreover, did they issued the shares to there customers or not yet?


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City scoop: 12.11.08
Carroll Lane, Crosstown Expressway roadwork canceled
Carroll Lane at South Padre Island Drive no longer will be closed today for utility work, Texas Department of Transportation officials said.
The work has not yet been rescheduled.
Also, road work on the Weber Road on- and off-ramps on South Padre Island Drive has been canceled. It had been planned for today and Friday.
-- Stuart Duncan
TV stations to turn off analog signal to test digital
Corpus Christi television stations will temporarily turn off their analog signals at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for five minutes to help viewers determine whether their television sets will be ready for Feb. 17's Digital Television Transition, according to the Texas Association of Broadcasters.
KIII, KRIS, KAJA, KDF, KORO, KCRP, KUQI, KZTV and KEDT will replace programming on their analog signals with instructions in English or Spanish on how television viewers, who watch free, over-the air broadcast television, can prepare for the digital TV conversion.
Those who already have a digital television signal, through cable or satellite, will see a message on the crawl space of their television at those times reminding them to check all of their television sets to make sure they are receiving digital signals.
-- Stuart Duncan
Greenwood Senior Center hosting Medicare seminar
Medicare-trained counselors will be available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Greenwood Senior Center to help people enroll in Medicare and offer information on financial assistance for prescription drugs.
Those interested are asked to bring their Medicare/Medicaid cards, current prescriptions and financial information to demonstrate need.
The deadline for Medicare fall open enrollment is Dec. 31. For information: 883-3935.
-- Elaine Marsilio
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Need Help? Call us at 1-800-566-8098.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Thank you for your interest in our Campus & Community Research Collaborative! We look forward to your participation at our luncheon event on Thursday, October 2, 11am-2pm, in the Kline Hospitality Suite of Brooks Stadium on the Coastal Carolina University (CCU) Campus.
If you wish to speak with someone directly about this event or if you are unable to attend, please contact Amy Edmunds at email@example.com or 843-349-2441. You may also visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/CCU-Campus-Community-Research Collaborative/425412907572364.
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(Each attendee must fill out a separate registration form).


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Click Here To Watch This Video at Cocky Boys
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Description: Mickelo and Benni Are Both From Montreal, Which You Can Probably Tell by Their Cute Accents. Benni Said Upfront That He "doesn't Play That Game" When It Comes to Sexual Roles -- He's Certain
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- Taxonomy crisis (1)
- citation index (1)
- impact factor (1)
- original species description (1)
- systematics (1)
- taxonomic impediment (1)
- Phylogenetic support values are not necessarily informative : the case of the Serialia hypothesis (a mollusk phylogeny) (2009)
- Background: Molecular phylogenies are being published increasingly and many biologists rely on the most recent topologies. However, different phylogenetic trees often contain conflicting results and contradict significant background data. Not knowing how reliable traditional knowledge is, a crucial question concerns the quality of newly produced molecular data. The information content of DNA alignments is rarely discussed, as quality statements are mostly restricted to the statistical support of clades. Here we present a case study of a recently published mollusk phylogeny that contains surprising groupings, based on five genes and 108 species, and we apply new or rarely used tools for the analysis of the information content of alignments and for the filtering of noise (masking of random-like alignment regions, split decomposition, phylogenetic networks, quartet mapping). Results: The data are very fragmentary and contain contaminations. We show that that signal-like patterns in the data set are conflicting and partly not distinct and that the reported strong support for a "rather surprising result" (monoplacophorans and chitons form a monophylum Serialia) does not exist at the level of primary homologies. Split-decomposition, quartet mapping and neighbornet analyses reveal conflicting nucleotide patterns and lack of distinct phylogenetic signal for the deeper phylogeny of mollusks. Conclusion: Even though currently a majority of molecular phylogenies are being justified with reference to the 'statistical' support of clades in tree topologies, this confidence seems to be unfounded. Contradictions between phylogenies based on different analyses are already a strong indication of unnoticed pitfalls. The use of tree-independent tools for exploratory analyses of data quality are highly recommended. Concerning the new mollusk phylogeny more convincing evidence is needed.
- The taxonomist - an endangered race : a practical proposal for its survival (2011)
- Background: Taxonomy or biological systematics is the basic scientific discipline of biology, postulating hypotheses of identity and relationships, on which all other natural sciences dealing with organisms relies. However, the scientific contributions of taxonomists have been largely neglected when using species names in scientific publications by not citing the authority on which they are based. Discussion: Consequences of this neglect is reduced recognition of the importance of taxonomy, which in turn results in diminished funding, lower interest from journals in publishing taxonomic research, and a reduced number of young scientists entering the field. This has lead to the so-called taxonomic impediment at a time when biodiversity studies are of critical importance. Here we emphasize a practical and obvious solution to this dilemma. We propose that whenever a species name is used, the author(s) of the species hypothesis be included and the original literature source cited, including taxonomic revisions and identification literature - nothing more than what is done for every other hypothesis or assumption included in a scientific publication. In addition, we postulate that journals primarily publishing taxonomic studies should be indexed in ISISM. Summary: The proposal outlined above would make visible the true contribution of taxonomists within the scientific community, and would provide a more accurate assessment for funding agencies impact and importance of taxonomy, and help in the recruitment of young scientists into the field, thus helping to alleviate the taxonomic impediment. In addition, it would also make much of the biological literature more robust by reducing or alleviating taxonomic uncertainty. Keywords: Taxonomy crisis; taxonomic impediment; impact factor; original species description; citation index; systematics


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NGO Nurse Counsellors Job Vacancy at International Medical Corps (IMC) in Suba /Migori/Kisii Kenya (2 Positions)
Nursing Jobs in Kenya
International Medical Corps (IMC) an international non-profit NGO seeks to recruit applicants for the following positions for continuing Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded project in Nyanza, Kenya.
The goal of the project is to prevent new HIV infections through implementation and scale up of combination of evidence informed cost effective prevention (Behavioral, Biomedical and Structural) interventions targeting Key Populations, general population and youths.
This program will be implemented in collaboration and partnership with the Ministry of Health – Government of Kenya's (GoK) provincial, district, and facility level staff and other CDC implementing partners larger
Suba, Migori and Kisii County.
Nurse Counselors (2)
Roles and responsibilities
Provide counselling and psychosocial support to clients at the TEKELEZA drop in centres
Liaise with the Ministry of Health and other partners in provision of HIV care and treatment to clients at the drop in centres.
Coordinate and participate in evidence informed interventions targeting youth, Key Populations and the general population.
Participate in community mobilization and education regarding HIV/AIDS, prevention and therapy.
Minimum requirements
1. Registered Nurse with 4-5 years' experience in busy HIV care and treatment settings.
2. Basic HIV counselling Training and experience.
3. Current nursing council practicing licence.
4. Willingness to work in Suba /Migori/Kisii.
5. Experience working with Key Populations is an added advantage
If you meet the requirements of the above positions, please send your application letter, detailed CV, phone and email contacts of three (3) referees to the attention of HR/Admin Manager, International Medical Corps (IMC) email address firstname.lastname@example.com on or before Friday, 27th September 2013.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Kindly indicate the position on the subject line.


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How Courts Govern America, by Richard Neely
The Imperial Judiciary
How Courts Govern America.
by Richard Neely.
Yale University Press. 233 pp. $15.00.
This is a confused, tendentious, and exasperating book. Yet, coming as it does from a sitting judge—Richard Neely, Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals—it is an important document. Neely's main purpose is to defend the judicial establishment against the charge of undemocratic usurpation that has gained attention in recent years. Instead of denying the extensive policy-making role which courts have assumed, Neely confirms it. Judicial intervention, he contends, is what makes democracy work; that is his answer to the critics of the imperial judiciary. Yet he also acknowledges limits on judicial power. While Neely's analysis is clearly intended to consolidate the broad political power achieved by the judiciary after two decades of activist intervention, his recognition of the incapacities of courts in certain kinds of issues strikes a new and more cautious note in the literature of judicial activism.
Neely's thesis is simple and straightforward—and hardly novel. He argues that the judiciary is required to govern America because the other institutions of government do such a miserable job of it. The legislature in particular does too little. It ignores the most serious social problems—decaying cities, rotten prisons, and overcrowded, inadequate hospitals. It fails to represent the indigent, the aged, blacks, and other minority groups who lack political organization and influence. In fact, Neely says (with the exaggeration that characterizes his writing), legislatures are designed to prevent things from getting done.
Executive officers and bureaucrats, on the other hand, do too much. Captured by special interests, they create "predatory" social programs which benefit client groups and enhance their own institutional power. And political parties are even worse. Their dishonesty and appetite for power is so great that American democracy would utterly collapse if the courts did not stand guard over the ballot box and prevent systematic fraud by the parties.
Neely has no quarrel with the basic perception of the judiciary as an undemocratic institution. Indeed, he delights in drawing foolish analogies between American courts and, say, "military juntas of banana republics." But if courts are not democratic, he argues, neither are the other institutions of American government. The notion of democratic responsiveness, he writes, is a myth that obscures the indifference and inertia which are the most important forces in American political life. The truth is "that the democratic process can be successful only if it is supervised by a nondemocratic institution." That institution is the judiciary.
To be sure, this gives the courts a lot of legislative and policy-making power. But in Neely's experience, judges are better policymakers than anyone the other branches have to offer. They are experts in social science, have received superior educations, and possess greater knowledge and experience of society in general than other decision-makers. In short, judges are "intelligent, resourceful, and concerned human being[s]." That is why people turn to them for protection against other governmental institutions and the political process.
Having described the superior qualities of government by judiciary, Neely considers the sources of judicial authority and legitimacy. It is at this point that his analysis becomes confused. Drawing on his experience on the bench, Neely identifies himself as a legal realist. He states, for example, that in deciding cases, judges do not follow the Constitution or legal rules; they form policy judgments based on their own attitudes and values and then use "casuistic legal reasoning" to justify the result they desire. Constitutional law, according to Neely, is an elaborate deception in which judges speak in code words—"legal mumbo-jumbo"—to conceal the real reasons for their decisions. Neely contends it has ever been thus: judges in the Anglo-American legal tradition have always been "surrogate sovereigns," deeply involved in policy-making.
But if he is a legal realist in describing how courts operate, in considering the sources of judicial authority and prestige Neely celebrates the qualities of neutrality and objectivity. These, he says, distinguish the courts from the other branches of government and provide the key to judicial legitimacy. According to Neely, the judiciary does not ally itself with interest groups. It thereby "prevents itself from becoming an adversary force and retains its position of either neutral arbiter or balancing force." Courts are especially virtuous because they do not engage in bureaucratic aggrandizement, what Neely calls "institutional self-dealing." Judicial neutrality is further encouraged by strict procedural requirements and careful public scrutiny. Suddenly sounding like a judicial conservative, Neely reminds us that constitutionalism and the rule of law depend on the resolution of controversies by "a neutral arbitrator making a principled decision."
Unfortunately, it is not true that courts lack a sense of institutional self-interest and ambition, or that they have no inclination toward bureaucratization. On the contrary, as studies are beginning to point out, there is a disturbing trend toward the bureaucratization of judicial functions, from the selection of cases to the writing of opinions. More importantly, however, Neely's conception of politics is itself truncated and unrealistic, concerned only with government officials making deals with vested interests. Since the judiciary does not have deals to make, Neely concludes that it is nonpolitical or neutral. He is completely oblivious to the issue of democratic accountability and responsibility. Haying concluded that none of the institutions of government is democratic, he ceases to regard the idea of democratic decision-making as meaningful. A large body of opinion thinks otherwise.
But why should a legal realist want to retain the idea of judicial neutrality? Because, to put it in a nutshell, belief in' a distinctive judicial function, based on the impartiality and objectivity of individual judges, continues to be a significant feature of American political culture. For Over fifty years legal realists have been saying that constitutional principles and legal rules are a mystification, that courts are merely political institutions, that the social consequences of judicial decisions, rather than any special fidelity to neutral principles and procedures, confer legitimacy on the courts. Yet as opinion surveys have shown, public acceptance of and confidence in the courts still depend heavily on judicial objectivity and impartiality. The realists have a hard time accepting this fact, but in some sense they must come to terms with it. Hence Neely's attempt to integrate the concept of judicial neutrality into his argument.
Superior though government-by-judiciary may be, even Neely forced to admit that the courts cannot do everything. They are neither qualified in a practical sense nor constitutionally authorized to do so. There are, in short, limits to judicial power.
When may courts properly intervene in policy-making? According to Neely, when the issue at stake is of concern to the public as a whole rather than to a special interest; when the petitioning group lacks access to other policy-making agencies; or when the legislature has avoided dealing with an issue. More specifically, Neely states that where the relief or reform sought is principally money, judicial intervention is not appropriate. In this connection he relates that when the school-financing question came before the West Virginia Supreme Court he dissented from the opinion mandating equal expenditures in all school districts.
The trouble with judicial remedies that necessitate public expenditures, Neely points out, is chat spending requires taxes, and courts "have no responsibility for increasing taxes, an unpleasant task which devolves upon elected officials. . . ." To put it more accurately, courts do not have the power to tax, an incapacity directly related to their nonrepresentative nature. All this may seem pretty elementary, and it is distressing that things have got to the point where it is necessary to invoke bedrock fundamentals—such as democratic control over taxation and spending—in order to restrict judicial power. Neely's recognition of this limitation on the courts is nevertheless significant.
Neely says in conclusion that the way to improve judicial performance is to explain more clearly to the public the political role courts play—a role dictated by the failings of other institutions. The courts' distinctive function is to break through impasses that occur in the political system, and according to Neely judges must be left free to decide when and where such impasses exist. Yet courts do not really have the last word. Judicial intervention, Neely observes, depends on what the other branches of government are willing to tolerate.
Constitutional politics in the United States has not yet degenerated into the kind of chaotic institutional factionalism and rivalry depicted in Neely's account. But if judicial imperialists persist in their challenge to the basic principle of democratic control of public policy, it may yet come to that.


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The LATEST on Helping You Thrive!
The Financial Time Machine: Money Lessons to My Younger Self (08/30/13)
4 Tips to Help 30-Somethings Make Ends Meet (08/28/13)
By the time you reach your 30s, you've got a lot going for you.
Click for additional articles and resources...
Thrive — verb /
1. to prosper; be fortunate or successful. 2. to grow or develop vigorously; flourish.
Thrive: that is what we hope to help you do. In this extraordinary economic times, finding quick and easy tools—and easy to understand financial education—can be hard to find, especially in one manageable, concise location. We have brought together a wealth of resources—to make your journey and navigation through the financial world a bit easier. With calculators, worksheets, educational resources and the financial basics, we hope to take some of the stress out of finding your way through the financial maze.
And through your journey, we are here to help you thrive—to not only help get you through your economic challenges, but to emerge stronger and able to address any new challenges that can simply be a part of life. But we not only endeavor to help you survive the current economic climate, but to thrive and prosper. Enjoy the journey; and thrive.
Please continue through our site for more up-to-date financial information and a complete search function.


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How To Overcome Depression On Your Own
There's always lots of things you can do to overcome depression on your own, alongside getting help and support from others. It starts with taking good care of, and being patient with yourself. When you start caring for yourself it can give you the strength and momentum to overcome many difficult things. When you start doing small things to help yourself recover it can help overcome the feeling of helplessness that feeling low often brings.
I understand that it's not easy to think about doing something positive when you're not feeling 100% well. However, it's important to keep in mind that in order to overcome feeling depressed, you need to keep moving forward using small manageable steps.
Don't allow yourself to get stuck in a rut of being depressed. You just need to find ways to help yourself get over it. I found a video for you where you'll find '3 tools' that you can use to lift your mood.
When you're clinically depressed, it's not the same as just simply feeling sad. It's not something that you can easily 'snap out of'. You need to manage your state and make a plan of what you might do to help yourself feel better.
It's important for you to be in control of your recovery. Yet, it's going to be impossible for you to be happier without getting help and support from other people. Talking to someone about what you're going through allows you to process what's going on for you, by hearing it being spoken out loud. It's one way of helping release those negative thoughts and feelings.
It won't do you any good to bottle up everything that you're struggling with inside.
In order to be happy we all need to connect meaningfully with others. A common mistake is to try and sort out your problems and low mood entirely on your own before you reconnect with others. It's important to get the balance right between helping yourself and using the support of others. If you try and solve everything on your own you'll feel isolated and are likely to become even more depressed.
In the next article, you'll find 6 simple things that you can do to overcome depression on your own. This includes reaching out to your family and friends. Surrounding yourself with these great people can already make you feel a whole lot better.
How to Deal with Depression on Your Own
Remember the things that bring you joy and do them.
Strategies for Overcoming Depression
Depression recovery is a process that will take time, but as long as you stick with the goal of change, you enjoy the process of gradually taking control of your moods and reactions to difficult situations.
I found an article for you that looks at where we put our attention when feeling depressed. Imagine if you could stay away from many of those negative thoughts and feelings. Instead, with practice you could possibly learn to think differently about situations and feel better about them and yourself. The more you can master this, the more you'll attract good things to come into your life.
The solution is to withdraw your attention from what depresses you and place it on what makes you feel really, really good.
Ask yourself, 'How can I overcome feeling down right now in this moment?" Decide to be in control and do whatever it takes to help improve your mental state. Sometimes a small thing like tackling an outstanding task, or making a phone call you've been putting off can make a big difference. Make the decision to do small tasks to get you more in control. Then you can be happy with the small steps you are taking.
Don't hesitate to take small steps each day towards the direction of 'Happiness'. Remind yourself that with each small action this is where you're heading to. Your goal is to get rid of your depression - bit by bit. Enjoy finding ways that can help you lift your mood. You can overcome depression naturally, by moving forward and experimenting with ways to feel better.
Keep pushing forward and live your life with purpose. the way you want it to. Keep in mind that one of the best ways to overcome depression is to learn to do things on your own that will help you connect with others.
Share and Enjoy


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MT. JEWETT --A tornado in July 2003 toppled the midsection of the Kinzua Viaduct and virtually knocked out the area's major tourist attraction.
Mother Nature won this battle, but the ingenuity of man has overcome that setback with the construction of the Kinzua Sky Walk-- a pedestrian walkway built atop the very towers that once supported the historic Kinzua Bridge near Mt. Jewett.
At Thursday's meeting of the Jay Township Supervisors, one of the matters discussed by residents and officials was the recent descaling and painting of the Caledonia Bridge. Residents concerned that that the activity could pose an environmental hazard or warrant a fine from the DEP [state Department of Environmental Protection] pressed the supervisors for accountability.
"Did they procure permits before they started, from the state or the EPA, whoever you need to get permits from? You said you would check into the permits," said Nadine Pirrazi of Byrnedale.


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This course employs a variety of experiential experiences, cases, and group presentations to give students the practical skills, tools, and information they need to be effective leaders of teams and individuals in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Students will learn from research, theory, and best practices about effective leadership styles and behaviors, problem-solving skills, inspiring individuals, developing teams, and managing cultural and social diversity in a global environment.
This course familiarizes students with essential accounting principles and concepts, and teaches them how to use accounting information to make decisions. The course will cover such topics as the construction and use of financial statements; how to measure assets, liabilities, equities, and income; financial statement analysis, cost behavior and measurement; profitability analysis; relevant costs for special decisions; budgeting; and responsibility accounting. Consideration will be given to the role of information technology in developing and using accounting information
This course explores various approaches to setting and implementing an organizational strategy designed to achieve long-term goals. Students will learn how to analyze the various stages in a strategic planning process, assess organizational effectiveness as well as environmental threats and opportunities, develop overall strategies, and implement both strategic and tactical objectives. The course also identifies the determinants and consequences of successful mergers and acquisitions, and of profitable strategies for organic growth.
This course examines the marketplace and the marketing functions necessary to manage the relationship between suppliers and customers. Students will become familiar with such topics as the marketing mix, marketing strategy, and various psychological and sociological approaches to the marketing discipline. Further consideration will be given to social media marketing, consumer behavior, advertising, research, information technology, and international marketing.
This course familiarizes students with the basic information they need to start and grow a successful business. Students will learn how to create a viable business plan that will gain stakeholder support for a successful launch. Other topics include: The nature of entrepreneurship, strategic positioning, how to do market research and analysis, legal requirements for developing a new business, and best practices for funding, marketing, and managing a new business.
This course provides students with useful information and practical tools for recruiting, assessing, motivating and retaining talented employees. The course will expose students to a variety of best management practices when people are working independently, are co-located, or are working in virtual teams. Students will also learn how to give effective performance feedback, and to make effective use of both financial and non-financial rewards.
This course acquaints students with useful, practical statistics that will enhance their capacity for critical thinking and assist them in making evidence-based decisions. Students will become familiar with a variety of descriptive statistics and modeling tools that will enable them to analyze business data and evaluate alternative business decisions.
This course examines a number of basic financial and economic theories, techniques, and practices. Topics include: time value of money; valuation; capital asset pricing; risk and diversification; cost of capital; capital budgeting techniques; and micro- and macro-economics. Where applicable, the implications of course content for international finance and economic considerations will also be discussed.
This course focuses on the central role operations plays in a company's success, and the analytic tools that are required for strong managerial decision-making. The course emphasizes the strategic advantages provided by the operations function to strong organizations. Students will be exposed to such topics as operations strategies, supply chains, process design and analysis, lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other approaches to managing quality.
Operations strategy can be distinguished from business strategy by its focus executing the business strategy and delivering the value proposition. This course provides frameworks to analyze strategic issues in manufacturing and service operations and to study the relationships between companies and their suppliers, customers, and competitors. Students will develop skills to optimize the operational processes used to design, produce, distribute, and deliver goods and xx services.
Supply management requires a careful matching of supply to demand, and is most successful when a company has flexible designs and processes. This course looks at supply chain management at both the tactical and strategic level and provides practical tools for maximizing the effectiveness of supply chains and enhancing their competitiveness. Topics include the role of distributors; process design; flow and storage of goods and information; inventory and production planning; and managing supplier relationships.
In this course, students will participate in a project that will permit them to integrate and apply the practical skills, tools, and information they have acquired about operation management in their prior courses.
Chancellor University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.
Chancellor University is an independent, private, coeducational institution of higher education. The University offers academic programs in both business and non-business fields leading to Master's, Bachelor's, Associate's, and Certificate's in recognition of professional training and development. Chancellor University has a 160-year tradition of success in preparing students for careers in business and other professions.
Chancellor University provides the following documents in accordance with the IACBE (International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education) policies of disclosure on "current and easily-accessible student learning results for each of their IACBE-accredited business programs."
Business Administration,
Public Administration,
Paralegal Studies


text:
Texas on the Potomac
Washington news with a Texas accent
Posts filtered on Tag
Cruz, Cornyn blast Obama at 'Faith and Freedom' event
A plethora of prominent Republicans including Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz stepped out to show support for the Faith and Freedom Coalition Thursday and Friday as part of the coalition's Road to Majority Conference. [Read More]
Community bankers target Texas delegation in lobbying push
Small community banks aren't in the same league as the hulking institutions on Wall Street, and Texas community bankers say they shouldn't have to jump through the same regulation hoops either. "Some of the regulations don't have much application to small institutions," said Chris Williston, President and CEO of Independent Bankers Association of Texas. "It was intended […] [Read More]
Rep. Al Green named top Democrat on House oversight panel
Houston congressman Al Green today was named the top Democrat on the House panel assigned to oversee and investigate the American banking industry and financial regulators. Green was chosen as the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. The committee is chaired by a Texas Republican, Jeb Hensarling of Dallas. […] [Read More]
Tom Fowler: Of oil speculation, orange juice futures and Eddie Murphy in 'Trading Places'
In May the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against some U.K./Australia oil traders saying they schemed to drive up oil prices in early 2008.
It gave many people a reason to shout "I told you so!" and prompted Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee to post a video that uses scenes from the Eddie Murphy movie "Trading Places" to help explain the CFTC charges against the trader.[Read More]


text: Apple Celebration October 13, 2012 Where Additional Information Stone Presbyterian Church in Clinton will hold the annual Apple Celebration on Saturday from 10 to 2. Source: Apple Celebration Share on Facebook Share on Twitter More Leave a comment Send to a friend! Print this page Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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Find the perfect hotel in Halberstadt using our hotel guide provided below. Find discounted hotel accommodations in or close to Halberstadt, Germany for your corporate or personal leisure travel. Explore the most favored Halberstadt hotel rooms. Review the Halberstadt hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. We also have a map of the Halberstadt hotels. Coordinating a group? Get Halberstadt Group Hotel Deals
Halberstadt Hotels & Accommodations
Next 20 Halberstadt Hotels > [1 - 20 of 21]
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10 Baywatch Articles
Jeremy Jackson Arrested: 'Baywatch' Star Allegedly Stabs A Man3 months ago 2
Well, this is intense. 'Baywatch' star Jeremy Jackson was reportedly arrested over the weekend on suspicion of fleeing the scene after allegedly… Read Article ▶
Justin Bieber Starring In 'Baywatch' Remake?3 years ago 3
One of the original stars of 'Baywatch' wants to see Justin seated in the lifeguard's chair. Vote: Should he do it? We all know Justin Bieber would… Read Article ▶
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text:
March 17, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
What: Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational
When/Where: Friday-Sunday, Univ. of Texas Golf Club, Austin
Live Scoring: golfstat.com
LOBOS LOOK TO DEFEND TITLE AT BETSY RAWLS - The 34th-ranked University of New Mexico women's golf team is off to Austin, Texas, this weekend to defend its title at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the par-72, 6,324-yard University of Texas Golf Club. Tee times begin at 7:15 a.m. MDT Friday and Saturday. Sunday's final round is a shotgun start starting at 7:45 a.m. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com.
STIFF COMPETITION - The highly-competitive 17-team field features 12 teams ranked in the top-50 of the March 8 Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index poll. UNM and host Texas will be joined by No. 1 Arizona State, No. No. 9 Duke, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 14 Purdue, No. 20 Arizona, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 26 Notre Dame, No. 35 Texas A&M, No. 42 Central Florida, No. 44 Furman, No. 46 South Carolina, Chattanooga, Tulsa, Florida State and Oklahoma.
UNM AT BETSY RAWLS; LOBOS WON IN 2008 - The 22nd-ranked Lobos won the weather-shortened Longhorn Invitational last year with a 36-hole total of 47-over 623. UNM earned the team title at the Betsy Rawls for the first time in 18 trips to Austin. Three Lobos finished in the top-5. Britney Choy placed third while Alexandra Phelps and Mikaela Backstedt tied for fourth at 11-over par.
The tournament was only 36 holes after the second round was cancelled due to heavy rains. The Lobos took home the trophy with Florida coming in second and tournament host Texas placing third. Defending national champion Stacey Lewis from Arkansas was the medalist at 7-over.
LOBO LINEUP - Head coach Jill Trujillo will travel seniors Mikaela Backstedt and Morgan Grantham, juniors Britney Choy and Jodi Ewart and freshmen Rebecca Hellbom. Freshman Sarah Salvo will compete as an individual. Ewart is ranked 15th in the nation by Golfweek.
ARIZONA WILDCAT RECAP - Jodi Ewart shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to claim a share of the individual title at the Arizona Invitational in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Ewart and Southern Cal's Lizette Salas both finished at 3-under 213 on the par-72, 6,146-yard Nicklaus Legacy Course. Ewart was the only player in the field to shoot par or better in all three rounds: 72-71-70.
The Lobos finished in a tie for 10th with 19th-ranked California. The 17-team field featured nine teams ranked in the top-25. UNM entered the tournament ranked 37th. Senior Morgan Grantham finished in a tie for 38th at 14-over 230. Freshman Rebecca Hellbom came in at 235. Senior Mikaela Backstedt and freshman Sarah Salvo both finished at 238.
EWART TIES RECORD FOR CAREER WINS - Junior Jodi Ewart's win at the Arizona Invitational was the fourth of her Lobo career, tying Caroline Keggi's school record. A native of North Yorkshire, England, Ewart has played in 26 tournaments in her Lobo career. Keggi played in 31 from 1985-87.
HEAD COACH Jill Trujillo - A 1990 UNM graduate, Jill Trujillo is in her second season in charge of the women's golf program. Trujillo led New Mexico to a pair of team titles in 2007-08, including the 2008 Mountain West Conference Championships. She was named the 2007-08 MWC Coach of the Year.
EWART NAMED MWC GOLFER OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY - Ewart was selected the Mountain West Conference women's golfer of the month for February. She posted a 72.67 stroke average in six rounds during the month. Ewart shot a 2-under 70 in the final round at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational to claim a share of the individual title. She also tied for seventh at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.


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Systems, methods, and apparatus (including computer program apparatus) for a browser-aware application delivery system. The System provides World Wide Web browser extensions based on server processes rather than on plug-in program modules loaded and installed on a user's machine. The system operates like a monitor for a user while the user is browsing the web, and enables the user to obtain and interact with context-sensitive services and information based on the user's browsing activity. The system allows the user to add application tools, which are implemented on servers separate from the user's computer. Third parties can easily add tools to the system by registering application services with the system.
1. A method for providing information to a user browsing the web, comprising:
presenting to the user one or more application tools that the user may enable and disable;
transmitting a context defined by the user's browsing activity to a user-selected and enabled application tool;
generating a web page parallel to the actual web page being visited by the user, wherein generating the web page includes running the application tool to generate a reaction to the context for the user; and
displaying the parallel web page.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parallel web page is generated by a server operating independently of the web site providing the actual web page.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the parallel web page is generated by a discussion tool.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the parallel web page is generated by a contextual sales tool.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the parallel web page is generated by a web ring tool.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the parallel web page provides an interface for the user to interact with a computer program tool operating independently of the actual web page or the web browser.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the tool is a comparative shopping tool.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
presenting to the user an interface for a computer program tool;
transmitting context information derived from the user's browsing activity with the web browser to the tool; and
using the context information in the tool to generate the parallel web page.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the parallel web page is generated to notify the user that a computer program tool has information relevant to the actual web page.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the computer program tool is operable to read the requested web page.
11. A method of providing information to a user of a user computer, comprising:
providing a first web browser to run on the user computer, the first web browser being a conventional web browser, the user interacting with the first web browser through conventional web browsing user interface actions; and
providing a client program providing a client user interface separate from that of the first web browser, the client program receiving first information from the first web browser about activity occurring on the first web browser, the client program providing outputs to the user in response to the first information, the client user interface comprising an icon having a position, an initial appearance, and an initial function; and changing the appearance of the icon from its initial appearance and changing the function of the icon from its initial function, while leaving the position of the icon unchanged, in response to an output becoming available in response to the first information.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein:
the client program controls a second web browser operating independently of the first web browser to provide the separate client user interface, the client program operating without intervention from the user to provide the outputs to the user through the second web browser.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein:
the client program is a thin shell in which the second web browser is embedded.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein:
the client program monitors the position of a first window of the first web browser on a display and places a client window relative to the first window on the display.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein:
the client program provides a user interface for each of one or more computer program tools, each of the tools being implemented in a computer program running on a server computer separate from the user computer, each of the tools being operable to communicate outputs to the client program.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein:
any one or more of the computer program tools can be active at any one time; and
the user interface for each active tool comprises a client tool window, the client tool windows of the active tools being updated by the active tools as the users browses the web using the first web browser.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page; and
at least one of the tools is operable to read, and provide output based on, content of the current web page.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page; and
the outputs comprise a speech data stream derived by a text-to-speech computer program tool from content of the current web page.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page; and
the outputs comprise a translation from a native language of the current web page to another language.
20. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page; and
the outputs comprise source HTML code of the current web page.
21. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page; and
the outputs comprise a discussion related to content of the current web page.
22. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page; and
the outputs comprise a third-party comment on the current web page.
23. The method of claim 15, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page; and
the outputs comprise shopping information for products of a kind shown in the current web page.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the shopping information comprises price and feature comparisons.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein the shopping information comprises links to vendor web sites.
26. The method of claim 11, wherein:
the first information from the first browser identifies a current web page, the current web page being part of a web site of a particular company; and
the outputs comprise information about the particular company.
27. A system for providing information to a user browsing the web, comprising:
means for presenting to the user one or more application tools that the user may enable and disable;
means for transmitting a context defined by the user's browsing activity to a user-selected and enabled application tool;
means for generating a web page parallel to the actual web page being visited by the user, wherein generating the web page includes running the application tool to generate a reaction to the context for the user; and
means for displaying the parallel web page.
28. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for providing information to a user browsing the web, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:
present to the user one or more application tools that the user may enable and disable;
transmit a context defined by the user's browsing activity to a user-selected and enabled application tool;
generate a web page parallel to the actual web page being visited by the user, including instructions to run the application tool to generate a reaction to the context for the user; and
display the parallel web page.
The present invention relates to programs and systems that enable a user to interact with sites on a network, such as World Wide Web sites on the Internet.
The term World Wide Web (the "WWW" or the "web") is used variously to refer to (i) protocols that facilitate access to data through a web browser program presenting a graphical user interface to its user, or (ii) the set of pages that a user can access using such a web browser over the Internet. A web page will generally contain references to related material that are presented as links. By selecting (i.e., opening) a link, a user can access the referenced material. Using links, users can jump from one document (web page) to another, a process called browsing. The architecture of the web that provides these features has three parts: the server, which provides the information source, the browser, which takes the information and formats it in a particular way, and the network which provides the communication between the two.
Web pages are electronic documents are encoded in compliance with a HyperText Markup Language ("HTML") standard. HTML standards are generally promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), although some companies have promulgated their own extensions and versions. Background and current information about HTML can be found on the web site of the World Wide Web Consortium, whose URL is http://www.w3.org. HTML documents in the web context are generally referred to as pages or web pages. Web pages are text files containing content text (i.e., the information to be displayed to a user) and HTML instructions. Programs referred to as browsers (or, if needed for clarity, web browsers)—such Netscape Navigator, NCSA Mosaic, Lynx, and Microsoft Internet Explorer—are computer program applications that interpret the HTML instructions in an HTML document and, in accordance with the instructions, display the document's content to the user.
Links are HTMI instructions used within web pages to identify or locate hypertext elements, such as images, sounds, locations within the current web page, or other web pages. A reference to a web pages is generally a URL (a Uniform Resource Locator), which contains sufficient information to allow a web browser, interacting with a web server, to obtain the specific web page. Links are often displayed graphically on a displayed web page by text of a particular format or by a clickable icons. When the browser opens a link, the browser initiates a network connection (if necessary) to obtain the referenced element, which the browser then displays or plays, according to the nature of the element.
The invention provides systems, methods, and apparatus (including computer program apparatus) that implement and constitute aspects of a browser-aware application delivery system (which will be referred to as the "System") and of a service based on the System (the "Service"). The System provides browser extensions that are based on server processes rather than on plug-in programs, such as Netscape plug-ins or Microsoft ActiveX controls, that have to be loaded and installed on the user's machine. The System operates like a monitor for a user while the user is browsing the web, and enables the user to obtain and interact with context-sensitive services and information based on the user's browsing activity. The context is defined at least in part by what web page the user is viewing or requesting, and it is optionally defined by requests (such as search requests or the actual URL) made by the user to a site or by a history of sites visited and requests made.
In one implementation, the System includes a core of functionality to which can be added user-selectable component application tools and services. The application-specific services of the component applications tools (which may be referred to as component applications, application tools, applications, or simply as tools) are provided by an application server, which is a server process running on one or more dedicated or shared computers connected to the System, generally through a network connection. The core functionality is provided by one or more servers, which for that reason may be referred to as core servers, and a client program running on the user's computer that interacts with the user's running web browser and with the core servers. The client program of the System (which will generally be referred to simply as the "client") runs on a user's computer and receives information about what the user is doing on the web from the user's web browser. The user can easily select and enable component application tools, whose functionality becomes available to the user through the client icons and windows. Enabled applications can and generally will present an application icon through a graphical user interface maintained by the client, and application services will generally be presented through an application tool home page and other web pages generated by an application server and displayed by a web browser operating as a program embedded in the client.
Advantages that can be seen in implementations of the invention include one or more of the following.
The System and its components are useful to users ranging from casual to serious web surfers. The System enhances the user's web surfing experience for entertainment, community-building, transaction support, and knowledge acquisition.
The value of the System to its users increases with the number of users and the number of available applications. Third-party vendors can develop and distribute component applications to users. Such component applications can provide value for the user and increased revenue for the third-party vendors. The development and distribution of applications for the System can be done in collaboration with, or independently of, the provider of core System services.
The System provides value to a user in the cumulative value of all the available application tools. Component application tools are easy to find and install. The System operates transparently as the user browses the web. When it is not actively in use, the System does not inhibit the user's web surfing environment by slowing it down, taking up too much screen real estate, or otherwise.
The System allows component application suppliers to provide supplementary value to users as the users surf the web. The System appears to travel with the user as the user browses the web. This enables the user to find at every web site additional functionality that is independent of the web site. The content served when a user visits a web site can be contextually-specific and therefore relevant to the exact web site being viewed.
The set of core servers is readily scalable to handle large numbers of active users.
Component applications can have distinct advantages over applications based at web sites. The information accessed through component applications is independent of any particular web site context both in location and in point of view. The information is contextual so a user gets information about what the user is immediately interested in. The System can be customized for each user. Users can choose to select and enable only the component applications they find useful.
The System enables sales and marketing efforts to be brought to the context of a user-selected web site, so users can find the goods and services that they might be seeking in the context in which they are currently browsing. The System brings the added value to electronic commerce of enabling the right transaction by making the user better informed. A user can augment his or her range of choice by selecting which contextual sales applications are valuable enough to warrant installation and use.
The System can be used to provide contextual sales applications as component applications having a standard form of presentation and interaction. As a consequence, transactions made using such contextual sales applications can be faster for the user than conventional web site transactions because the use of a standard interface means the user does not have to relearn the purchasing process with each new web site the user visits.
In addition, component sales applications can provide a bidirectional flow of information. That is, dialog and information can flow to inform the seller of the buyer's needs and preference, or to allow multiple buyers to share information about products and services. Such bidirectional flow provides independence and ability for dialog that helps a consumer make an informed decision.
To the provider of a contextual sales application, such an application can provide data on users' patterns of use, behavior, and purchasing; and this data can be provided in real time. For example, when a user arrives at a bookseller's site, the bookseller's contextual sales application can inform the site of the web sites that were just visited by the user. In addition, the application can detect that the user has performed a search at another web site and then deliver to that user a list of books on related topics and let the application's site know where the user is.
An Internet portal, by offering component applications, not only can interact with a user at the portal site but also can travel with the user, providing additional services as the user surfs other web sites. The use of traveling component applications counters the portals' disadvantage that users leave once they have what they came to the portal for. It also allows a portal to provide context-sensitive value to the users all over the web, even users who do not come to the portal's own web site.
The System enables users to communicate with other web site visitors in a context directly relevant to whatever site the user is visiting. The System permits the posting and viewing of data relevant to a web page without the consent and/or moderation of the web site owner. The user can have access to information and services related to, but independent of the control of, the web site the user is visiting. Use of the System can thus create, and enables users to reach, situated communities and knowledge. For example, the System enables organizations to create and host members-only discussions areas at sites that may be visited by their members.
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the architecture of an implementation of the System of the invention.
FIG. 2 is an elaboration of the block diagram of FIG. 1, further illustrating a flow of information in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of operations of the System in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are each a diagram of a user interface window of a discussion tool of the System.
FIG. 5 is illustrates a web browser window displayed with component application tool icons in accordance with the invention.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.
As shown in FIG. 1, an implementation 100 of the System includes a user's computer 120 configured with a web browser program 122, such as Microsoft� Internet Explorer version 4.01 (which supports DHTML) in the illustrative implementation, and a System client program 124, which will be described.
As is well known, the web browser operates to display, in response to user input, web pages in one or more windows 112 on a display device 110 coupled to the user's computer 120. The client 124 operates to display a graphical user interface 114. In the illustrative implementation, the user interface 114 takes the form of an icon bar, and so will be referred to as the bar. The bar is the user's interface to the System and, after the client software has been installed and the System has been enabled by the user, the bar is always visible to the user while the user is browsing the web. On the bar, the System and any component applications enabled by the user are represented as one or more icons or buttons. A logo icon on the bar represents the System itself. The logo functions as a menu button. When it is activated, by a mouse click, for example, an options menu for System functions is displayed.
The client also operates to display web pages created by or for component application tools in windows 116 on the display device 110.
To interact with, and receive the services of, the System, a user must install the client software and register with the System. The client software is delivered to, and installed on, the user computer by a conventional web browser download and installation process.
Users who have registered may be referred to as members or registered members to emphasize that they are known to the System. Each member has a screen name and a unique user identifier ("user ID"). A profile is created and stored on a System database for each member at registration. A profile contains the following fields: a System-assigned user ID, a user-selected screen name, and an e-mail address for the user. A profile may also contain additional information such as gender, age, and occupation. Members can access their profiles by clicking on a profile link on the options menu.
In registering a user, the System sends to the user's computer a cookie that holds the user's identity. When the client 124 is launched, either automatically when the user launches the web browser 112 or otherwise, the client sends the cookie to the a System server to initiate a connection with the System.
The client 124 is essentially a thin shell for an embedded web browser, whose function is to display web pages sent by the System or by component application tools. The System and its component tools operate to create a web pages that parallel or shadow actual web pages (that is, web pages that exist outside and independent of the System and its tools). Parallel pages are implemented in JScript and DHTML (Dynamic HTML). In the particular implementation being described, the version of DHTML used is that defined for the Microsoft� Internet Explorer 4.01 web browser ("IE4"). The client 124 embeds a Microsoft� WebBrowser control to implement web browsing and display functionality in the client. In particular, this control provides the DHTML functionality of binding data, such as a database or a comma-delimited file, to HTML tables or other HTML elements on a loaded parallel page.
The client 124 communicates with the web browser 122 through a set of Microsoft� application program interfaces (APIs), specifically DWebBrowserEvents2 to listen to IE4, and IWebBrowser2, IHTMLElement, IHTMLDocument2, and IHTMLWindow2 to control and query IE4. As part of the installation and registration process, the client is registered with the web browsers, so that when the user launches the web browser 122, the web browser causes the client 122 to be launched automatically.
The core servers 140 are a collection of computer program processes and digital data running and stored on one or more computers in one or more locations. In the illustrative implementation, the administrative, communications, and application support functionality is distributed among programs, databases, and computers in a conventional way. More particularly, the server environment has two classes of computers: communication servers and database servers. The servers are high-end Sun™ servers configured to support performance, scaling, and security. The operating system for all servers is Sun Solaris 2.6. The servers run AOL server™ 2.3. Database servers run Oracle™ RDBMS. All data is stored on database servers. Only HTML cookies are placed on the user's computer.
The application servers 130 can be implemented on any hardware and software platform that is sufficient to support the communications, data storage, and application service requirements of the particular application tool provided by the respective server.
As shown in FIG. 2, the web browser and client exchange data with each other as has been described. As the user is browsing the web, the client listens to the browsing requests made by the user. In the present implementation, the client receives the URLs that the web browser sends to an actual web site 210, regardless of how they are generated. URLs can be generated by clicking on or otherwise opening a link, by typing a URL into a dialog, or by a web page in response to a search request or other action of filling in a form.
Under certain circumstances, the clients stops listening to the web browser. For example, for security reasons, the client stops listening when a secure connection is being made with the HTTPS (HyperText Transmission Protocol, Secure), a URL access method for connecting to HTTP servers using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), or if the target of the request is local file storage, such as a disk volume on the user's computer. For considerations of performance, the client stops listening if the protocol is not HTTP (HyperText Transmission Protocol) or FTP (File Transfer Protocol), or if the target of the request is local file storage, such as a disk volume on the user's computer.
Having heard a request, the client transmits a copy of the request to a System server 210. This server performs a mapping process that produces a simplified request 128 for further processing. Operating on URLs, this mapping process produces simplified URLs from actual URLs. The mapping process applies to an actual URL a list of rules to find a first match. In the present implementation, the rules are expressed as regular expressions. The first match defines the mapping. The mapping can be a many-to-one or one-to-one mapping of any kind, because the simplified URLs need not be valid—that is, the simplified URL, need not actually specify the location of an object. For example, a mapping may be a transformation of the actual URL (for example, one that strips trailing characters) or a fixed mapping to a particular simplified URL. By using simplified URLs, the System can capture the essence of what the user is browsing with his or her actual requests.
The regular expressions are built by hand based on an analysis of actual URLs. The analysis is supported by a URL maintenance spider, which is a subsystem that tests all of rules by applying them to the universe of actual URLs that the System has seen and determines whether all of the simplified URI,s known to the System are generated by the rules. Any simplified URL that is not generated by application of some rule is an orphan. The maintenance spider generates a list of orphans so that the rules can be revised as necessary. This testing is done whenever the rules are changed.
The following two examples illustrate such rules.
First, the following two lines say to map any URL ending in /index.htm or /index.html to one that ends in/.
With this rule,
maps to
Second, the following two lines say to map any URL at www.amazon.com and containing a field consisting of digits and dashes to a URL with the digit-and-dash field and everything following it stripped off.
With this rule,
maps to
Having a simplified URL 128, a forwarding process 220 of the System forwards the simplified URL to those applications that have registered an interest in the simplified URL. When an application is installed or registered as a component application tool of the System, the application identifies for the System those simplified URLs that the application is interested in seeing, that is, under what circumstances the application wishes to be notified of the user's browsing activity. The notification conditions can include one or more of the following, which can be applied in combination: notify the application when the user opens an actual page that includes one of a list of keywords; notify the application when the user opens a page with a simplified URL matching a list of URLs or a list of regular expressions; notify the application when the user clicks on the application's icon on the bar; or notify the application when the user's context changes if the user has an application window open in the client. If any of the notification conditions apply, the context and user information are sent to the application server 230. The context can include, in addition to the current simplified URL (request), the actual URL (request), the matching keyword if a keyword match was satisfied, and a history of preceding simplified or actual URLs (requests), or both, if requested by the application.
The application server 230 includes an application process that receives the user and context information, and computes a reaction, which will in general be a web page to be displayed by the web browser embedded in the client. The application server transmits the reaction to a System server 240 (which may but need not be implemented on a computer different from servers 210 or 220) for formatting and transmission as a parallel web page to the user's client. Alternatively, the application server can transmit a reaction page to the user's client directly. If the user does not have a client browser window open for the application, the application will generally send a web page to animate the application's icon on the user's bar in some way, to let the user know that the application may have something of interest for the user in the current context. The user then clicks on the application icon in the bar to open a browser window with a web page provided by the application server. Animation can include one or more of lighting up the icon, changing the colors of the icon, producing sound, or producing movement such as rotation.
Because evaluating context-specific notification conditions (either in the application server or in a core server) is expensive, many applications will remain dormant for a user until the user opens the application by clicking on the application's icon on the bar. The System notifies the application server, which responds with a web page for a client browser window.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the process that has just been described.
The architecture of the System allows third parties to add new applications easily. Using the basic functionality of the System, a third party registers a new tool with the System by providing to the System a registration link to a registration page, which will generally be on a third-party server. The registration link can be provided using HTTP or some other protocol, such as HTTPS, for example by submitting a URL with an embedded URL for the registration link. The registration page contains the following items, or links to the following items: a tool icon to be displayed by the client on the bar; (optional) an animated tool icon to be displayed by the client on the bar; a link to be opened when user activity of interest to the tool occurs; and (optional) the conditions under which the tool is to be notified. The default notification condition is that tool is notified when the user has an enabled the tool (e.g., by clicking on the tool icon on the bar) and the web browser context changes. When that occurs, a notification is sent to the tool through the link provided at tool registration. Thus, simply by providing an icon and what amounts to a call-back address, the third party can register its tool with the System and begin operation.
When a notification is received by the tool, the tool must determine how to respond. In general, the tool will provide a reaction such as displayable output in HTML or DHMTL to a System core server, which then packages the reaction as necessary and forward it to the user's client for display. The client browser (that is, the web browser embedded in the client) generally maintains at least one client browser window for each active (that is, open) tool. If browser display is received by the client from a tool, the client will open a client browser window for the tool, if one is not open already. The tool can optionally specify content for more than one client browser window, in response to which the core server will cause the client to display the required windows.
As with any other browser window, the client browser window can be used to display web pages with links that the user can open, with the possible consequence that further client browser windows will be opened. This navigation and browsing through the client windows will be unaffected by the System until the user browses in a web browser window, which in general will cause the context to change. In general, when the context changes, the tool will transmit a reaction that will result in a display in a client browser window that displaces whatever had been displayed there.
The user can have any number of tools active (i.e., open) at one time. As the user navigates the web using the web browser and the context changes, the client tool windows of all the active tools will be updated by the tools with information generated by (or at the request of) the application programs running on the tool servers.
The client browser windows and bar can be positioned by the user. Optionally, the client can position its windows and bar itself, in effect attaching them to the current web browser window by calculating their location relative to the current web browser window and moving them when the current web browser window moves. In this way, the client can create the appearance that the icons of the bar are attached to web browser window. Generally, in implementing this option, the bar will be placed so as not to overlap the web browser window; however, when the window is so large or positioned in such a way that this is not possible, then the client moves the bar into the web browser window to the extent necessary. In a further alternative implementation, the user can position the client windows and bar relative to the current web browser window (rather than relative to the display co-ordinates). If options are implemented, the user can select a positioning option from the System logo options menu.
It should be noted that while the user interface elements of the client have been referred to as windows and a bar, these elements can take other forms, including free-form graphics displayed without enclosing boxes or window decorations. For example, the bar icons can be visually noncontiguous, as are the two-part illustrative icons 502, 504, and 506 in FIG. 5, which appear to span the scroll bar of the current web browser window 508.
The features and advantages of the System can be appreciated from a description of an implementation of a particular component application, the discussion tool.
As has been described generally, operation of the discussion tool includes program and data components residing on a core server computer and on a discussion tool application server computer, which may be the same or a different computer. The client transmits the user's web browsing activity to the core server. The core server maps each actual URL received from the client to a simplified URL, as has been described. If the discussion tool has been enabled by the user, i.e., if the discussion tool icon is on the bar, the simplified URL, which defines the current context, and the user ID is supplied to the discussion tool server. The discussion tool server determines whether a discussion parallel to the site represented by the simplified URL exists. If such a discussion exists, the server animates the discussion tool icon on the bar. This alerts the user to the existence of a discussion that may be of interest.
A discussion is a collection of individual comments, generally organized under one topic. A comment is an individual message a member can create, post and read in the context of a web site. Comments are organized by topic into discussions. Discussions have an author, the person who created the discussion; a topic, a category or title of a discussion; and, optionally, an expiration, an amount of time before discussion will expire.
When the user selects the discussion tool icon—in response to animation or otherwise—a discussion tool window 402 or 404 appears, as illustrated in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, respectively. The discussion tool user interface is defined by a discussion tool home page, which is displayed in a client discussion tool window by the client's embedded browser. Because the discussion tool user interface is defined by a web page, the user interface for the discussion tool can take a wide variety of forms.
In one implementation, the discussion tool initially opens a small window 406 that has a comments area 410 for the billboard. The billboard is the general discussion for each context. It exists without a user creating it, and it does not expire. The comments area 410 can be used for both the entry and display of general discussion comments, navigation buttons 412, and other controls, such as a say-it control 414 to speak the current comment. The controls can also include a quick-reply button that allows users to reply quickly to the general discussion, and a tell-a-friend button that allows users to invite friends to the general discussion. The comments area 410 shows recent comments from the general discussion.
The initial window 406 has a discussions-at-site button 416 to open up to a window or pane 408 showing the named discussions associated with the context. The user can see more named discussions by opening the bottom portion of the window. There the user can scroll through existing topics and read or add comments, add a new topic, and invite others to view the discussion. If no discussions exist for the context, the user can initiate a discussion.
The data model of the discussion tool includes, among others, the following elements: discussion, general discussion, comment, vote comment, invitation, a user interface, a parallel page corresponding to each simplified URL, profile, screen name and user ID, flag notification, expiration meter, subscription, digest, my-subscriptions page, private discussions, and permissions. Discussion and general discussion have already been described.
The expiration time of a discussion can be displayed on a meter or as a text message. Members can prevent expiration by adding to the amount of time left in some way through the user interface. An expiration meter is a graphic that is displayed beside the discussion topic. It reflects the amount of time a discussion has before it expires. A member can click on a button to extend the life of a discussion. The System can optionally set a maximum life of a discussion.
A vote is a special type of comment that invites a set of users to participate in a limited tally or poll. Creating a vote involves writing a question with two or more resolutions. The question is displayed and participating members can select from the resolutions and cast their vote. The discussion tool tabulates votes and displays the results through the discussion user interface. The user creating the vote can elect to limit display to the invited participants.
An invitation is an e-mail message inviting the recipient to visit a web site and/or participate in a discussion at a web site. In creating an invitation, the discussion tool includes in the message a dynamic link (such as a URL) to the web site and discussion from which the invitation was sent. An invitation can contain a custom message from the user sending the invitation. When a member sends an invitation, the System checks to see if the recipient is also a member, that is, if the recipient is known to the System. If the recipient is a member, the invitation is sent with a link to the discussion. Otherwise, the System first directs the recipient to a core server web site to download and install the client software, get a user ID, and register a screen name. The recipient can then go back to the invitation and click on the link to the discussion to which he or she was originally invited.
A private discussion is a discussion created by a member with a list of participants. Only members on the participants list will see the private discussion or even know it exists. The author member can give or deny other participants permission to add new participants to the list.
A moderated discussion is one that is hosted, by a sponsor of a web site, for example. A moderated discussion has a moderator who can edit the content the discussion.
A subscription is a way for a user to follow a discussion. When a user subscribes to a discussion, the user receives a digest of activity within the discussion. Discussions to which a user is subscribed are indicated on the discussion tool topics pane 408. The discussion tool window optionally has a control, such as a button, to allow a member to subscribe or unsubscribe to a particular discussion.
A digest is an e-mail summary of activity on a discussion to which a user has subscribed. It includes a link to the discussion. It is sent by e-mail on a regular basis, which the user can select. It is sent only if there is activity on the discussion. It contains the discussion title, discussion URL, discussion expiration (or time left), and all comments since the last time a digest was sent to the user or since the subscription was requested.
The my-subscriptions page is a list of all subscriptions to which a user has subscribed. It provides URL links to subscribed discussions, allows the user to unsubscribe, allows the user to control digest frequency, and allows the user to edit the user's e-mail address.
The discussion tool uses a number of subsystems. The discussion expirer subsystem controls expiration of discussions in the discussion database. It runs queries on the database to find discussions that are ready for expiration and deletes them from the database. It is a constant parameter file, editable to control the frequency of queries to the database. It can be accessed from the administrator pages.
The bounce handler subsystem handles e-mail messages bounced back to the System. The invitation subsystem generates e-mail invitations with URL links. And the digester subsystem generates timed digests and subscriptions.
As has been mentioned, the System enables and can support many different kinds of applications. One useful kind of component application is the contextual sales application.
Contextual sales applications can be developed and offered by third-parties independent of the provider of the Service to promote contextual sales to users. For example, a third-party organization can offer its point of view relative to the sites being browsed, alert the user to organization-sponsored member discounts at travel web sites, or provide the organization's point-of-view commentary on issue-oriented or news sites, and so on. As a second example, a bookseller can allow the user to view a list of links to specific books on topics that are directly relevant to the web page or site the user is currently viewing, or to the sequence of pages or sites the user has been viewing, and to offer competitive pricing, coupons, discounts, one-click buying, and so on.
The main perceived difference between contextual sales applications and other types of application is that contextual sales applications are used for transactions, and so users expect that transactions that they make using contextual sales applications will be secure and confidential. This feature is provided because the client supports HTTPS communication.
Because the architecture of the System is open, many kinds of component applications can be developed and distributed easily. The following examples illustrate the variety of applications that can be supported.
A school application tool offers students and faculty access to, or commentary on, specific web sites that are used for research, information or projects. When the tool is opened, a client tool window appears with controls allowing the user to add the context (i.e., the current web browser site) to the set of sites accessible through the tool, to add comments to the tool's database of comments on the context, to display the set of sites and navigate the web browser to one of the sites by selecting it in the client window.
A graphic application tool allows users to spray paint or doodle electronically on web sites and to post their own graffiti and selectively view other users' posted works. The tool's client graffiti window for drawing is drawn as a graphic with no box or decoration, and it is positioned relative to, and therefore appears to be attached to, the web browser window displaying the context site. The graffiti window acts like a transparent layer over the site.
A coding application tool allows programmers to translate source code, edit it and view results, explain odd instances of HTML code used on various web pages, deconstruct and explain construction of elements on a page. The tool server receives the actual context URL, which it uses to obtain the source code of the site the user is browsing. The tool displays the source code in a client browser source code window and the interpreted source code in a client browser document window. The tool synchronizes the display of the interpreted source code window and the document window so the user can see the corresponding views of source code and results. The user can select cursor tools from a pop-up context menu to edit the source code and request help windows for selected features.
A company information application tool displays a hierarchy of information about a particular company whose web site the user is viewing without requiring the user to navigate to other web sites to look it up.
A click-and-close application tool receives information about the user from the user in a fill-in form and stores the information in a database, optionally under password protection. When the tool is then activated from the icon bar in a context that includes a fill-in web-based form, the tool autofills form with the information, which makes filling out order or application forms faster for the user and more consistent. If the context form requires information the tool does not have, it requests the information from the user and updates its database.
A translation application tool translates a web page from its native language into a default language or a language of the user's choice. The tool transmits the context web page (or a link to the context web page) to a translation server, which produces a results web page that is sent to a client tool window for display. For one translation server, the tool transmits a URL in which is embedded as an argument the URL of the web page to be translated.
A say-it application tool speaks the current context web page. This tool operates like the translation tool in obtaining the speech data stream, and it illustrates the point that an application tool need not produce a web page as output.
A login helper application tool maintains a database of login names and passwords for the user. When the user is at a web site that requests or requires a user name and password, the user can click on the login helper icon on the bar. If the current context is not a site that the login helper tool recognizes as one for which the tool database contains a name and password, the tool opens a client tool window for the user to enter the name and password the user has selected for the current context. This information is maintained on a database by the login helper tool server. If the current context is a site that the login helper tool does recognize as one for which the database contains a name and password, the tool autofills the site's name and password form, if the form is one that can be filled, or the tool provides the name and password so that the user can cut and paste into the site's input page. The user can protect use of this tool with a password.
An e-mail monitor application tool assists the user in monitoring the user's various e-mail sites. The user adds sites to an e-mail list by navigating to the site, which becomes the current context, opening the tool through the monitor tool icon on the bar, and selecting an add-to-list option. The tool requests the user's e-mail address and password and stores the information in a tool database. The tool visits each site on the monitoring list by HTTP request at a user-selected time interval, using the information in the database to respond to the site's request for name and password. The tool then calculates a signature for the resulting web page and compares it to the previously calculated signature. If the signatures differ, the user is notified by animation of the tool icon on the bar. The signature can be calculated using any convenient hashing or message digest algorithm, such as MD5. The user can protect use of this tool with a password.
A web rings application tool connects affinity groups of users to others within their group. A group member can add a site to a collection by browsing to the site to make the site the context, opening the tool, and selecting an option to add the current site to the collection. The members of the group can view the group's collection or collections of links on a client tool window and use those links to browse to the sites themselves. When a user opens such a link, the client causes a new web browser window to be opened to display the site. This is done so that the site becomes the current context and the user's other active tools can respond to the site.
A comparative shopping application tool makes price, feature and benefit comparisons. When the user opens the shopping tool icon on the bar, the tool searches its database for pricing, feature, and promotional information and links for products of the kind shown in the current context web page. The tool presents this information in tabular form in a client browser window, and the user can sort the information, by price or manufacturer for example, and browse from the information to vendors' or manufacturers' sites.
A retail registry application tool enables users to register for gifts at retail sites. To register for a gift, a member simply clicks on the registry icon on the bar when the context is a web page corresponding to or displaying the desired gift. The registering user can optionally open the tool to add further information, such as color, size, or quantity, which is maintained in a tool database. To view the registry, a user opens the tool and enters a screen name or other information to identify the registered member. The tool displays a page of links and further information. The user can use the links to browse to vendors' or manufacturers' sites, which will be displayed in a web browser window, which will become the active web browser window so that the target site becomes the current context and other active tools can respond to the site. The purchasing user can add to the database information, for example by indicating that an item on the registry will be purchased by the user, or that the user will contribute to the purchase of the item.
The System includes a number of pages and subsystems to support administrative functions. The administrator page is a password-protected web page that provides access to administrative functions and information. The administrator page is accessed by URL address. It has links to the administrative status page. The administrative status page includes links to various status reports including reports of use statistics. System subsystems include a System Monitor subsystem that monitors the System for integrity and updates an administrator monitor page on an automatic and timed basis. In addition, if it detects a problem, it notifies the System administrator by e-mail and by audible and visual alert at the administrator monitor page. The administrator monitor page is protected by password and user ID. It shows when it was last updated (day/time) and the results of the most recent test of System integrity.
The invention can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Apparatus of the invention can be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device for execution by a programmable processor. Method steps of the invention can be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions to perform functions of the invention by operating on input data and generating output. The invention can be implemented advantageously in one or more computer programs that are executable on a programmable computer system including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. Each computer program can be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-oriented programming language, or in assembly or machine language if desired; and in any case, the language can be a compiled or interpreted language. Suitable processors include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory and/or a random access memory. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of nonvolatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM disks. Any of the foregoing can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).
To provide for interaction with a user, the invention can be implemented on a computer system having a display device such as a monitor or LCD screen for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball by which the user can provide input to the computer system. The computer system can be programmed with an operating system such as Microsoft Windows 95 that supports graphical user interfaces through which computer programs interact with users.
This specification includes the following tables, which show example interactions, pages, and messages that can arise during use of the System: Table A, Illustrative User-System Interactions (for Basic Service); Table B, Illustrative User-System Interactions (for Discussion Tool); Table C, Illustrative System Interactions (Administrative); Table D, Description of Illustrative System Web Pages; and Table E, Description of Illustrative Service E-mail Messages.
The invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the steps of the invention can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, a server does not necessarily correspond to a computer. A server may be implemented on a computer that runs multiple servers, and a single server may be implemented on multiple computers in one or more locations. The bar can be implemented with free-standing icons, which can be placed on or relative to the active web browser window. The bar can be moved off of the active web browser window unless that window fills the display screen.
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