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Home » Whiteboard » Valentino Spring 2014 Collection
Posted on October 02, 2013
Valentino Spring 2014 Collection
[Photo Credit: IMAXtree]
I like. This collection almost makes me no longer hate sheer panels on dresses. I'm still tired of seeing it everywhere, but at least it's not tacky looking here.
Yeah, I didn't even notice the sheer for once! Only when I saw your comment did I realize some of them must have been.
There's sheer for the sake of peek-a-boo, and then there's sheer for the sake of exquisite fabric and style. These are the latter.
The American Gothic hair is scaring me, although it's unexpectedly flattering on Cara Delavingne. I dunno. The textiles are all luscious but I can't really see how they will work in real life.
Why can't everyday be an ethnic costume day? <3
Chiuri and Piccioli should be fired, immediately.
The workmanship on some of these dresses is incredible. But does anyone else find them bordering on "costume"?
Interesting that so many people think this; I read a review earlier that said this collection was inspired by opera costumes.
Yes, though they are styled in a costume-y way which is adding to the effect. I think a modern hairstyle would do a lot to transform them. That said I would love, love, love to try one on and play pretty princess for a night! The floor-length green dress being worn by the Asian model- come to mama.
Who cares? 90% of what goes on with most red carpets is costuming anyway.
bordering? These dresses are at the hotel, trying on the perfume they picked up at duty free.
Well, yes. But, it IS couture so it doesn't bug. This isn't really created with "real people" in mind.
Just WOW. Beautiful!
I love this too.
Love love love. Love the ethnicity, love the subtle renaissance mood, love the craftsmanship. It's clothes that tell a story and hold a secret. It's stolen glances and the swish of fabric down a corridor.
I adore it as well.
I am in love. A well done nod to art history and ethnicity.
I want to have all of this in my possession, so very much.
My god, what a mix. Quite a lot of beautiful dresses based on Great Grandmother's wedding photo, the one married in traditional ethnic attire. Quite a lot of what looks like (but probably is not) plain cotton schmatta run up from discount bin clearance sheets.
1976 Romeo and Juliet Realness
Oh, good! It wasn't just me!
serving up forever 21 native american culture appropriation realness
I must disagree, there's really nothing native american about this. Byzantine, yes.
well I think we can all agree that it is going for an "ethnic" feel even if we disagree on the reference points. I guess its the fringe and suede and the colors and the motifs made me think of the clothes that forever 21 got slammed for producing a few years ago.
I think it's a mix of cultures/periods.
In all fairness to the designers, I think it does matter if their work is criticized as cultural (mis)appropriation when in fact it's inspired by a rather ancient civilization's art and design, with some Renaissance in the mix.
Nope, we can't agree on that, because you are WRONG. Derivatively 'ethnic' would imply that there wasn't a specific cultural inspiration for this line, and there WAS. It's not "going for an ethnic feel", it's actually demonstrating motifs that were common to Renaissance and pre-Renaissance Bavarian design. Which is not 'ethnic', it's a pretty fucking specific couture moment that's getting referenced. And it has nothing to do with cultural appropriation, and everything to do with the history of high fashion that led to these types of fashion shows to begin with.
So if this show made you think of forever 21 and the designs they got slammed for appropriating, perhaps you should educate yourself about both fashion and history. Because when you wave your hands at 'ethnic' and cry 'appropriation' without realizing that yes, this line is referencing a specific culture in a way that transforms Renaissance patterns or bead motifs into modern silhouettes, it's you that appears ignorant.
Albanian/Ukranian folk dancer maybe… but I don't see Native American.
Try Bavarian, instead of Native American. Most of the motifs seem to owe a lot to Renaissance (or pre-Renaissance) Germany or to nordic concepts.
If you're going to try to slam something for cultural appropriation, first try to get the culture right, then if the line turns out to be paying tribute to the (european) ancestors of a lot of modern European fashion, maybe refrain from comparing it to cheap shops that were actually appropriative.
*drools* Just beautiful.
What a beautiful collection for Fall! I would kill for that pine green gown with the brocade (?) panel. In other words, this is gorgeous, but doesn't look like Spring.
Byzantine meets Renaissance. Some of the most beautiful fabrics I've seen in a while.
Stunning collection.
Yes, those are the two references I got, plus a bit of Camelot.
These are some truly beautiful clothes. Wow.
The more I scrolled down, the more the models (and their clothes) looked like perfectly painted portraits. Renaissance portraits, I guess. So, well done.
Or Byzantine icons!
The short frocks definitely will be seen out on the RC by lady stars. The colors are really divine here; the only ones that ring a little off are the looks in the oatmeal/stone muslin.
Such intricate, beautiful work. The textiles are do die. Love this collection.
I scrolled through this so quickly… bored… bored… seen it… bored… ooooohhhh that black chiffony dress with the green hem…. NOT BORED… the rest… bored
Maybe you shouldn't have gone so fast?
How is this possible? I'm actually sweating these are so beautiful.
I want Frida Pinto to wear the Green gown with gold/red accents. Wait, is that racist?
So much WOW here, very costumey with a lot of 19th century Russian Countess travel garb. A bit too much baggy in the pants section though. All in all, the fabrics are breathtaking. That last dress is beyond.
Is it just me, or does Cara D.'s face look like an animal mask here?Just a few whiskers missing.
I don't know what the cultural reference was, but Valentino deployed it fantastically
I normally hate Valentino, but there are some really gorgeous pieces in here. The teal-yellow chevron dress? GIMME! And it's actually a relief to see clothes that aren't completely skin-baring. Some come close to matronly, but they mostly look chic and comfortable
Thud. We J'ADORE.
I am not down with this at all. Didn't see one thing I really liked, although the green dress with the long sheer sleeves came close.
Italian widow toilet paper dolls. Do not want.
Most of these would have to be modified (to not look like a costume) for the real world. There is a lot of depth here in color, texture, and style. This is the first in a long time that a designer has really given something for people to ponder.
Astonishingly beautiful. It made me think of Russia, the Middle East and native Americans. I loved it.
the first few sets are like those russian painted dolls that fit inside each other. then it almost goes amish, but then zebra prints? an interesting collection with much to love. i'd love to see that forest green gown on a redhead, perhaps christina hendricks? it would have to be fitted perfectly, as i'm not sure how her bodacious bosom will take to being so covered up.
Love! So digging the Albanian princess look!
The zodiac accessories are the best part of this collection.
I really love a lot of this, although I have to say, the pseudo-ethnicity does makes me cringe. I think you have to tread very lightly when you're taking certain cultural traditions to use in something as privileged and Anglo-European-dominated as high fashion, and I think some of these pieces skate pretty close to the line. (And unlike some of the other BKs, I do see Native American echoes here, as well as many others. It's all indirect and revisionist, of course, but still there.)
Still, there are a lot of gorgeous designs, colors, and fabrics here, and many things are not culturally objectionable at all. They flow beautifully. Sure, they're costume-y, but I can live with that. (Would I want to look like Emily Dickinson with a fringed purse? Probably not, but there's plenty else here to love.)
That emerald green column in the middle really stands out among all of those beautiful brocades and textures.
While I have some problems with the collection, what struck me most was the colors – saturated, clear, rich, no gray or muddy tones. It's like wearing jewels all over your body. The ruby, saphirre, aquamarine, crimson, aubergine, turquoise – all just glow against the black and neutral backgrounds. Love.
Wow, the gown that makes her look like an architectural marvel (2 up from the emerald green gown) is my absolute favorite. Everything appears so impeccably made–even the looks I don't care for–that I would love to see these up close.
I really like the unusual color palette, particularly those first few looks, echoed in the final gown.
Are we Slavic Fantasy today? Or Byzantine Expressions? Whatever – I like them.
I was thinking Inca or Mayan. But I like them too, the coats are crazy gorgeous.
A celebration of different ethnic heritages
Yes, well put.
a lot of sisterwife stuff here, and … this is for spring? it looks fall/winterish.
Love almost everything, especially #5 from the top, in the middle. And not a nip or panty to be seen.
This is Aztec meets Russian Orthodox meets Greece meets Byzantium. These are the designs that would have come sooner had the continental drift never happened. This is a staggeringly beautiful collection. I'd give a nut to see this in person had I one to give.
The fabrics are luxe beyond belief, giving the clothes a very expensive look. Which is at it should be, in my opinion.
But some of them were just too busy to get behind. How quickly the design team has created a new lexicon for Valentino. I can't remember, was there a red dress in the collection?
So much beautiful! It just kept coming and coming!
Oh, GOD! Yes, please!
SO much better than their very 'Dolce and Gabbana' Fall 2013 collection! Italian Renaissance meets Indian Pasha with some Native American/Ralph Lauren thrown in. And surprisingly, it works! Also, no pale pinky floaty ickyness like Spring 2013. Me likey.
Those prints! There are some beautiful pieces here.
Gorgeous. I want to live in this collection.
Yes to pretty much all the patterns, no to the solids. But seriously those patterns – gimme. I want. I need.
It's a bit American Indian for me, with occasional touches of slutty and not-so-slutty pilgrim.
In my next life I am getting married in that white gown and on our honeymoon night in a feather bed that virtually consumes us both my husband will take me while I am still wearing it…
That is… an awful lot of Bavaria going on. I actually love this collection. I'm 100% on board with that stunning green dress with the embroidered front (to whomever wears it during awards season: keep the heavy gold jewelry, it works). The beadwork on a lot of these dresses is jaw-dropping.
I feel like these are dresses that DESERVE a fashion show. So much of what we see on runways now involves random tulle and unwearable, ugly work that seems intended to convey a designer's lack of care rather than the tremendous amount of care that should go into a show (Westwood, I AM LOOKING AT YOU WITH THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SIDE-EYE). This is a collection that looks like it earned a debut involving spotlights and stunning women. I would wear the fuck out of most of this, and I'm eager to see how it fares on the red carpet.
Please explain to me why it's such a crime to use colors/patterns/etc. that are representative of a race or culture? In my humble opinion, it's not appropriation near as much as it's a designer stating that they admire that culture or race. I find the patterns from Aztecs and Incas to be quite beautiful, as well as the colors that they favored. If I were to design a collection, my intent would be to silently state that I think that aspect of their culture is beautiful and that collection would be put forth as a celebration of that beauty instead of me trying to take it as my own. Make sense? People are just too damn sensitive these days. Aren't we supposed to be a global culture now? One world? One people? Or is that just until somebody wants to play the victim?
D&G called, they didn't sound happy.
I love most of this, and the textiles are gorgeous, but it does not look like a spring collection.
My first thought was "Oh good, when Blerta (SNL skit with Tina Fey lampooning Girls) gets a recurring role, her wardrobe is ready and waiting. I'm Hungarian, and have a soft spot for folk designs and ethnic pieces. But I did feel a bit like I had wandered into a European textiles museum. Here's a fun game, imagine any of these pieces and any of the McQueen looks on two ladystars of your choice, side by side on a red carpet. Are your eyes crossed yet?
Oh, I just love this! I want to see an editorial (or maybe just an ad?) with multiple models done up as legit Byzantine icons. Obvious, yes, costumey, yes, but I would argue that that photograph would be made of "YES!"
There are several of these looks that I could wear straight to my belly dancing class. All I'd need to do is add my coin belt & I'd be good to go. Love most of them, but I'm still not sold on the sheer skirts. At least these seem tasteful.
Wow. Love it all!
Lovely and unexpected. I am always thankful that Valentino embraces rich colors, and I can't wait to see these garments worn out and about. An exciting year for red-carpet fashion lies ahead with such adventurous but wearable choices.
This is for Spring?
So the tribal/peasant thing is definitely going to be in this spring. FEELIN' IT.
Would love to have seen this in person. The workmanship on some of these pieces…I die.
Anne Boleyn realness. Though, I'm admittedly way off on that style wise.
Really loving a lot of these dresses but what is with the Queen Armidala's Amish lovechild hair?
love love it all.
I know this collection has it's problems, but I literally gasped when I saw it. That's because it Actually Looks Like Someone Thought of Something New.
Love! Definitely my favorite collection so far! All of the smsll details in the clothes are amazing. There is a lot going on, but it doesn't feel overhelming, it's right on. Just absolutely stunning wearable art.


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Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have reportedly joined the race to sign Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero.
Read more: http://www.ontheminute.com/news/news.php?news=31598
Aguero has been linked to clubs all around Europe in recent months, but where do you believe he will end up?
Or could he even decide to remain at Atletico?
Will he join rivals Real Madrid?
Chelsea or Bayern Munich?
What do you think lads?]]>

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Bruce Aidells' Turkish Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Shoulder Chops and Carrots
At the same time sour and sticky-sweet, pomegranate molasses is a great secret ingredient to stash. It brightens many a rich dish, especially those made with fatty, gamy cuts like lamb blade chops. In Bruce Aidells' The Great Meat Cookbook, pomegranate molasses is used as a base for a braised-and-glazed lamb blade chop recipe. The dish as a whole is inspired by Turkish cuisine, with a spicy floral rub for the lamb, and a bright finishing sprinkle of fresh herbs (basil and mint), pomegranate seeds, and pine nuts. Aidells' lamb chops would be welcome on any winter time table, but would make an equally dashing holiday meal (as long as you're feeding open-minded diners). More


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"Increase Performance Using the Five 'P's in Your Slotting Universe"
As featured in Supply & Demand Chain Executive: Powerful DC Slotting
- Roadmap to a Reslot: Optricity CEO OffersWarehouse Slotting Tips
- Food Logistics recognizes Optricity in FL100 for Technology Contributions to Food and Beverage Industry
Research Triangle Park, N.C., March 9, 2010 Sheila Benny, Optricity's Executive VP, was recently named to Supply Demand Chain Executive Magazine's tenth annual listing of Pros to Know in the Supply Chain Industry. Supply and Demand Chain Executive is the executive's user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation.
Supply Demand Chain Executive classifies Benny as a 2010 Provider Pro to Know. The Provider Pros to Know is a listing of individuals from a software firm or service provider, consultancy, or analyst or research firm who have personally helped clients address the challenges of the recession and prepare for the recovery ahead. "This year's Provider Pros to Know have shown themselves to be thought-leaders in the Supply Chain industry," said Andrew K. Reese, editor of Supply Demand Chain Executive. "Highlighting the learnings that the Provider Pros to Know have taken out of the Great Recession provides our readers with a wealth of best practices that they can apply in their own supply chains, as well as insights into how leading organizations are positioning themselves for competitive advantage in the Great Recovery ahead."
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Green Lake
Welcome to seattlepi.com's Green Lake neighborhood blog. Please see My Green Lake for more neighborhood news
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Halloween Fun Run and Kids Dash fundraiser for new Bagley playfield
Sure you could just put your feet up on Halloween morning and wait for the trick or treaters, but where's the fun in that? Instead, why not proactively burn some pre-candy calories, banking them for your treat of choice later, and help Daniel Bagley Elementary build a safer, greener playfield? The fun low-impact 1K and 5K walk/fun run is being held on Sunday, Oct … [Read More]
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Jonas Ingerstedt update
Posted on Wed, 26 Mar 2014 by kim Post a Comment
Jonas Ingerstedt, Swedish photographer extraordinaire, we love you, we love you, we love you. Your photos create drama, incite delicious dreams and taunt the senses. And because of that I'm loving you a bit today too, with these photos.


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Marie Wright, PhD, CHS-V, is a Professor of Management Information Systems at Western Connecticut State University. There, she developed the nation's first undergraduate course in information systems security and led the implementation of the nation's first interdisciplinary undergraduate program in information security management within a school of business. She received her Ph.D. in Information and Control Systems from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, and has been actively involved in the field of information security/information assurance for more than twenty years.
She has co-authored two books, and authored numerous book chapters and articles, on information systems security. She has served as a panel review member for the National Science Foundation's Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service program, and as a member of the National Science Foundation's National Visiting Committee for the Cybersecurity: Washington Area Technician and Consortium Headquarters (CyberWATCH) Regional Center. She also has served as a review board member for the National Security Agency's Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education program.


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Posted at: 11/23/2012 4:30 PM
By: The Associated Press
ALAMOSA, Colo. (AP) - Two types of rare birds found in southern Colorado have a new protection plan.
The Pueblo Chieftain reports that federal wildlife officials and southern Colorado water and government officials have finalized a plan to the southwestern willow flycatcher and the yellow-billed cuckoo.
The plan aims to protect the birds while allowing farmers and ranchers to avoid more stringent provisions in the Endangered Species Act.
The southwestern willow flycatcher is listed as endangered by the federal government. The yellow-billed cuckoo is a candidate for federal listing.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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PLATTSBURGH — Customers casually walked in and out of NBT Bank Tuesday, smiling under a hot summer sun.
The scene seemed normal, except for two Clinton County Sheriff's cruisers, and a New York State Police cruiser and SUV parked, empty, behind the building located at 482 Route 3 in the Town of Plattsburgh.
The day before, a man who claimed he had a gun, robbed the bank and was deemed armed and dangerous by police as the manhunt got under way.
"I think it's the economy," said Herb Primo, who works across the street at R.E. Michel Company Inc. "People are hungry."
As of Tuesday morning, the man remained at large.
Monday afternoon, a man entered the bank through the front entrance, approached a teller and passed her a note. It demanded money and said he had a gun, according to New York State Police.
There were no customers in the bank at that time, and a surveillance camera picked up the robber, who is described as about 6 feet tall, between 220 and 250 pounds and black. He may have used a fake goatee and mustache and was wearing dark glasses, khaki shorts, a dark sweatshirt with the word "lucky" on the front, white sneakers and a light-colored baseball cap.
The man does not reveal a weapon in the video.
He quickly left through the front doors after the teller gave him an undisclosed amount of money, though his direction of travel is unclear. Witnesses report him walking in opposite directions.
Law enforcement set up a roadblock at the intersection of Quarry and Tom Miller roads. They searched cars at the intersection of Rugar Street and Hammond Lane.
Helicopters scanned Plattsburgh State and Consumer Square, a canine unit searching the parking lot of the latter.
Helicopters also searched Plattsburgh Plaza as a canine unit focused its attention on the area around Big Lots.
(Continued on Next Page)
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Easley Native Dr. Valerie Ramsey Shares Her Story with Tri-County GradsRead More
News, Events & Special Promotions
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|Virus & Other Malware Removal
Slow Computer... MalwareBytes can't scan ...
Browser hijacked by Snap Do and search s ...
Good Online Virus Detection and Removal ...
Blekko nuisance
slow internet and weird computer
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Are these virus
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06-Jul-2005, 10:41 AM #1
Invisible Directory on my computer
This is the most weird, interesting and annoying problem that has been happening to my computer. I don't even know if this is considered a virus, trojan, worm, spyware,... I have no clue what to classify this problem but hopefully someone in this forum can help me.
I purchased my computer about 3-4 years ago. I'm currently a web developer and graphic designer so my computer is my career at the moment. I own a Dell Dimension 4400 with Windows XP Home Edition just in case you needed to know what type of computer I own and the OS that's running on it. I bought it with 20GBs in the hard drive. I figure that would be enough for my business. I bought all the programs that I needed and those programs took up collectively about 8GB of my hard drive space. As a few years pass I get the little alert pop telling me that I'm low in disk space. I look at the File space and I had under 200MBs left of hard drive space. This was a complete shock to me because all of the files for the websites that I built took up an average of 50 - 150MB. A lot of the print work took up way more and I also got into video editing and 3D modeling and animation which also took up some space so I just took it that all of my work files are taking up too much space. I bought an external drive and stored all of the files in my portfolio on this external hard drive but it seemed that all it free was about 6GB worth of space.
Now I'm storing everything on this external drive. I'm starting to notice that it takes about 5 minutes to boot up my computer when usually it took about 30 seconds. As the months went by my hard drive space dropped to under 200MB again. Now I'm really confused. I went on a forum and I began to ask a lot of question. Someone told me to download a program called JDiskReport that gives you a full diagnostic of all the files that are on your computer. They show you piecharts and things of that nature that will show which directory and files are taking up a lot of space. I noticed that a lot of the space was being taken up by my Outlook and Internet Explorer; especially the Internet Explorer. There's a temporary cache folder that stored every single image, video, flash file... basically all of the files from every single website that I have visited since I owned my computer. Supposedly there was a bug in Internet Explorer. The folder is suppose to automatically delete old files and only keep that folder to a certain size but the folder wasn't doing it's job. I downloaded a patch that fixed this problem on the Microsoft website. Now I have only 2GB of free space left. All of my programs are running smooth as it did before but I was still a little skeptical that I'm so low on hard drive space.
A few months later, again, I'm down to under 200MBs of hard drive space. I run another scan with the program JDiskReport. It tells me that all of the files on my computer takes up 8GBs. I have no clue what's taking up the other 12GBs.
An interesting thing that I noticed was that I have a program that actually allows me to look through directories on my computer. It's like a more advance file browser and I noticed that I had a folder here C:Uploads/. The wierd thing about this directory is that when I try to go there manually It doesn't exist. I thought it was strange that this file browser tells me that this directory exists but yet I can't go there manual. I even changed my view options to show all hidden files and folders and this folder still didn't show up. I went back to that file browser program and I was able to open the directory from there and even when I click on the UP button in that folder it goes to my C: directory and yet I can't see an Uploads folder in the C: directory. Inside of this Uploads folder was a ton of zip files. Zip files all containing the set up files for applications. I checked the same folder again about an hour later and about 2000 more zip files for programs were in this folder. I deleted everything in this folder and it free about 3GBs. This made me come to the conclusion that I may have a ton of other folders like this with a bunch of files that is taking up the 12GBs of my hard drive space and keep getting added to my computer.
Is there a way to find these folders manually and stop this from continuing. Some how, whomever did this to my computer, manage to to it in a way where you can't find the folder manually but the folder actually exists. Not even JDiskReport scanned these folders or if I run a search for a name of one of the zip files in this folder nothing comes up in the results. I have firewalls, virus scan software but I'm not even sure if these would even help.
Please help... someone.
08-Jul-2005, 06:11 PM #2
i have the same problem! uploads folder
i have the same problem. here are my specs: emachines M2105 laptop with 40GB hard drive space, 512MB memory. about 1 year old.
i also notice that i am low on hard drive space (C shows about 12GB out of 37GB available). says i am using something like 24GB. there's no way i have my laptop loaded with that much stuff!!!
i had noticed my computer was booting up slow, so i ran microsoft antispyware. didn't really find anything. then i run adaware SE professional (deep scan) and it takes FOREVER. now, i am kinda watching the scan and i notice it's taking forever to go through this "c:\uploads" folder. i've never even heard of that folder before. i see that adaware is scanning TONS of things in it. things i have NO IDEA about. so, i set off to find this "uploads" folder and check it out.
except i can't find it. i though it was a hidden folder, so i allow windows explorer to view hidden folder. still can't find it. i do a search on all files and folders for "uploads", including hidden and system folders and STILL can't find it.
my adaware completes and i've got some malware, some corrupted registry keys, etc. i quarantine and then delete them. i go and check my C drive and sure enough, i only have 12GB free space.
so, what is this uploads folder and how do i clear it? this is a HUGE problem for me! if anyone knows anything, PLEASE help!
08-Jul-2005, 06:31 PM #3
hmmm...a solution?
ok, so i go to windows explorer and i type in "c:\uploads" and sure enough, i see the folder. i deleted everything in it (about 3GB) and it freed up some space. i will be checking it to make sure it doesn't come back.
ian, can you post the link to the patch for IE you found? i use firefox, but i am sure it would be useful to have this fix.
i am not sure if this is a solution, so any additional information on this issue would be helpful.
i also found this link that contains some (very little) information:
looks like this somehow comes from limewire, which would explain how i got it.
doesn't offer any help though!
ok, i keep finding more information. here's an article from trend micro about the worm that creates this folder:
wow, looks like we have a solution! i am going to read up on this and then hopefully get it taken care of. good luck to all!
Last edited by callisto9; 08-Jul-2005 at 06:41 PM..
08-Jul-2005, 06:48 PM #4
Well the patch really just fixed the caching problem that IE6 had. I believe if you have service pack 2 then it's fixed. I got it at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. I made sure get all the critical updates.
I did the same... located the C:\Uploads folder using my browser and deleted all of the files in that folder but they keep coming back up the next time I check. I changed the name of the folder, the folder is still invisible but I notice that no more files gets loaded in the folder anymore. I'm not going to get my hopes up though because I may check tomorrow and a new set of 2000 files maybe added. I know there has to be more files like this on my hard drive. I just wish i knew how to find them. I even tried to see if I can turn on the option for it not to share but that option can't be checked. This little bug is a sneaky one.
And just in case if I need to do this... here's my most recent HiJackThis log:
Logfile of HijackThis v1.97.7
Scan saved at 11:44:53 AM, on 7/6/2005
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)
Running processes:
C:\Program Files\Alias\Maya6.0\docs\Wrapper.exe
C:\Program Files\Alias\Maya6.0\docs\jre\bin\java.exe
C:\Program Files\Adaptec\Easy CD Creator 5\DirectCD\DirectCD.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Logitech\iTouch\iTouch.exe
C:\Program Files\Creative\ShareDLL\CtNotify.exe
C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_04\bin\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\Program Files\Creative\ShareDLL\MediaDet.Exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Distillr\Acrotray.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Works Shared\wkcalrem.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Security Center\SymWSC.exe
C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop 7.0\Photoshop.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Trevino Jarrett\Desktop\temporary dnld folder\Bazooka Spyware Scanner\HijackThis.exe
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.dellnet.com/
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dellnet.com
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.dellnet.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dellnet.com
N2 - Netscape 6: user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://www.google.com"); (C:\Documents and Settings\Trevino Jarrett\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\9chcdve2.slt\prefs.js)
N2 - Netscape 6: user_pref("browser.search.defaultengine", "engine://C%3A%5CProgram%20Files%5CNetscape%5CNetscape%206%5Csearchplugins%5CSBWeb_01 .src"); (C:\Documents and Settings\Trevino Jarrett\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\9chcdve2.slt\prefs.js)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Popup Manager - {08E74C67-99A6-45C7-94DA-A397A8FD8082} - C:\Program Files\Popup Manager\PopupMgr_126.96.36.199.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {AE7CD045-E861-484f-8273-0445EE161910} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Adobe PDF - {47833539-D0C5-4125-9FA8-0819E2EAAC93} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE NvQTwk,NvCplDaemon initialize
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AdaptecDirectCD] "C:\Program Files\Adaptec\Easy CD Creator 5\DirectCD\DirectCD.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [zBrowser Launcher] C:\Program Files\Logitech\iTouch\iTouch.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [EM_EXEC] C:\PROGRA~1\MOUSEW~1\SYSTEM\EM_EXEC.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UpdReg] C:\WINDOWS\Updreg.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AHQInit] C:\Program Files\Creative\SBLive\Program\AHQInit.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NAV Agent] C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\navapw32.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Disc Detector] C:\Program Files\Creative\ShareDLL\CtNotify.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_04\bin\jusched.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Symantec NetDriver Monitor] C:\PROGRA~1\SYMNET~1\SNDMon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MaxtorOneTouch] C:\PROGRA~1\Maxtor\OneTouch\Utils\OneTouch.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RetroExpress] C:\PROGRA~1\Dantz\RETROS~1\RetroExpress.exe /h
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MXOBG] C:\WINDOWS\MXOALDR.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [TkBellExe] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Acrobat Assistant 7.0] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Distillr\Acrotray.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [winupdate] C:\Program Files\winupdate\winupdate.exe /auto
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [p2pnetworking] p2pnetworking.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [p2pnetworking] p2pnetworking.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Microsoft Works Update Detection] C:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\WkDetect.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Acrobat Speed Launcher.lnk = ?
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Reader Speed Launch.lnk = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\reader_sl.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Works Calendar Reminders.lnk = ?
O8 - Extra context menu item: -> TimelyWeb - C:\Documents and Settings\Trevino Jarrett\Desktop\temporary dnld folder\timelyweb\IEPopupExtension.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert link target to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert link target to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selected links to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECaptureSelLinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selected links to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppendSelLinks.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selection to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert selection to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert to Adobe PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIECapture.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Convert to existing PDF - res://C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll/AcroIEAppend.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download &Flash Movies - C:\Program Files\Flash2X\Flash Hunter\save.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~4\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Yahoo! Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: AIM (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: MoneySide (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: TimelyWeb (HKCU)
O9 - Extra button: Flash2X Flash Hunter (HKCU)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: &Launch Flash Hunter (HKCU)
O16 - DPF: {02BCC737-B171-4746-94C9-0D8A0B2C0089} (Microsoft Office Template and Media Control) - http://office.microsoft.com/templates/ieawsdc.cab
O16 - DPF: {02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B} (QuickTime Object) - http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab
O16 - DPF: {03F998B2-0E00-11D3-A498-00104B6EB52E} (MetaStreamCtl Class) - https://components.viewpoint.com/ado...0C%20I%20T%20Y
O16 - DPF: {11260943-421B-11D0-8EAC-0000C07D88CF} (iPIX ActiveX Control) - http://www.ipix.com/viewers/ipixx.cab
O16 - DPF: {166B1BCA-3F9C-11CF-8075-444553540000} (Shockwave ActiveX Control) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/s...irector/sw.cab
O16 - DPF: {197AB1D7-A7DD-4C86-A938-1FCC0DB21B85} (DMProxyCtl Class) - http://dm.cometsystems.com/dm/dm_286.cab
O16 - DPF: {1D4DB7D2-6EC9-47A3-BD87-1E41684E07BB} - http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/nocache...tup126.96.36.199.cab
O16 - DPF: {2BC66F54-93A8-11D3-BEB6-00105AA9B6AE} (Symantec AntiVirus scanner) - http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/S...in/AvSniff.cab
O16 - DPF: {30528230-99F7-4BB4-88D8-FA1D4F56A2AB} (YInstStarter Class) - http://download.yahoo.com/dl/installs/yinst.cab
O16 - DPF: {31B7EB4E-8B4B-11D1-A789-00A0CC6651A8} (Cult3D ActiveX Player) - http://www.cult3d.com/download/cult.cab
O16 - DPF: {36C66BBD-E667-4DAD-9682-58050E7C9FDC} (CDKey Class) - http://www.cdkeybonus.com/cdkey/ITCDKey.cab
O16 - DPF: {3E68E405-C6DE-49FF-83AE-41EE9F4C36CE} (Office Update Installation Engine) - http://office.microsoft.com/officeup...ntent/opuc.cab
O16 - DPF: {41F17733-B041-4099-A042-B518BB6A408C} - http://a1540.g.akamai.net/7/1540/52/...eInstaller.exe
O16 - DPF: {637BB540-6ABA-11D4-901D-00D0090CB3BC} (FMClass Class) - http://www.flashants.com/codebase/fmplayer.cab
O16 - DPF: {644E432F-49D3-41A1-8DD5-E099162EEEC5} (Symantec RuFSI Utility Class) - http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/S.../bin/cabsa.cab
O16 - DPF: {68A2C3BD-7809-11D3-8ACF-0050046F2F9A} (AXELPlayer Class) - http://www.mindavenue.com/Downloads/...erAX_Win32.cab
O16 - DPF: {74D05D43-3236-11D4-BDCD-00C04F9A3B61} (HouseCall Control) - http://a840.g.akamai.net/7/840/537/2...ll/xscan53.cab
O16 - DPF: {8E28B3A9-FE83-45D1-B657-D5426B81A121} (CustomerCtrl Class) - http://cs5b.instantservice.com/jars/...rxsigned40.cab
O16 - DPF: {8EDAD21C-3584-4E66-A8AB-EB0E5584767D} - http://toolbar.google.com/data/GoogleActivate.cab
O16 - DPF: {90A29DA5-D020-4B18-8660-6689520C7CD7} (DmiReader Class) - http://ftp.us.dell.com/fixes/PROFILER.CAB
O16 - DPF: {9F1C11AA-197B-4942-BA54-47A8489BB47F} - http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.co...612.0420486111
O16 - DPF: {A8658086-E6AC-4957-BC8E-7D54A7E8A78E} (SassCln Object) - http://www.microsoft.com/security/co...20/SassCln.CAB
O16 - DPF: {B9191F79-5613-4C76-AA2A-398534BB8999} (YAddBook Class) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yaho...tocomplete.cab
O16 - DPF: {B942A249-D1E7-4C11-98AE-FCB76B08747F} (RealArcadeRdxIE Class) - http://games-dl.real.com/gameconsole...rcadeRdxIE.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub...sh/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {D719897A-B07A-4C0C-AEA9-9B663A28DFCB} - http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite...ITDetector.cab
O16 - DPF: {DF6A0F17-0B1E-11D4-829D-00C04F6843FE} (Microsoft Office Tools on the Web Control) - http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/Te...loads/outc.cab
O16 - DPF: {DF780F87-FF2B-4DF8-92D0-73DB16A1543A} (PopCapLoader Object) - http://download.games.yahoo.com/game...ploader_v5.cab
O16 - DPF: {EB387D2F-E27B-4D36-979E-847D1036C65D} (QDiagHUpdateObj Class) - http://h30043.www3.hp.com/dj/qdiagh.cab?306
O16 - DPF: {EE5CA45C-BFAC-48E6-BE6C-3C607620FF43} (IMViewerControl Class) - http://companion.logitech.com/compan.../bin/imvid.cab
O16 - DPF: {F04A8AE2-A59D-11D2-8792-00C04F8EF29D} (Hotmail Attachments Control) - http://lw7fd.law7.hotmail.msn.com/activex/HMAtchmt.ocx
O16 - DPF: {FE0BD779-44EE-4A4B-AA2E-743C63F2E5E6} (IWinAmpActiveX Class) - http://pdl.stream.aol.com/downloads/...ampx_en_dl.cab
10-Jul-2005, 01:17 PM #5
Now my My Computer Icon is not on my desktop anymore.... PLEASE!... someone help me with this.
10-Jul-2005, 08:28 PM #6
were you able to rid your computer of the worm mentioned above? i had to run adaware, microsoft anti-spyware, hijack this and killbox, but i am finally rid of the worm and am not having the c:\uploads folder problem anymore.
as for the missing my computer icon, that i don't know about. should be easy to get that icon back on your desktop though. are you still able to access my computer? good luck.
25-Nov-2005, 02:32 PM #7
Try this
Use RegRun at http://www.greatis.com/security/ to see what is being loaded when winlogon.exe starts. Go to security, antivirus, and view Winlogon Notification extras. delete any with no file information. Check all the other things regrun finds too.
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text:
Event Name- OR - Select an option below
Steinberg Skating Rink is the largest outdoor ice skating rink in the Midwest, offering public skating all day, everyday — including all holidays. We are always open no matter what the weather or temperature is. Your skate admission is valid all day. You may arrive at anytime during business hours and skate as long as you like. We do not have sessions. We offer open public skating all day, everyday.


text:
Dr. Benjamin Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon who came into the national spotlight in February after criticizing health care and other policies of President Barack Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast, has been asked to step down as the commencement speaker at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine only after making recent comments on same sex marriage.
His comments were based on his personal beliefs. Carson stated, "My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It's a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality — it doesn't matter what they are — they don't get to change the definition."
One of the petitions stated: "We retain the highest respect for Dr. Carson's achievements and value his right to publicly voice political views. Nevertheless, we feel that these expressed values are incongruous with the values of Johns Hopkins and deeply offensive to a large proportion of our student body."
In his public apology in the Baltimore Sun, Carson stated, "First of all, I certainly believe gay people should have all the rights that anybody else has. What I was basically saying is that as far as marriage is concerned, that has traditionally been between a man and a woman and nobody should be able to change that."
With respect to the commencement, he said, "I would say this is their day, and the last thing I would want to do is rain on their parade."
As a nation we must be open to tolerance and trying to understand both sides of the issues to reach a compromise. Each side of every issue has valid arguments, but if neither side is willing to acknowledge and address those arguments, we will only prolong the anguish, anger and divisiveness these issues create in our democratic society. The world will always be full of people with different views. As a human race, we apparently still have a long way to go in learning how to constructively deal with our differences and provide true freedom of speech.
Dan Alexander is associate publisher of New Market Press and publisher and CEO of Denton Publications. He may be reached at email@example.com or email@example.com.
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text:
An adaptive advertising apparatus and associated methods. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a computer readable medium having at least one computer program disposed thereon, the at least one program being configured to adaptively present (e.g., display) advertising-related content (e.g., audio, video, images, etc.) that is contextually related to inputs provided via an input device such as a for example touch-screen display device. In one variant, the at least one program analyzes user input to determine a context of the input, and selects advertising related to the context for presentation to the user.
1. Computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least one computer program with a plurality of instructions, said at least one program being configured to:
receive a first input relating to a first location;
receive a second input relating to a second location, the first and second locations being part of a common journey;
identify a first entity associated with the first location;
identify a second entity associated with the second location;
present first advertising content related to the first entity; and
present second advertising content related to the second entity.
2. The apparatus of
3. The apparatus of
4. The apparatus of
5. The apparatus of
6. The apparatus of
the computer-readable apparatus is part of a computerized apparatus having a touch-screen input and display device and a wireless interface in communication therewith;
the computerized apparatus is part of a host device configured for movement between different locations; and
the access of the remote server via the network is performed via the wireless interface.
7. The apparatus of
8. The apparatus of
9. The apparatus of
10. The apparatus of
11. The apparatus of
12. The apparatus of
generate a listing of a plurality of possible matches to at least one of said first and/or second inputs; and
receive further input regarding at least one of the listed plurality of possible matches.
13. The apparatus of
14. The apparatus of
generate audible speech signals relating to a plurality of possible matches to at least one of said first and/or second inputs; and
receive at least a further input regarding at least one of the plurality of possible matches.
15. The apparatus of
16. Computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least one computer program with a plurality of instructions, said at least one program being configured to, based on at least first information relating to a first location and second information relating to a second location, the first and second locations being part of a common journey:
identify a first entity associated with the first location;
identify a second entity associated with the second location;
present first advertising content related to the first entity; and
present second advertising content related to the second entity.
17. The apparatus of
18. The apparatus of
19. The apparatus of
20. Computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least one computer program with a plurality of instructions, said at least one program being configured to:
receive a digitized speech input relating to an organization or entity which a user wishes to locate;
based at least in part on the input, identify a location associated with the organization or entity; and
provide a graphical or visual representation of the location in order to aid a user in finding the organization or entity, the graphical or visual representation of the location also comprising a graphical or visual representation of the surroundings of the organization or entity.
21. The apparatus of
22. The apparatus of
23. The apparatus of
24. The apparatus of
25. The apparatus of
26. The apparatus of
27. The apparatus of
28. The apparatus of
29. Computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least one computer program with a plurality of instructions, said at least one program being configured to:
receive a digitized speech input relating to an organization or entity which a user wishes to locate;
based at least in part on the input, identify a location associated with the organization or entity; and
provide a graphical or visual representation of the location in order to aid a user in finding the organization or entity, the graphical or visual representation of the location comprising a map graphic showing the location of the organization or entity relative to other organizations or entities proximate thereto.
30. The apparatus of
31. The apparatus of
32. The apparatus of
33. The apparatus of
34. The apparatus of
35. The apparatus of
36. The apparatus of
37. The apparatus of
38. A computerized apparatus having a touch-screen input and display device and a wireless interface in communication therewith, the computerized apparatus being part of a host device configured for movement between different locations, the computerized apparatus comprising a computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least one computer program with a plurality of instructions, said at least one computer program being configured to:
receive a digitized speech input relating to an organization or entity which a user wishes to locate;
based at least in part on the input, identify a location associated with the organization or entity; and
obtain and provide a graphical or visual representation of the location in order to aid a user in finding the organization or entity, the graphical or visual representation of the location configured to be displayed upon the touch-screen input and display device;
the identification of the location associated with the organization or entity, and the obtaining the graphical or visual representation of the location, each comprise accessing a remote server via a network using said wireless interface; and
the at least one computer program is further configured to receive and utilize digitized speech in an iterative or hierarchical fashion to progress through a menu structure comprising multiple possible matching organizations or entities.
39. The apparatus of
40. The apparatus of
41. The apparatus of
42. The apparatus of
generate audible speech signals relating to a plurality of possible matches to said input; and
receive at least a second input regarding at least one of the plurality of possible matches.
43. The apparatus of
44. Computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least one computer program with a plurality of instructions, said at least one program being configured to, based on at least first information relating to a first location and second information relating to a second location, the first and second locations being part of a common journey:
obtain an identification of a first entity associated with the first location;
obtain an identification of a second entity associated with the second location;
cause presentation of first advertising content related to the first entity; and
cause presentation of second advertising content related to the second entity.
45. The apparatus of
46. The apparatus of
47. The apparatus of
This application is a continuation of and claims priority to co-owned and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/506,975 filed Aug. 17, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,565 and entitled "SMART ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD", which is a divisional of and claims priority to co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/935,957 filed Sep. 7, 2004 and entitled "SMART ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD", now U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,693, which is a divisional of co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/651,451 filed Aug. 29, 2003 and entitled "SMART ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD", now U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,071, which is a continuation of co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/330,101 filed Jun. 10, 1999 and entitled "SMART ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD", now U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,175, each of the foregoing incorporated into the present application by reference in its entirety. This application is also related to co-pending and co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/703,666 filed Feb. 10, 2010 entitled "Adaptive Advertising Apparatus and Methods", co-pending and co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/704,431 filed Feb. 11, 2010 entitled "Adaptive Advertising Apparatus and Methods", and Ser. No. 12/711,857 filed contemporaneously herewith on Feb. 24, 2010 entitled "ADAPTIVE INFORMATION PRESENTATION APPARATUS AND METHODS", each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of personnel transport apparatus, and specifically to elevators and similar devices for transporting people from one location to another which incorporate various information technologies.
2. Description of Related Technology
Elevators and similar personnel transport devices (such as moving walkways or shuttles) are important aspects of modern urban life. Commonly used in office buildings, airports, shopping malls, and other large structures, these devices transport large numbers of people and equipment between two locations on a routine basis. Elevators in particular are widely used throughout the world.
Depending on loading, a person may spend up to several minutes on an elevator during travel between floors. Significant amounts of time may also be spent waiting for the elevator to arrive when called. This time is usually "dead" from the standpoint that very little can be accomplished or very few tasks undertaken during these few minutes. However, often times an individual may require information which will be of use after leaving the elevator. For example, the person may wish to obtain travel information such as directions to the nearest airport or public transportation node, or the location of a nearby restaurant. Weather-related information or traffic reports may also be useful. A plethora of different types of information, including financial data, breaking news headlines, sports scores and the like may also be of interest to one waiting for or riding on an elevator or other transport device.
An associated problem relates to determining the location of a person, firm, or store within a building when unfamiliar. Building directories are often posted in the lobby of the building, yet these require the user to manually or visually locate the name of the person, firm, or store which they are looking for, and remember the location information associated therewith. Additionally, such directories often do not provide precise location information, but rather merely a floor number and/or suite number. The user often times does not have a graphical representation of the desired location in relation to the elevators, thereby resulting in additional wasted time in finding the location once off of the elevator. Even if a graphical display is provided, it often requires the user to spatially orient themselves to determine relative location.
Security is also a concern when riding elevators late at night or to remote locations. Many elevator systems are used partly or entirely within parking garages, which often may be sparsely populated at off hours. People are all too frequently assaulted or robbed when departing from elevators under such conditions. Unfortunately, existing elevator systems do not have the facility to provide the occupant(s) with the ability to selectively observe the area immediately surrounding the elevator doors on one or more destination floors, or otherwise take precautions to enhance their security.
Another problem associated with existing elevator systems relates to their loading capacity. Often, especially at peak use hours such as during the noon hour, the call buttons for several different floors within a building will be activated, and elevator cars which are at or near their loading capacity will respond. With no additional room available in the elevator, the person depressing the call button on a given floor is left to wait for the elevator doors to close, depress the call button again, and wait for another (hopefully partially vacant) car to arrive. This process not only delays the person waiting for the car, but also those on the elevator car(s), and those waiting on other floors.
In addition to the foregoing, many elevators must have a means of restricting access to certain floors during certain time periods while not interfering with other operations. These elevators generally also include means by which certain users may gain access to the restricted floors, such as a magnetic striped card which is inserted into a card reader on the elevator. However, such card readers are prone to wear and having to re-swipe the card several times in order to obtain access. Furthermore, as the card wears due to repeated swiping or bending (such as when left in the pocket of the individual carrying the card), the card will be more prone to failure and will eventually require replacement. Also, such cards are prone to unauthorized use. Someone stealing or finding the lost card can simply insert it into the card reader of the elevator and gain access to the restricted floor(s). It is also noted that since access is restricted to certain floors typically during late-night or weekend hours, HVAC and lighting systems are typically turned off or dormant in order to conserve energy. Hence, when the user arrives at one of these restricted access floors, several minutes are typically spent turning on the HVAC, lights, and any other number of electrical devices. Some systems require the user to insert their magnetic strip card in a separate reader, such as in the control room for the HVAC (which is typically located on a different floor), in order to initiate equipment operation. This is obviously time consuming and cumbersome.
Lastly, there is often an element of discomfort associated with riding an elevator car, especially when several individuals are present in the car. Due in part to minimal space within the car and nothing to occupy the occupants attention visually, there is a natural tendency for one to stare up, down, or forward at the door of the elevator, or at the visual floor indicators so as to avoid prolonged eye contact with the other occupants.
Heretofore, many of the technologies necessary to address the aforementioned issues have not been available or, alternatively, have been cost or space prohibitive to implement. However, recent advances in data networking, thin or flat panel display technology, personal electronics, and speech recognition and compression algorithms and processing have enhanced the viability of such features from both technological and commercial perspectives.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an improved elevator system and method of operation which will reduce the time spent waiting for and travelling on the elevator car, reduce the frustration associated with repeated stops at different floors, and allow the occupants of the elevator (as well as those waiting for the car) to use their time more efficiently and obtain needed information. Additionally, such an elevator system would enhance the security of the occupants upon egress, and allow for automatic recognition of an individual in order to provide access to certain restricted locations and initiation of certain functions such as lighting and HVAC.
In a first aspect of the invention, computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium is disclosed. In one embodiment, the storage medium comprises at least one computer program with a plurality of instructions, the at least one program being configured to: receive an input relating to a location; identify a business or organizational entity associated with the location; and present advertising content related to the entity. In a second embodiment, the at least one program is capable of providing information and contextually related adaptive advertising via a common user interface, the at least one program being configured to: receive a first query for first information via a touch-screen input and display device, the first query relating to a first functional context; retrieve the first information in response to the query; cause display of the first information on the touch-screen input and display device; cause selection of advertising based at least on the first functional context; and present the selected advertising on the touch-screen input and display device contemporaneously with the first information. In a third embodiment, the at least one computer program comprises a plurality of instructions, the at least one program being configured to provide location-related contextual advertising by the method comprising: receiving an input relating to a location; based at least in part on the received input, identify a business entity associated with the location; identify a context associated with the identified business entity; select advertising based on the context; and present the selected advertising via an output device.
In a fourth embodiment, the at least one program is configured to: receive a first input relating to a first location; receive a second input relating to a second location, the first and second locations being part of a common journey; identify a first entity associated with the first location; identify a second entity associated with the second location; present first advertising content related to the first entity; and present second advertising content related to the second entity.
Reference is now made to the drawings listed above, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
It is noted that while the system and methods of the invention disclosed herein are described primarily with respect to an elevator car, certain aspects of the invention may be useful in other applications, including, without limitation, other types of personnel transport devices such as trams or shuttles or moving walkways, or stationary devices such as kiosks within the lobby or elevator waiting areas of a building. As used herein, the term "building" is meant to encompass any structure, whether above ground or underground, permanent or temporary, used for any function.
General Description
Referring now to
As shown in
In the present embodiment, CELP-based voice data compression is also utilized for transmission and storage of voice data. CELP algorithms in general are useful for converting analog speech to a compressed digital format which is more rapidly and easily manipulated and stored within a digital system using less bandwidth and memory. CELP algorithms and low bit rate vocoder technology are well known in the signal processing art, and accordingly will not be described further herein. Note that as used herein, the term CELP is meant to include any and all variants of the CELP family such as, but not limited to, ACELP, VCELP, and QCELP. It is also noted that while CELP is used as the basis of compression within the system 100, other types of compression algorithms and techniques, whether based on companding or otherwise, may be used. For example, PCM (pulse code modulation) or ADPCM (adaptive delta PCM) may be employed, as may other forms of linear predictive coding (LPC).
As illustrated in
The DSP 125 of the present embodiment is a Texas Instruments TMS320C6x VLIW digital signal processor or equivalent, although it will be recognized that other types of processors may be used. The 'C6x DSP is chosen for its speed and capability, thereby allowing for real-time speech recognition. The central processor 106 and associated motherboard architecture (e.g., northbridge, southbridge, etc.) is optimally an Intel Pentium II�-based design, although others, such as the AMD K600-series processors, may be used in place of the Pentium II�. The aforementioned USB is also advantageously used with the Pentium architecture.
The information and control system keypads 116 and displays 113 (
The touch-screen display 113 generates a variety of different messages or display formats based on the user's input and query. These messages and formats are stored as digital data on the storage device 108 (and temporarily in video RAM 107) which is accessed by the processor 106. The display devices 113 of the present embodiment are low profile capacitive LCD touch screen devices of the type well known in the art, although other types of displays, including "flat" cathode ray tubes, plasma, or TFT displays may be used. Such displays optimally limit the amount of space required external to the interior volume of the elevator car to accommodate the system 100 of the present invention. Furthermore, it is noted that a non-touch sensitive display (not shown) may be used with the aforementioned input device 102 if desired, the latter acting as the sole input device (other than the speech recognition module 104 and associated microphone 118).
In the embodiment of
As shown in
In an alternative embodiment, data may be transferred between the elevator cars 180 and the remote server 170 via a wireless interface 310 (
It will be appreciated that many different arrangements for the disposition of various components within the system, including, inter alia, the processor/motherboard, storage devices, server, and memory (and the transfer of data and signals there between) are possible, all of which are encompassed within the scope of the present invention.
Building Directory Sub-System
The operation of the building directory sub-system is now described in greater detail with reference to the logic diagram of
Upon entering the elevator, the user initiates the "Building Directory" function of the system by pressing a function key 122 on the keypad 116 or touch display 113. The keypad 116 and/or key 122 may be labeled with an appropriate label such as "Building Directory" or the like. Upon depressing the function key 122, a signal is generated which prompts the system to respond with an audible and/or visual query to the user, depending on how the system is pre-configured. For an audible query, the sub-system of the present embodiment retrieves a pre-stored CELP (or other compressed format) data file from one of the storage devices 108, 110 and converts that file to an analog audio representation of voice via the speech synthesis module 112 and processor 106. Speech synthesis technology is well known in the signal processing arts, and accordingly will not be discussed further herein. The audio signal from the synthesis module 112 is applied to the amplifier and audio speaker 111 to generate a voice prompt, such as "Name?". Alternatively, or simultaneously if desired, the system 100 retrieves a separate data file from the storage device 108, 110 which represents the current building directory. The building directory data file contains a plurality of entries relating to tenants in the building where the system 100 is located. Each entry is parsed into data fields which contain, inter alia, the firm or entity name, its location (such as floor and suite number), and a list of the first and last names of all persons employed there. The processor 106 (and associated graphics co-processor 109 with video RAM 107) initiate the display of all retrieved data entries in the directory file on the display device 113 in a convenient format, such as an alphabetical list from which the user can select their desired option. The user may then speak the specific name of the party they wish to find, or select the name using the touch display 113 or other input device (such as a track ball; not shown). When the user speaks the name of the party desired, the speech recognition module 104 takes the analog signal from the microphone 118 and converts it to a digital format by way of the DSP 125 and compression algorithm, as previously described. The directory file is retrieved (if not already done), and the digitized and coded speech compared to the contents of the directory file to find any matches. Any matching fields within the entries of the data file are provided to the user, either audibly via the speech synthesis module 112 and speaker 111 using prompts, or visually via the display 113. In the present embodiment, audible prompts for a single matching entry are of the form: "[Name], [Company], located at Suite X on Floor Y". For multiple matching entries, the audible prompts are produced in a sequential, predetermined order (such as the numerical sequence number of the entries within the directory file). For example, the first matching entry (alphabetically) would be synthesized in the foregoing form, followed by the second entry, etc. Upon hearing the desired match in this voice activated embodiment, the user simply states "Stop", to choose the entry desired. At this point, a separate audio prompt is generated (such as "Select (floor number) Floor?") which prompts the user to either select the floor number associated with the matched directory item and terminate their session (such as by stating "yes"), or continue on with the next entry (such as by stating "no") until all entries are exhausted. The directory sub-system is programmed to store in memory 110 and "remember" previous files retrieved within a given user's session so as to not repeat the same selections during that same session. For example, if there are five "Smith" entries in the directory file, and the user enters the query "Smith", the sub-system will select a different "Smith" entry on each subsequent user query during the same session until the correct Smith is located or all matching entries have been exhausted. In the present embodiment, a session is defined as the time period between two successive selections of the "Building Directory" function key 122, or the expiration of a predetermined period of time without a user input after selection of that function. The sub-system is also optionally programmed to allow the user to append defining information to the initial query statement to form a Boolean search statement. For example, if the first "Smith" selected by the sub-system is not the desired one, the user may then append the query by saying "ABC Corporation" or "John" in response to the next "Select (floor number) Floor?" query by the sub-system. The sub-system will then recognize the new entry, and search all fields in all "Smith" entries to locate those listings having both the name "Smith" and "ABC Corporation" (or "John"), using Boolean "AND" logic. The user will then be prompted again to "Select (floor number) Floor?". If no matching entries are found, the sub-system will either notify the user to this effect, such as using an audio message such as "No matches found", or will display or announce the nearest approximation of the query based on a confidence rating. The confidence rating is calculated, for example, by the processor 106 running an algorithm; such confidence rating calculation algorithms are well understood, and indicate the quality of the match using a numeric value or index.
As used herein, the term "match" includes any predetermined criteria for correlating one piece of data to another. For example, the building directory sub-system may be programmed to consider two pieces of data a "match" when all bits with the exception of the least significant bit (LSB) are identical. Many such criteria are possible, and all are considered to be within the scope of the invention disclosed herein. Furthermore, partial matches, such as when the user enters one word which is matched within several different entries of the directory file, may be used as the basis for an appended search, as described below.
The directory file described above also optionally has a location graphic data file appended or linked thereto, which is retrieved from the storage device 108, 110 or the server 170. The location graphic file is displayed on the display device 113 as a floor map graphic 502 illustrating the location of the selected person or firm 504 on that floor in relation to the elevator cars 180, as illustrated in
The directory system 200 of the present embodiment also optionally includes directory files for nearby office buildings or establishments, thereby alerting the user through visual or audible prompt that they are in the wrong location once a match is confirmed by the user.
The user's session is terminated, or a new query initiated, when the "Building Directory" function key 122 is again depressed, after a predetermined time period without a user input, or upon the occurrence of some other event as desired.
Network Interface
The information system 100 described above may also include other functional aspects. As illustrated in
The information and control system 100 may also be programmed to provide information via the display unit(s) 113 on a rotating basis without the need for user intervention. For example, a given display unit 113 may be programmed to display a summary of local weather for the next five days (such as that shown in
Referring again to
Information Download to PED
Referring now to
As shown in
Capacity Sensing Sub-System
Referring now to
The composite signal 812 from the integrator 813 is correlated using the processor 814 to a known weight using a proportionality or scaling constant stored in memory 815, and ultimately to a first estimate of the number of occupants within the car ______ by way of another scaling constant also stored in memory 815. For example, if a total pressure reading equating to 1500 lbs. (after null calibration) was obtained from the summing amplifier 810, it could be correlated to an occupancy of ten persons, assuming that the average person weighs 150 lbs. and that their distribution within the car was uniform.
However, such "average" cases of weight and distribution thereof within the car 180 do not always occur, since often times people riding in the car may have significant disparities in size and weight, or may be transporting heavy objects. Furthermore, weights which are not an integer multiple of the scaling constant present the system with an ambiguity that must be resolved; i.e., how to round fractional amounts of a person. Accordingly, to address these situations, the first embodiment of the sub-system 800 of the present invention compares the foregoing first occupancy estimate to the number of different sensors 806 supplying a non-zero signal to the summing amplifier 810 as measured by a counter circuit 811. The number of sensors 806 supplying a non-zero signal is used as a lower limit on the occupancy estimate. Additionally, the number and disposition of sensors 806 within the car 180 are chosen to provide the sub-system 800 with information regarding the distribution of weight therein. For example, the elevator car 180 of the present embodiment is equipped with sixteen sensors positioned in a 4�4 array of four rows and four columns, each sensor 806 being centered within its fractional ( 1/16th) area of the flooring, as shown in
Hence based on the foregoing, the sub-system 800 would need to resolve the ambiguity between (i) the first estimate calculated based purely on weight and a predetermined scalar quantity; (ii) the maximum theoretical number of occupants based on weight sensor data; and (iii) the minimum theoretical number of occupants based on weight sensor data. To resolve this ambiguity, the sub-system 800 of the present embodiment imposes the restriction that any entity atop a sensor producing a signal proportional to less than an arbitrary lower threshold (say, 50 lbs. in the present example) which is adjacent to another sensor producing a non-zero signal is part of the same entity atop that adjacent sensor. In the foregoing example, sensor "11" registers only 40 lbs. of weight, and is adjacent to both sensors "10" and "14", which have non-zero output. Hence, the signal output from sensor "11" is assumed to be part of the same entity which is atop sensors "10" or "14". Since no other sensors in the foregoing example registered less than the assumed threshold of 50 lbs., all other sensors are presumed to have a distinct entity atop them. Hence, the corrected maximum number of entities calculated by the system (Omaxc) is reduced from 6 to 5. Note that once a sensor having a weight value less than the threshold is "paired" with another adjacent sensor, that adjacent sensor can not be paired with any others, thereby preventing double-counting. This restriction also addresses the instance where the measured weight on a given sensor of interest is above the lower threshold value, yet is due to two entities each located on adjacent sensors as well as the sensor of interest.
To further assist in resolving occupancy estimate ambiguity, the foregoing information is also correlated with the number of different floors selected within the elevator on the selection panel 820. Specifically, the number of different floors selected on the elevator car selection panel are used as a second lower limit or occupancy minimum, Ominp. Using the preceding example, if the sub-system 800 detects that five different floors were selected, the system would recognize the presence of five persons, one corresponding to each different floor selected. It is assumed that the instance wherein one person selects multiple floors (such as through inadvertent or mistaken floor selection) would occur infrequently, and would also not be of any significance since the number of people actually on the elevator in such instances would always be less than the estimate derived by the system, thereby affording more space within the car than estimated. In the converse situation, for example when the first occupancy estimate or maximum estimate indicate the presence of several different persons, yet the number of different floors selected is fewer, the system does not set the fewer number of floors equal to the number of occupants, since the additional weight is likely represented by additional passengers getting off at the same floor(s), or few passengers having cargo or other weighty objects with them in the elevator.
Lastly, the sub-system 800 utilizes (i) the first occupancy estimate OE, (ii) the corrected occupancy upper limit Omaxc determined by the number of sensors 806 with non-zero output that exceed the predetermined threshold value, (iii) first occupancy minimum Omins as determined by the number of adjacent sensor pairs, and (iv) second occupancy minimum Ominp as determined by the number of floors selected within the car 180, to produce a final occupancy estimate. Specifically, this final occupancy estimate Of is the greater of the first occupancy estimate, corrected occupancy upper limit, the first occupancy minimum, and the second occupancy minimum. In the foregoing example, these quantities are 4.33 persons, 5 persons, 3 persons, and 5 persons; hence, Of equals 5 persons. Note that the highest value is chosen for conservatism; this all but eliminates instances of the elevator car stopping at a floor with an active call signal when no additional room exists, yet does not so under-utilize the car's capacity so as to be grossly inefficient.
As a second example of the operation of the capacity sensing sub-system 800, consider if 16 children each having a weight of 75�20 lbs. (and an average weight of 75 lbs.) were present in the previously described elevator car. The total combined weight would equal 1200 lbs., and therefore OE would equal 1200/150 or 8. If OE alone were used in this instance, it would severely overestimate the remaining capacity of the elevator car. Next, assume each child to take up the space associated with one sensor, whether individually or in combination; hence, Omaxu would equal 16, and Omins would equal 8. Since no sensors 806 would register less than the assumed threshold value of 50 lbs. (i.e., each sensor would be associated with one whole child or one-half of two children), Omaxc would equal Omaxu. If 2 different floors were selected by the 16 children, then Ominp would equal 2. Hence, in this example, Of would equal Omaxu or 16 persons, which matches the actual occupancy exactly.
Note that due to the reduced size of children as compared to the average adult, it may be possible to have somewhat more children than adults within a given floor space of the elevator car; however, this effect is considered minimal since a child is generally much shorter than the average adult, and hence grows disproportionately in height as opposed to width (the latter relating to floor space required to accommodate them). Stated differently, there is a minimum of floor space that any free-standing human requires; this value can be estimated and built into the sensor array design of the present invention.
When the capacity of the elevator car 180 is reached, either by total sensed weight or by the maximum number of occupants allowed (a predetermined value) as estimated by the sub-system 800, any subsequent call signals received by the elevator control circuit 830 are routed to another available car based on inputs received from a micro-controller 817. In this fashion, the fully loaded car bypasses those floors with people desiring to get on the elevator, unless those floors are selected by one or more of the occupants of the car 180.
Similarly, as each successive floor selected by occupants of the elevator car 180 is reached (as based on an door open sensor 850 within the elevator control logic, or other indicia), the sub-system 800 recalculates the first occupancy estimate OE, the corrected occupancy upper limit the first occupancy minimum Omins, and the second occupancy minimum Ominp and produces a new final occupancy estimate Of based thereon. Hence, occupancy estimation according to this embodiment is an ongoing and dynamic process.
Monitoring and Security Sub-System
Referring now to
The features described above can also be "locked out" during certain periods of the day (such as during busy morning or afternoon hours) when many people ride the elevators and the viewing, override, security, and lighting functions are generally not needed. For example, programming of the processors 106 within each elevator car in an office building could institute the monitoring/override function from the hours of 6 pm until 8 am and during weekends. Such programming can be reconfigured using the remote system server 170 and associated input device 171, as shown in
In an alternate embodiment (
Referring again to
In addition to the aforementioned "early warning" features, the present invention also optionally includes the capability by which the user can select the specific location on the floor of interest to which they will be traveling from inside the elevator car, thereby enabling additional lighting, video surveillance, or other features. In one embodiment, shown in
The operation of the foregoing functions is best illustrated by the example of a parking garage in the basement of an office building, in which a user has parked during late night hours. Such garages typically are located on the ground level or basement of the building and are open to pedestrian access, thereby making them more accessible to criminals. During late night or weekend hours, these garages are also often deserted. When the user enters the elevator car 180 on a higher floor within the building, they first select the floor number to which they desire to travel, in this case the garage ("G") level. The user may then depress the "Video" function key 1110 followed by the "G" key on the keypad 116 (or touch screen 113) to monitor the video camera output at the door of the elevator 1106 on the garage level, as well as any motion or IR sensors 1140, 1150 located thereabouts. Assuming no indications of danger are present, the user then depresses the "Safety" function key 1111, which displays a map or plan view 1402 of the floor selected in relation to the elevator doors 1106. The user then touches the map 1402 in the general area where their car is parked, which activates the lighting in the zones between the elevator doors and the selected location if not already activated, and initiates a direct video feed to the building security office 1125 (or other desired location) from the video cameras 1102, 1310 covering those zones. These functions may be put on a timer or controlled by another input (such as the timeout of a motion sensor 1140 in the area) such that the monitoring functions are ceased at an appropriate time or upon the occurrence of a desired event. The system may also be programmed to handle multiple zones on the same floor (such as when multiple passengers on the elevator car 180 are parked on the same level), or multiple zones on different floors.
Identification and Access Sub-System
Referring now to
In the embodiment of
In the event that multiple RFID tags 1502 are present on the car 180, yet multiple occupants carrying such tags wish to go to a single location (such as if one person with authorization for access to floor "A" is accompanying persons with authorization for other floors only), the other tag holders need only not authenticate the non-desired floors, at which point the system will refuse access to those floors, and not generate a call signal via the micro-controller 1513. Hence, people may only egress the elevator on the authenticated floor(s), or the lobby.
Additionally, the access sub-system 1500 can optionally notify security (and/or the destination floor) of the user's destination and identity, and maintain a record of access. Such notification may be useful for monitoring the location of individuals within the building, and/or advance warning of the arrival of a particular person. Furthermore, such security records can be used to archive the history of access to particular areas during certain periods of time. The records may be maintained on a remote central server 170, or locally within the access system 1500 itself.
The user may also optionally perform other functions such as lighting and environmental control from the elevator car 180 using the access sub-system 1500. Specifically, in one embodiment, the authenticated user is provided a display 1700 with several predetermined function keys 1702, 1704 disposed thereon, as shown in
Lastly, the user may also use their RFID tag 1502 to permit the information and control system 100 of the present invention to pre-configure the PED download function described above upon receipt of an authenticated RFID signal. Specifically, the access sub-system 1500 "remembers" each individual user's selected download configuration by storing a data file at an address on the storage device 108, 110 or server 170 referenced within the aforementioned security access database 1510. As described above, each time the tag 1502 authenticates the reader 1504 and the tag emits it's RFD signal (which is subsequently decrypted by the reader 1504), the access control sub-system 1500 attempts to match the user's ID to one located within the access database 1510. Upon a successful match, the access sub-system 1500 also retrieves the download configuration file from the address referenced in the database 1510 associated with that user ID, and stores it in local memory or storage 110, 108. Upon user authentication with the appropriate password via the input device 102, the information and control system 100 transfers the download configuration file from memory 110, 108, whereby the user may receive the pre-configured download simply by inserting their PED 704 into the data terminal 702 associated with the authenticating input device 102. Note that when multiple users with distinct RFID tags 1502 are present in the elevator car, the sub-system 1500 only transfers the download configuration file to the control system 100 for those users completing password authentication, and then only to the data download terminal 702 associated with the authenticating input device 102. Hence, multiple people within the elevator car 180 may authenticate and download data simultaneously, if desired (assuming that the elevator car is equipped with multiple data download terminal/input device pairs).
Adaptive Advertising Sub-System
Referring now to
In prompt mode, the speech of one or more passengers on the elevator car 180 is sampled and analyzed in real time to determine the general topic of conversation between the passengers.
The system is further configured such that if multiple image data files are requested by the processor 106, such as may occur when two different sets of people within the elevator car 180 are discussing two unrelated topics, each different image data file is allocated to a different available display 113 within the elevator car. For audio, only one data file is converted and played at any given time to avoid confusion. Furthermore, the sampling rate of the system may be set at a low frequency, such as once every 60 seconds, or only when the given elevator car 180 is in operation, so that a given image is maintained for an appropriate period of time on the displays 113.
In the event that a word is recognized by the advertising sub-system which includes two or more sub-file address references (such as for the word "trademark", which may have connotations relating to both intellectual property law and business), the sub-system allocates each of the ambiguous references to a separate display (up to the existing number of unused displays 113 at that time), and then attempts to resolve the ambiguity by waiting for the next word which is matched within one of the sub-files 1842 (
In an alternate embodiment of the "prompt" mode (
As an example of the alternative embodiment of
In the case of multiple tenants residing on one floor, the sub-system 1800 can be programmed to display images pertinent to each tenant on the floor based on a selection routine. In one embodiment, if multiple unrelated tenants occupy a given floor, and that floor is selected by a person entering the elevator at the lobby, the sub-system 1800 will pick image data relating to the different tenants on a rotating basis such that each subsequent time that same floor is selected, an image appropriate to a different tenant will be retrieved and displayed. Alternatively, the selection may be made random, or even be coupled to the speech recognition module 104 to weight one choice over the other(s). Many other arrangements are possible, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the invention disclosed herein.
Referring now to
It is noted that the aforementioned speech-related adaptive advertising modes (
Alternatively, the aforementioned network interface 300 of
As an example of anecdotal adaptation, consider the case where the user selects the "Weather" function key 011 the keypad 116 (or touch screen 113). The sub-system 1800 retrieves and displays the desired weather information on the display device, while also retrieving and displaying advertising graphics relating to weather (such as for a local television station's weather reports) on an advertising placard or banner on the same or another display. If the user then selects another function key 114, the sub-system 1800 retrieves another advertising graphic file relating to the newly chosen function.
In a statistical adaptation, the choice of function keys 114 by each successive user adds to a data file which is generated by a statistical algorithm running on the processor 106. The algorithm calculates and stores a running total of the number of times each function key 114 (or each functional category) is selected over a predetermined period. Advertising graphics are displayed on the display unit(s) 113 in proportion to this statistic. For example, if the "Weather" function key were actuated five times as often as the "Stock Quotes" key over a given interval, the sub-system 1800 could be programmed to retrieve and display weather-related advertising on average five times as often as financial advertising
Note that the foregoing anecdotal and statistical adaptation embodiments may also be used together. For example, the sub-system 1800 could be programmed to display advertising on a statistical basis during periods of non-use, while displaying advertising anecdotally during use. Many other variants are also possible.
It is noted that while various aspects of the invention disclosed herein are described in terms of specific embodiments (and logic diagrams) of methods and processes, other embodiments of these methods and processes are possible consistent with the invention. For example, certain steps in the disclosed methods may be deleted, and/or additional steps added. Furthermore, the order of performance of steps may in many cases be permuted, or multiple steps disclosed as being performed in series may be performed in parallel, and vice versa. The embodiments disclosed herein are therefore considered merely illustrative of the broader methods claimed herein.
While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to various embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the device or process illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.
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text:
con:cern is a workflow engine based on an extended case handling approach. A process is described as a set of activities with pre- and postconditions. An activity is executed when its preconditions are met. It manipulates the process item, thereby creating postconditions. The process flow is determined at run-time.
- Category: Workflow Engines
- License: GNU Library or Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
- HomePage: http://concern.sourceforge.net/