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Systems and methods for determining, collecting, and using geographic locations of internet users
A method of determining a geographic location of an Internet user involves determining if the host is on-line, determining ownership of the host name, and then determining the route taken in delivering packets to the user. Based on the detected route, the method proceeds with determining the geographic route based on the host locations and then assigning a confidence level to the assigned location. A system collects the geographic information and allows web sites or other entities to request the geographic location of their visitors. The database of geographic locations may be stored in a central location or, alternatively, may be at least partially located at the web site. With this information, web sites can target content, advertising, or route traffic depending upon the geographic locations of their visitors. Through web site requests for geographic information, a central database tracks an Internet user's traffic on the Internet whereby a profile can be generated. In addition to this profile, the central database can store visitor's preferences as to what content should be delivered to an IP address, the available interface, and the network speed associated with that IP address.
This application claims priority to, and incorporates by reference, U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/132,147 entitled "System to Determine the Geographic Location of an Internet User" filed on May 3, 1999, and U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/133,939 entitled "Method, System and Set of Programs for Tailoring an Internet Site Based Upon the Geographic Location or Internet Connection Speed of Internet User" filed on May 13, 1999.FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to systems and methods for determining geographic locations of Internet users. According to other aspects, the invention relates to systems and methods for collecting geographic locations of Internet users, for profiling Internet users, or for selectively delivering information based on the geographic locations or connection speeds of the Internet users.BACKGROUND
The Internet consists of a network of interconnected computer networks. Each of these computers has an IP address that is comprised of a series of four numbers separated by periods or dots and each of these four numbers is an 8-bit integer which collectively represent the unique address of the computer within the Internet. The internet is a packet switching network whereby a data file routed over the Internet to some destination is broken down into a number of packets that are separately transmitted to the destination. Each packet contains, inter alia, some portion of the data file and the IP address of the destination.
The IP address of a destination is useful in routing packets to the correct destination but is not very people friendly. A group of four 8-bit numbers by themselves do not reveal or suggest anything about the destination and most people would find it difficult to remember the IP addresses of a destination. As a result of this shortcoming in just using IP addresses, domain names were created. Domain names consist of two or more parts, frequently words, separated by periods. Since the words, numbers, or other symbols forming a domain name often indicate or at least suggest the identity of a destination, domain names have become the standard way of entering an address and are more easily remembered than the IP addresses. After a domain name has been entered, a domain name server (DNS) resolves the domain name into a specific IP address. Thus, for example, when someone surfing the Internet enters into a browser program a particular domain name for a web site, the browser first queries the DNS to arrive at the proper IP address.
While the IP address works well to deliver packets to the correct address on the Internet, IP addresses do not convey any useful information about the geographic address of the destination. Furthermore, the domain names do not even necessarily indicate any geographic location although sometimes they may suggest, correctly or incorrectly, such a location. This absence of a link between the IP address or domain name and the geographic location holds true both nationally and internationally. For instance, a country top-level domain format designates us for the United States, uk for the United Kingdom, etc. Thus, by referencing these extensions, at least the country within which the computer is located can often be determined. These extensions, however, can often be deceiving and may be inaccurate. For instance, the .md domain is assigned to the Republic of Moldova but has become quite popular with medical doctors in the United States. Consequently, while the domain name may suggest some aspect of the computer's geographic location, the domain name and the IP address often do not convey any useful geographic information.
In addition to the geographic location, the IP address and domain name also tell very little information about the person or company using the computer or computer network. Consequently, it is therefore possible for visitors to go to a web site, transfer files, or send email without revealing their true identity. This anonymity, however, runs counter to the desires of many web sites. For example, for advertising purposes, it is desirable to target each advertisement to a select market group optimized for the goods or services associated with the advertisement. An advertisement for a product or service that matches or is closely associated with the interests of a person or group will be much more effective, and thus more valuable to the advertisers, than an advertisement that is blindly sent out to every visitor to the site.
Driven often by the desire to increase advertising revenues and to increase sales, many sites are now profiling their visitors. To profile a visitor, web sites first monitor their visitors' traffic historically through the site and detect patterns of behavior for different groups of visitors. The web site may come to infer that a certain group of visitors requesting a page or sequence of pages has a particular interest. When selecting an advertisement for the next page requested by an individual in that group, the web site can target an advertisement associated with the inferred interest of the individual or group. Thus, the visitor's traffic through the web site is mapped and analyzed based on the behavior of other visitors at the web site. Many web sites are therefore interested in learning as much as possible about their visitors in order to increase the profitability of their web site.
The desire to learn more about users of the Internet is countered by privacy concerns of the users. The use of cookies, for instance, is objectionable to many visitors. In fact, bills have been introduced into the House of Representatives and also in the Senate controlling the use of cookies or digital ID tags. By placing cookies on a user's computer, companies can track visitors across numerous web sites, thereby suggesting interests of the visitors. While many companies may find cookies and other profiling techniques beneficial, profiling techniques have not won wide-spread approval from the public at large.
A particularly telling example of the competing interests between privacy and profiling is when Double Click, Inc. of New York, N.Y. tied the names and addresses of individuals to their respective IP addresses. The reactions to Double Click's actions included the filing of a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and outbursts from many privacy advocates that the tracking of browsing habits of visitors is inherently invasive. Thus, even though the technology may allow for precise tracking of individuals on the Internet, companies must carefully balance the desire to profile visitors with the rights of the visitors in remaining anonymous.
A need therefore exists for systems and methods by which more detailed information may be obtained on visitors without jeopardizing or compromising the visitors' privacy rights.SUMMARY
The invention addresses the problems above by providing systems and methods for determining the geographic locations of Internet users. According to one aspect, a method of collecting geographic information involves taking one of the IP address or host name and determining the organization that owns the IP address. Preferably, the method first takes one of the IP address or host name and checks whether the host name is associated with that IP address, such as through an nslookup query. Next, the route to the host is acquired, preferably through a traceroute query, so as to determine a number of intermediate hosts. The specific route is analyzed and mapped against a database of stored geographic locations, thereby mapping out the intermediate hosts. For any intermediate host not having a location stored in the database, the method involves determining a geographic location and storing this information in the database.
According to another aspect, the invention relates to a system for determining geographic locations of Internet users. The determination system receives queries from requestors, such as web sites, for the geographic location of a certain Internet user. The determination system in turn queries a central database of stored locations and returns the geographic information if contained in the database. If the geographic information is not in the database, then the system performs a search to collect that information. Instead of querying a central database each time geographic location of an Internet user is desired, the web site or other requester may have geographic locations of at least some Internet users stored in a local database. The web site first checks with the local database for the geographic information and, if it not available, then sends a query to the central database.
The geographic location information of Internet users can be used for a variety of purposes. For instance, a position targeter can be associated with web sites to target the delivery of information based on the geographic location information. The web sites can selectively deliver content or advertising based on the geographic location of its visitors. The geographic location information can also be used in the routing of Internet traffic. A traffic manager associated with a number of web servers detects the geographic locations of its Internet visitors and routes the traffic to the closest server.
The databases of geographic locations can contain other information that may be useful to web sites and other requesters. The databases, for instance, can serve as a registery for allowed content that may be delivered to a particular IP address or range of IP addresses. Thus, prior to a web site delivering content to an IP address, the web site may query the database to ensure that the delivery of the content is permitted. The databases may store network speeds of Internet users whereby a web site can tailor the amount of content delivered to an Internet user based in part of the bandwidth to that user. The databases may also store an interface of an Internet user whereby a web site can tailor the content and presentation for that particular interface. Other uses of the geographic location and of the systems and methods described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are encompassed by the invention.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, disclose the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
FIGS. 14(A) and 14(B) are flow charts depicting preferred methods of operation for the profile server and profile discovery server of
Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the invention, non-limiting examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
I. Collecting, Determining and Disturbing Geographic Locations
According to one aspect, the present invention relates to systems and methods of collecting, determining, and distributing data that identifies where an Internet user is likely to be geographically located. Because the method of addressing on the Internet, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, allows for any range of addresses to be located anywhere in the world, determining the actual location of any given machine, or host, is not a simple task.
A. Collecting Geographic Location Data
A system 10 for collecting geographic information is shown in
In particular, nslookup, ping, traceroute, and whois provide the best source of information. The operation of ping and traceroute is explained in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request For Comments (RFC) numbered 2151 which may be found at http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2151.txt, nslookup (actually DNS lookups) is explained in the IETF RFC numbered 2535 which may be found at http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2535.txt, and whois is explained in the IETF RFC numbered 954 which may be found at http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc0954.txt. A brief explanation of each of host, nslookup, ping, traceroute, and whois is given below. In explaining the operation of these commands, source host refers to the machine that the system 10 is run on and target host refers to the machine being searched for by the system 10, such as target host 34. A more detailed explanation of these commands is available via the RFCs specified or manual pages on a UNIX system.
host queries a target domain's DNS servers and collects information about the domain name. For example, with the "-l" option the command "host -l digitalenvoy.net" will show the system 10 all host names that have the suffix of digitalenvoy.net.
nslookup will convert an IP address to a host name or vice versa using the DNS lookup system.
ping sends a target host a request to see if the host is on-line and operational. ping can also be used to record the route that was taken to query the status of the target host but this is often not completely reliable.
traceroute is designed to determine the exact route that is taken to reach a target host. It is possible to use traceroute to determine a partial route to a non-existent or non-online target host machine. In this case the route will be traced to a certain point after which it will fail to record further progress towards the target host. The report that is provided to the system 10 by traceroute gives the IP address of each host encountered from the source host to the target host. traceroute can also provide host names for each host encountered using DNS if it is configured in this fashion.
whois queries servers on the Internet and can obtain registration information for a domain name or block of IP addresses.
A preferred method 100 of operation for the system 10 will now be described with reference to
At 106, the system 10 determines ownership of the domain name. Preferably, the system 10 uses a whois to determine the organization that actually owns the IP address. The address of this organization is not necessarily the location of the IP address but this information may be useful for smaller organizations whose IP blocks are often geographically in one location. At 107, the system 10 then determines the route taken to reach the target host 34. Preferably, the system 10 uses a traceroute on the target host 34. At 108, the system 10 takes the route to the target host 34 and analyzes and maps it geographically against a database 20 of stored locations. If any hosts leading to the target host, such as intermediate host 32, are not contained in the database 20, the system 10 makes a determination as to the location of those hosts.
At 109, a determination is then made as to the location of the target host and a confidence level, from 0 to 100, is assigned to the determination based on the confidence level of hosts leading to and new hosts found and the target host 34. All new hosts and their respective geographic locations are then added to the database 20 at 110.
If the host name is of the country top-level domain format (.us, .uk, etc.) then the system 10 first maps against the country and possibly the state, or province, and city of origin. The system 10, however, must still map the Internet route for the IP address in case the address does not originate from where the domain shows that it appears to originate. As discussed in the example above, the .md domain is assigned to the Republic of Moldova but is quite popular with medical doctors in the United States. Thus, the system 10 cannot rely completely upon the country top-level domain formats in determining the geographic location.
The method 100 allows the system 10 to determine the country, state, and city that the target host 34 originates from and allow for an assignment of a confidence level against entries in the database. The confidence level is assigned in the following manner. In cases where a dialer has been used to determine the IP address space assigned by an Internet Service Provider to a dial-up modem pool, which will be described in more detail below, the confidence entered is 100. Other confidences are based upon the neighboring entries. If two same location entries surround an unknown entry, the unknown entry is given a confidence of the average of the known same location entries. For instance, a location determined solely by whois might receive a 35 confidence level.
As an example, a sample search against the host "digitalenvoy.net" will now be described. First, the system 10 receives the target host "digitalenvoy.net" at 102 and does a DNS lookup on the name at 103. The command nslookup returns the following to the system 10:
- >nslookup digitalenvoy.net
- Name: digitalenvoy.net
- Address: 188.8.131.52
The system 10 at 104 then does aping on the machine, which tells the system 10 if the target host 34 is on-line and operational. The "-c 1" option tells ping to only send one packet. This option speeds up confirmation considerably. The ping returns the following to the system 10:
- >ping -c 1 digitalenvoy.net
- PING digitalenvoy.net (126.96.36.199): 56 data bytes
- 64 bytes from 22.214.171.124: icmp_seq=0 ttl=241 time=120.4 ms
- ---digitalenvoy.net ping statistics---
- 1 packets transmitted, 1 packets received, 0% packet loss
- round-trip min/avg/max=120.4/120.4/120.4 ms
The system 10 next executes a whois at 106 on "digitalenvoy.net". In this example, the whois informs the system 10 that the registrant is in Georgia.
- >whois digitalenvoy.net
- Registrant:
- Some One (DIGITALENVOY-DOM)
- 1234 Address Street
- ATLANTA, Ga. 33333
- Domain Name: DIGITALENVOY.NET
- Administrative Contact:
- One, Some (SO0000) firstname.lastname@example.com
- +1 404 555 5555
- Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
- myDNS Support (MS311-ORG) email@example.com
- +1 (206) 374.2143
- Billing Contact:
- One, Some (SO0000) firstname.lastname@example.com
- +1 404 555 5555
- Record last updated on 14-Apr.-1999.
- Record created on 14-Apr.-1999.
- Database last updated on 22-Apr-1999 11:06:22 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
The system 10 at 107 executes a traceroute on the target host 34. The traceroute on "digitalenvoy.net" returns the following to the system 10:
- >traceroute digitalenvoy.net
- traceroute to digitalenvoy.net (220.127.116.11), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets
- 1 220.127.116.11 (220.127.116.11) 6.269 ms 2.287 ms 4.027 ms
- 2 gateway1-rtr.gatech.edu (126.96.36.199) 1.703 ms 1.672 ms 1.928 ms
- 3 f1-0.atlanta2-cr99.bbnplanet.net (18.104.22.168) 3.296 ms 3.051 ms 2.910 ms
- 4 f1-0.atlanta2-br2.bbnplanet.net (126.96.36.199) 3.000 ms 3.617 ms 3.632 ms
- 5 s4-0-0.atlanta1-br2.bbnplanet.net (188.8.131.52) 4.076 ms s8-1-0.atlanta1-br2.bbnplanet.net (18.104.22.168) 4.761 ms 4.740 ms
- 6 h5-1-0.paloalto-br2.bbnplanet.net (18.104.22.168) 72.385 ms 71.635 ms 69.482 ms
- 7 p2-0.paloalto-nbr2.bbnplanet.net (18.104.22.168) 82.580 ms 83.476 ms 82.987 ms
- 8 p4-0.sanjose1-nbr1.bbnplanet.net (126.96.36.199) 79.299 ms 78.139 ms 80.416 ms
- 9 p1-0-0.sanjose1-br2.bbnplanet.net (126.96.36.199) 78.918 ms 78.406 ms 79.217 ms
- 10 NSanjose-core0.nap.net (184.108.40.206) 80.031 ms 78.506 ms 122.622 ms
- 11 NSeattle1-core0.nap.net (22.214.171.124) 115.104 ms 112.868 ms 114.678 ms
- 12 sea-atm0.starcom-accesspoint.net (18.104.22.168) 112.639 ms 327.223 ms 173.847 ms
- 13 van-atm10.10.starcom.net (126.96.36.199) 118.899 ms 116.603 ms 114.036 ms
- 14 hume.worldway.net (22.214.171.124) 118.098 ms * 114.571 ms
After referring to the geographic locations stored in the database 20, the system 10 analyzes these hops in the following way:
The system 10 assigns a confidence level of 99 indicating that the entry is contained in the database 20 and has been checked by a person for confirmation. While confirmations may be performed by persons, such as an analyst, according to other aspects of the invention the confirmation may be performed by an Artificial Intelligence system or any other suitable additional system, module, device, program, entities, etc. The system 10 reserves a confidence level of 100 for geographic information that has been confirmed by an Internet Service Providers (ISP). The ISP would provide the system 10 with the actual mapping of IP addresses against geography. Also, data gathered with the system 10 through dialing ISPs is given a 100 confidence level because of a definite connection between the geography and the IP address. Many of these hosts, such as intermediate host 32, will be repeatedly traversed when the system 10 searches for new target hosts, such as target host 34, and the confidence level of their geographic location should increase up to a maximum 99 unless confirmed by an ISP or verified by a system analyst. The confidence level can increase in a number of ways, such as by a set amount with each successive confirmation of the host's 32 geographic location.
The system 10 takes advantage in common naming conventions in leading to reasonable guesses as to the geographic location of the hosts. For example, any host that contains "sanjose" in the first part of its host name is probably located in San Jose, Calif. or connected to a system that is in San Jose, Calif. These comparison rule sets are implemented in the system 10 as entries in the database 20. The database 20 may have look-up tables listing geographic locations, such as city, county, regional, state, etc, with corresponding variations of the names. Thus, the database 20 could have multiple listings for the same city, such as SanFrancisco, SanFran, and Sfrancisco all for San Francisco, Calif.
Often a block of IP addresses are assigned and sub-assigned to organizations. For example, the IP block that contains the target address 188.8.131.52 can be queried:
- >whois email@example.com
- [whois.arin.net]
- Starcom International Optics Corp. (NETBLK-STARCOM97) STARCOM97 22.214.171.124-184.108.40.206
From the results of this query, the system 10 determines that the large block from 18.104.22.168 to 188.8.131.52 is assigned to Starcom International Optics Corp. Within this block, Starcom has assigned Worldway Holdings Inc. the 18.104.22.168 to 188.8.131.52 block. By further querying this block (NETBLK-WWAY-NET-01) the collection system 10 gains insight into where the organization exists. In this case the organization is in Vancouver, British Columbia, as shown below.
- >whois firstname.lastname@example.com
- [whois.arin.net]
- 1336 West 15th Street
- North Vancouver, BC V7L 2S8
- Netname: WWAY-NET-01
- Netblock: 220.127.116.11-22.214.171.124
- Coordinator:
- WORLDWAY DNS (WD171-ORG-ARIN) email@example.com
- +1 (604) 608.2997
Domain System inverse mapping provided by:
With the combination of the trace and the IP block address information, the collection system 10 can be fairly certain that the host "digitalenvoy.net" is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Because the collection system 10 "discovered" this host using automatic methods with no human intervention, the system 10 preferably assigns a confidence level slightly lower than the confidence level of the host that led to it. Also, the system 10 will not assume the geographic location will be the same for the organization and the sub-block of IP addresses assigned since the actual IP address may be in another physical location. The geographic locations may easily be different since IP blocks are assigned to a requesting organization and no indication is required for where the IP block will be used.
B. Obtaining Geographic Location Data from ISPs
A method 111 for obtaining geographic locations from an ISP will now be described with reference to
The collection system 10 at 115 then determines the route to a sample target host and preferably determines this route through a traceroute. The exact target host that forms the basis of the traceroute as well as the final destination of the route is not important so any suitable host may be used. At 116, the collection system 10 analyzes the route obtained through traceroute to determine the location of the host associated with the ISP. Thus, the collection system 10 looks in a backward direction to determine the geographic location of the next hop in the traceroute. At 117, the collection system 10 stores the results of the analysis in the database 20.
With the method 111, the collection system 10 can therefore obtain the geographic locations of IP addresses with the assistance of the ISPs. Because the collection system 10 dials-up and connects with the ISP, the collection system 10 preferably performs the method 111 in a such a manner so as to alleviate the load placed on the ISP. For instance, the collection system 10 may perform the method 111 during off-peak times for the ISP, such as during the night. Also, the collection system 10 may control the frequency at which it connects with a particular ISP, such as establishing connections with the ISP at 10 minute intervals.
C. Determining Geographic Location Data
With reference to
A preferred method 120 of operation for the determination system 30 will now be described with reference to
The determination system 30 looks for both the IP address in the database 20 and also for the domain name. Since a single IP address may have multiple domain names, the determination system 30 looks for close matches to the domain name in question. For instance, when searching for a host name, the system 30 performs pattern matching against the entries in the database 20. When a match is found that suggests the same IP address, the determination system 30 returns the geographic data for that entry to the requestor 40.
An ambiguity may arise when the requestor 40 provides both an IP address and a domain name and these two pieces of data lead to different hosts and different geographic locations. If both data pieces do not exactly match geographically, then the system 30 preferably responds with the information that represents the best confidence. As another example, the system 30 may respond in a manner defined by the requestor 40. As some options, the determination system 30 can report only when the data coincide and agree with each other, may provide no information in the event of conflicting results, may provide the geographic information based only on the IP address, may provide the geographic information based only on the host name, or may instead provide a best guess based on the extent to which the address and host name match.
A sample format of a request sent by the requestor 40 to the determination system 30 is provided below, wherein the search is against the host "digitalenvoy.net" and the items in bold are responses from the geographic determination system 30:
- Connecting to server.digitalenvoy.net . . .
- ;digitalenvoy.net;
- vancouver;british columbia;can;99;
The format of the request and the format of the output from the determination system 30 can of course be altered according to the application and are not in any way limited to the example provided above.
D. Distributing Geographic Location Data
A system for distributing the geographic location information will now be described with reference to
A preferred method 130 of operation of the network shown in
As another option shown in
After the position targeter 64′ obtains the geographic information at 146, either locally from database 66 or centrally through database 20, the desired information is selected based on the geographic location of the user 5. Again, as discussed above, this selection process may be performed by the position targeter 64′ or by the web server 62. In either event, the selected information is delivered to the user 5 at 148.
For both the position targeter 64 and position targeter 64′, the position targeter may be configured to output HTML code based on the result of the geographic location query. An HTML code based result is particularly useful when the web site 60 delivers dynamic web pages based on the user's 5 location. It should be understood, however, that the output of the position targeter 64 and position targeter 64′ is not limited to HTML code but encompasses any type of content or output, such as JPEGs, GIFs, etc.
A sample search against the host "digitalenvoy.net" is shown here (items in bold are responses from the position targeter 64 or 64′:
- >distributionprogram digitalenvoy.net
- vancouver;british columbia;can;99;
The format of the output, of course, may differ if different options are enabled or disabled.
End users 5 may elect a different geographic location as compared to where they have been identified from by the system 50 when it possibly chooses an incorrect geographic location. If this information is passed backed to the position targeter 64 or 64′, the position targeter 64 or 64′ will pass this information to the determination system 30 which will store this in the database 20 for later analysis. Because this information cannot be trusted completely, the collection and determination system 50 must analyze and verify the information and possibly elect human intervention.
E. Determining Geographic Locations Through A Proxy Server
One difficulty in providing geographic information on a target host is when the target host is associated with a caching proxy server. A caching proxy will make requests on behalf of other network clients and save the results for future requests. This process reduces the amount of outgoing bandwidth from a network that is required and thus is a popular choice for many Internet access providers. For instance, as shown in
In some cases, this caching is undesirable since the data inside them becomes stale. The web has corrected this problem by having a feature by which pages can be marked uncacheable. Unfortunately, the requests for these uncacheable pages still look as if they are coming from the proxy server 36 instead of the end-user computers 5. The geographic information of the user 5, however, may often be required.
A method 150 of determining the geographic information of the user 5 associated with the proxy server 36 will now be described with reference to
With reference to
At 157, the user's 5 browser then executes the Java Applet, passing along the unique parameter tag. Since by default applets have rights to access the host from which they came, the applet on the user's 5 browser opens a direct connection to the client web server 60, such as on, but not limited to, port 5000. The web server 60, such as through a separate server program, is listening for and accepts the connection on port 5000. At 158, the Java applet then sends back the unique parameter tag to the web server 60. Since the connection is direct, the web server 60 at 159 can determine the correct IP address for the user 5, so the web server 60 now can associate the session tag with that IP address on all future requests coming from the proxy server 38.
As an alternative, at 155, the web server 155 may still deliver a web page that has a Java applet. As with the embodiment discussed above, the web page having the Java applet is delivered to the proxy server at 156 and the user 5 connects with the web server 60 at 157. The Java applet according to this embodiment of the invention differs from the Java applet discussed above in that at 158 the Java applet reloads the user's browser with what it was told to load by the web server 60. The Java applet according to this aspect of the invention is not associated with a unique parameter tag that alleviates the need to handle and to sort the plurality of unique parameter tags. Instead, with this aspect of the invention, the web server 60 at 159 determines the IP address and geographic location of the user 5 when the Java applet connects to the web server 60.
II. Tailoring an Internet Site Based on Geographic Location of its Visitors
The web site 60 can tailor the Internet site based upon the geographic location or Internet connection speed of an Internet user 5. When the user 5 visits the Internet site 60, the Internet site 60 queries a database, such as local database 60 or central database 20, over the Internet which then returns the geographic location and/or Internet connection speed of the user based upon the user's IP address and other relevant information derived from the user's "hit" on the Internet site 60. This information may be derived from the route to the user's 5 machine, the user's 5 host name, the hosts along the route to the user's machine 5 via SNMP, and/or via NTP but not limited to these techniques. Based on this information the Internet site 60 may tailor the content and/or advertising presented to the user. This tailoring may also include, but not be limited to, changing the language of the Internet site to a user's native tongue based on the user's location, varying the products or advertising shown on an Internet site based upon the geographic information and other information received from the database, or preventing access based on the source of the request (i.e. "adult" content sites rejecting requests from schools, etc.). This tailoring can be done by having several alternative screens or sites for a user and having the web server 62 or position targeter 64 or 64′ dynamically select the proper one based upon the user's geographic information. The geographic information can also be analyzed to effectively market the site to potential Internet site advertisers and external content providers or to provide media-rich content to users that have sufficient bandwidth.
The methods of tailoring involve tracing the path back to the Internet user's machine 5, determining the location of all hosts in the path, making a determination of the likelihood of the location of the Internet user's machine, determining other information about the hosts, which may or may not be linked to its geographic location, in the path to and including the Internet user's machine by directly querying them for such information (by using, but not limited by, SNMP or NTP for example), or alternatively, there is a complete database that may be updated that stores information about the IP addresses and host names which can be queried by a distant source which would then be sent information about the user.
The web site 60 dynamically changes Internet content and/or advertising based on the geographic location of the Internet user 5 as determined from the above methods or processes. The web site 60 presents one of several pre-designed alternative screens, presentations, or mirror sites depending on the information sent by the database as a result of the user 5 accessing the web site 60.
As discussed above, the selection of the appropriate information to deliver to the user 5 base on the geographic location can be performed either by the web server 62 or the position targeter 64 or 64′. In either case, the web site can dynamically adapt and tailor Internet content to suit the needs of Internet users 5 based on their geographic location and/or connection speed. As another option, the web site 60 can dynamically adapt and tailor Internet advertising for targeting specific Internet users based on their geographic location and/or connection speed. Furthermore, the web site 60 can dynamically adapt and tailor Internet content and/or advertising to the native language of Internet users 5 which may be determined by their geographic location. Also, the web site 60 can control access, by selectively allowing or disallowing access, to the Internet site 60 or a particular web page on the site 60 based on the geographic location, IP Address, host name and/or connection speed of the Internet user. As another example, the web site can analyze visits by Internet users 5 in order to compile a geographic and/or connection speed breakdown of Internet users 5 to aid in the marketing of Internet sites.
A. Credit Card Fraud
In addition to using geographic location information to target information to the user, the web site 60 or the collection and determination system 50 can provide a mechanism for web sites owners to detect possible cases on online credit card fraud. When a user 5 enters information to complete an on-line order, he/she must give a shipping and billing address. This information cannot currently be validated against the physical location of the user 5. Through the invention, the web site 60 determines the geographic location of the user 5. If the user 5 enters a location that he is determined not to be in, there could be a possible cause of fraud. This situation would require follow up by the web site owner to determine if the order request was legitimate or not.
B. Site Management
In addition to using geographic information to detect credit card fraud, the geographic information can also be used in managing traffic on the Internet 7. For example, with reference to
III. Profile Server and Profile Discovery Server
As discussed above, the collection and determination system 50 may store geographic information on users 5 and provide this information to web sites 60 or other requesters 40. According to another aspect of the invention, based on the requests from the web sites 60 and other requesters 40, information other than the geographic location of the users 5 is tracked. With reference to
The profile discovery server 90 includes a discoverer engine 92, a profiler 93, and a database 94. The database 94 includes a common geographic names database 94A, a global geographic structure database 94B, and a MAC address ownership database 94C.
A. Profiler
In general, the profile server 80 and profile discovery server 90 gather information about specific IP addresses based upon the Internet users' interactions with the various web sites 60 and other requesters 40. This information includes, but is not limited to, the types of web sites 60 visited, pages hit such as sports sites, auction sites, news sites, e-commerce sites, geographic information, bandwidth information, and time spent at the web site 60. All of this information is fed from the web site 60 in the network back to the database 84. This information is stored in the high performance database 84 by IP address and creates an elaborate profile of the IP address based on sites 60 visited and actions taken within each site 60. This profile is stored as a series of preferences for or against predetermined categories. No interaction is necessarily required between the web site 60 and the user's 5 browser to maintain the profile. Significantly, this method of profiling does not require the use of any cookies that have been found to be highly objectionable by the users. While cookies are not preferred, due to difficulties induced by network topology, cookies may be used to track certain users 5 after carefully considering the privacy issues of the users 5.
As users 5 access web sites 60 in the network, profiled information about the IP address of the user 60 is sent from the database 84 to the position targeter 64 or 64′ at the web site 60. As explained above, the position targeter 64 or 64′ or the web server 62 allows pre-set configurations or pages on the web site 60 to then be dynamically shown to the user 5 based on the detailed profile of that user 5. In addition preferences of users 5 similar to those of a current user 5 can be used to predict the content that the current user 5 may prefer to view. The information profiled could include, but is not limited to, the following: geographic location, connection speed to the Internet, tendency to like/dislike any of news, weather, sports, entertainment, sporting goods, clothing goods, etc.
As an example, two users are named Alice and Bob. Alice visits a web site, www.somerandomsite.com. This site, asks the profile server 80, such as server.digitalenvoy.net, where Alice is from and what she likes/dislikes. The database 84 has no record of Alice but does know from geography database 84A that she is from Atlanta, Ga. and notifies the web site to that effect. Using Alice's geographic information, the web site sends Alice a web page that is tailored for her geographic location, for instance it contains the Atlanta weather forecast and the new headlines for Atlanta. Alice continues to visit the web site and buys an umbrella from the site and then terminates her visit. The web site lets the profile server 80 and database 84 know that Alice bought an umbrella from the site. Bob then visits the site www.somerandomsite.com. The site again asks the profile server 80, such as a server.digitalenvoy.net, about Bob. The server 80 looks in the database 84 for information on Bob and finds none. Again though, the server 80 looks in the geography database 84A and determines that he is from Atlanta, Ga. Also, based on the data gathered in part from Alice and stored in profile database 84D, the profile server 80 infers that people from Atlanta, Ga. may like to buy umbrellas. The site uses Bob's geographic information and the fact that Atlantans have a propensity to buy umbrellas to send Bob a web page with Atlanta information, such as the weather and news, and an offer to buy an umbrella. Bob buys the umbrella and the site sends this information to the server 80, thereby showing a greater propensity for Atlantan's to buy umbrellas.
In addition, if the profile stored in the profile database 84D in profile server 80 shows that an IP Address has previously hit several e-commerce sites and sports sites in the network and that the address is located in California, the web site can be dynamically tailored to show sports items for sale that are more often purchased by Californians, such as surf boards. This method allows for more customized experiences for users at e-commerce and information sites.
This information can also be compiled for web sites in the network or outside the network. Web sites outside of the network can develop profiles of the users typically hitting their web site. Log files of web sites can be examined and IP Addresses can be compared against the profiled IP Address information stored on the central server. This will allow web sites to analyze their traffic and determine the general profile of users hitting the site.
In order to remove "stale" information, the database server engine 83 occasionally purges the database 84 in the profile server 80. For example, a user 5 that is interested in researching information about a trip will probably not want to continue seeing promotions for that trip after the trip has been completed. By purging the database 84, old preferences are removed and are updated with current interests and desires.
B. Content Registry
In addition to the examples provided above, the profile server 80 can provide a mechanism for end users 5 to register their need for certain types of information content to be allowed or disallowed from being served to their systems. Registration is based on IP address and registration rights are limited to authorized and registered owners of the IP addresses. These owners access the profile server 80 through the Internet and identify classes of Internet content that they would want to allow or disallow from being served to their IP addresses ranges. The classes of Internet content that a particular IP address or block of addresses are allowed or disallowed from receiving is stored by the profile server 80 in the authorization database 84B. Internet content providers, such as web sites 60, query the profile server 80, which in turn queries the authorization database 84B, and identify users 5 that do or do not want to receive their content based on this IP address registry.
For example, a school registers their IP ranges and registers with the profile server 80 to disallow adult content from being sent to their systems. When an access is made from machines within the school's IP range to an adult site, the adult site checks with the profile server 80 and discovers that content provided by the adult site is disallowed from being sent to those IP addresses. Instead of the adult content, the adult site sends a notice to the user that the content within the site cannot be served to his/her machine. This series of events allows end IP address owners to control the content that will be distributed and served to machines within their control.
C. Bandwidth Registry
The profile server 80 preferably is also relied upon in determining the amount of content to be sent to the user 5. Web sites 60 dynamically determine the available bandwidth to a specific user and provide this information to the profile server 80, which stores this information in the network speed database 84C. In addition, the web site 60 examines the rate and speed by which a specific user 5 is able to download packets from the web site 60, the web site 60 determines the available bandwidth from the web site 60 to the end user 5. If there is congestion at the web site 60, on the path to the end user 5, or at the last link to the user's 5 terminal, the web site 60 limits the available bandwidth for that user 5. Based on this information, the web site 60 can dynamically reduce the amount of information being sent to the user 60 and consequently increase download times perceived by the user 5. The bandwidth information is preferably sent to the profile server 80 and stored in the network speed database 84C so that other sites 60 in the network have the benefit of this bandwidth information without having to necessarily measure the bandwidth themselves.
In order to remove "stale" bandwidth information, the database server engine 83 occasionally purges the information in the network speed database 84C. For example, congestion between a web site 60 and a user 5 will usually not persist.
D. Interface Registry
Web sites 60 also preferably are able to dynamically determine the interface that a user 5 has to view the web site 60. This user interface information may be placed in the database 84E through a registration process, may be known from the ISP, or may be detected or discovered in other ways. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) users are shown a web site 60 with limited or no graphics in order to accommodate the PDAs limited storage capabilities. Web sites 60 query the profile server 80 when accessed by a user 5. The profile server 80, in turn, queries the interface database 84E and, if available, retrieves the type of interface associated with a particular IP address. The profile server 80 stores in the database 84E all users and informs the web site 60 of the display interface that the user 5 has. Based on this information, the web site 60 tailors the information that is being sent to the user 5.
E. Methods of Operation
A preferred method 160 of operation for the profile server 80 and profile discovery server 90 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 14(A) and 14(B). At 162, the profile server 80 is given an IP address or host name to query. At 163, the profile server 80 determines whether the requestor is authorized to receive the information and, if not, tells the requester at 166 that the information is unknown. The inquiry as to whether the requestor is authorized at 163 is preferably performed so that only those entities that have paid for access to the profile server 80 and profile discovery server 90 obtain the data. If the requester is authorized, then the profile server at 164 determines whether the profile of the address is known. If the profile for that address is known, the profile server 80 sends the requested information to the requestor at 165, otherwise the profile server 80 at 166 informs the requestor that the information is unknown.
For information that is unknown to the profile server 80, the profile server 80 passes the information to the profile discovery server 90 at 167. At 168, the profile discovery server determines the route to the address, at 169 obtains known information about all hosts in route from the profile server 80, and then decides at 170 whether any unknown hosts are left in the route. If no unknown hosts are left in the route, then at 171 the profile discovery server 90 returns an error condition and notifies the operator.
For each host name left in the route, the profile discovery server 90 next at 172 determines whether a host name exists for the unknown host. If so, then at 173 the profile discovery server attempts to determine the location based on common host name naming conventions and/or global country based naming conventions. At 174, the profile discovery server 90 checks whether the host responds to NTP queries and, if so, at 175 attempts to determine the time zone based on the NTP responses. At 176, the profile discovery server 90 checks whether the host responds to SNMP queries and, if so, at 177 attempts to determine the location, machine type, and connection speed based on public SNMP responses. Next, at 178, the profile discovery server 90 checks whether the host has a MAC address and, if so, attempts to determine machine type and connection speed based on known MAC address delegations.
At 180, the profile discovery server 90 determines whether any additional unknown hosts exist. If so, the profile discovery server 90 returns to 172 and checks whether a host name is available. When no more unknown hosts exist, the profile discovery server 90 at 181 interpolates information to determine any remaining information, at 182 flags the interpolated data for future review, and at 183 saves all discovered and interpolated data at the profile server 80.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
1-11. (canceled)
12. A method of providing geographic locations of Internet users to requestors, comprising:
- collecting geographic locations on a plurality of Internet users and storing the geographic locations in a database;
- receiving a query from a requestor for the geographic location of a particular Internet user, the query containing at least one of an IP address or a domain name for the particular Internet user;
- determining whether the geographic location of that particular Internet user is available in the database;
- if the geographic location is available in the database, delivering the geographic location on that particular Internet user to the requestor.
13. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein if the geographic location is not available in the database, the method further comprises determining the geographic location of the particular Internet user and storing the geographic location in the database.
14. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the determining whether the geographic location is available in the database comprises sending a query to a remote database.
15. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the determining whether the geographic location is available in the database comprises sending a query to a local database.
16. The method as set forth in claim 12, further comprising selectively delivering information to the Internet user based on the geographic location of the Internet user.
17. The method as set forth in claim 12, further comprising selectively redirecting the Internet user based on the geographic location.
18. A method of tracking the behavior of Internet users based on their activities on the Internet, comprising:
- obtaining geographic locations of a plurality of Internet users and storing the geographic locations in a database;
- receiving queries from requestors for the geographic locations of a particular Internet user;
- delivering the geographic location for that particular Internet user to the requesters;
- tracking the requesters associated with that particular Internet user; and
- determining the behavior of the particular Internet user based on the associated requesters.
19. The method as set forth in claim 18, further comprising determining the geographic locations of the plurality of Internet users.
20. The method as set forth in claim 18, wherein the determining of the behavior comprises generating a profile for that particular Internet user.
21-29. (canceled)
30. A method for permitting information to be selectively delivered to Internet users, comprising:
- compiling information on a plurality of Internet users and obtaining data related to the Internet users;
- storing the information and data related to the plurality of Internet users in at least one database;
- receiving a query from a requestor regarding a particular Internet user;
- retrieving the data associated with that particular Internet user; and
- transmitting the data to the requestor;
- wherein the data permits the requestor to select desired content for that particular Internet user from a plurality of possible choices of possible content and to deliver the desired content to that particular Internet user.
31. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein the database is a geography database and the data relates to geographic locations of the Internet users.
32. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein the database is an authorization database and the data relates to the desired content the particular Internet user is authorized to receive.
33. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein the database is a network speed database and the data relates to a down-load rate for the particular Internet user.
34. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein the database is a profile database and the data relates to a profile of the particular Internet user.
35. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein the database is an interface database and the data relates to an interface of the particular Internet user.
36. (canceled)
37. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting data for use in detecting credit card fraud.
38. The method as set forth in claim 37, wherein the data comprises geographic location data correlated to IP address.
39. The method as set forth in claim 37, wherein the data comprises connection speed data correlated to IP address.
40. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting data for use in traffic management.
41. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the data comprises geographic location data correlated to IP address.
42. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the data comprises connection speed data correlated to IP address.
43. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein traffic management comprises Internet traffic management.
44. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein traffic management comprises LAN traffic management.
45. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting data for use in selecting a language for communicating with the Internet users.
46. The method as set forth in claim 45, wherein the data comprises geographic location data correlated to IP address.
47. The method as set forth in claim 45, wherein the data comprises connection speed data correlated to IP address.
48. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting geographic location data correlated to IP address for use in tailoring advertising to the Internet users.
49. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting connection speed data correlated to IP address for use in selecting an amount and type of content to provide to the Internet users.
50. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting data for use in granting Internet users access to content.
51. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein compiling information and storing information comprises providing a registry of bandwidth profiles on the Internet users.
52. The method as set forth in claim 51, wherein transmitting the data to the requestor provides the requestor with bandwidth information on the Internet users based on their IP address, without the requestor needing to measure the bandwidth directly with the Internet users.
53. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein compiling information comprises compiling geographic information and obtaining data includes generating SNMP queries and receiving SNMP responses.
54. The method as set forth in claim 30, wherein compiling information comprises compiling geographic information and obtaining data includes generating NTP queries and receiving NTP responses.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 2, 2005
Publication Date: Oct 20, 2005
Patent Grant number: 7698377
Inventors: Sanjay Parekh (Duluth, GA), Robert Friedman (Decatur, GA), Neal Tibrewala (St. Pittsburgh, PA), Benjamin Lutch (Mountain View, CA)
Application Number: 11/070,839


text:
GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy -- Engineers declared success Tuesday as the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship was pulled completely upright during an unprecedented, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side where it capsized last year off Tuscany.
The remarkable maritime salvage project now allows for a renewed search for the two bodies that were never recovered from the 32 people killed in the shipwreck, and for the ship to eventually be towed away.
The Concordia's submerged side suffered significant damage during the 20 months it bore the weight of the massive ship on the jagged reef, and the daylong operation to right it stressed that flank as well. Exterior balconies were mangled and entire sections looked warped, though officials said the damage probably looked worse than it really was.
The damage must be repaired to stabilize the ship so it can withstand the coming winter, when seas and winds will whip the luxury liner, which is to be towed and turned into scrap sometime in 2014.
Shortly after 4 a.m., a foghorn boomed off Giglio Island and the head of Italy's Civil Protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, announced that the ship had reached vertical and that the operation to rotate it - known as parbuckling - was complete. It was a dramatic operation that unfolded in real time as TV cameras recorded the final hours when the rotation accelerated, with gravity pulling the ship into place.
"We completed the parbuckling operation a few minutes ago the way we thought it would happen and the way we hoped it would happen," said Franco Porcellacchia, project manager for the Concordia's owner, Costa Crociere SpA.
"A perfect operation, I must say," with no environmental spill detected so far, he said.
For Italy, it was a moment of pride after the horror and embarrassment of the Jan. 13, 2012, collision. The Concordia slammed into a reef off Giglio Island after it came too close to shore in an apparent stunt. Capt. Francesco Schettino earned the public's contempt when he abandoned the ship before everyone was evacuated, and then refused coast guard orders to go back on board. He is now on trial.
The Concordia drifted, listed and capsized just off the island's port, killing 32 people. Two bodies were never recovered. Now that the ship is upright, a new attempt can be made to locate the bodies, though Gabrielli stressed that the wreckage must be secured again before divers can go in.
"We hope that will happen in the next few days," he said.
Other recovery efforts were also possible now that the ship is upright: Officials can now go cabin to cabin to open the safes and return valuables to their rightful owners, officials said.
Premier Enrico Letta phoned Gabriele to congratulate him. "I told him that all those who are working there are a great pride," Letta tweeted.
Nick Sloane, the South African chief salvage master, received a hero's welcome as he came ashore from the barge that had served as the operation's floating command room, embraced and cheered by residents.
"Brilliant! Perfetto!" Sloane said, using some of the Italian he learned during a year on Giglio preparing for the operation. "It was a struggle, a bit of a roller coaster. But for the whole team it was fantastic."
The operation had been expected to take no more than 12 hours, but dragged on after an initial weather delay and emergency maintenance on the system of steel cables, pulleys and counterweights that were used to roll the 115,000-ton, half-submerged carcass of steel upright.
Parbuckling is a standard operation to right capsized ships but never before had it been used on such a huge cruise liner.
The Concordia is expected to be floated away from Giglio in the spring.
Sloane said an initial inspection of the starboard side, covered in brown slime from its 20 months under water, indicated serious damage that must be assessed and fixed in the coming months. But Sloane seemed confident: "She was strong enough to come up like this, she's strong enough to be towed."
The starboard side of the ship, which was raised 65 degrees in the operation, must be stabilized to enable crews to attach empty tanks on the side that will later be used to help float the vessel away. Currently, the ship is about two-thirds submerged, engineers said.
Such tanks were affixed to the exposed port side of the ship and were filled with water to help pull the port side down.
The ship must be made strong enough to withstand the winter storm season, when high seas and gusts will likely buffet the 300-meter (1,000-foot) long liner.
After receiving cheers, embraces and a kiss from his wife on shore, Sloane said he wanted to get some sleep, a beer "and maybe a barbeque tomorrow."
"I think the whole team is proud of what they achieved," he said as he was mobbed by well-wishers and television crews, still wearing an orange life vest and carrying a South African flag that was handed to him by his wife.
Helping the Concordia to weather the winter is an artificial platform on the seabed that was constructed to support the ship's flat keel.
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About an hour before the rotation was complete, observers said the ship seemed to suddenly settle down upon its new perch, with a clear brown-green line of algae drawn across its front delineating the half of the liner that had been underwater.
Mayor Sergio Ortelli said the island felt a wave of relief as soon as the Concordia was freed. But he said there was also the realization that two bodies still have yet to be found.
"While there is happiness today, there is no triumphalism," he told The Associated Press.
The Concordia's captain is on trial for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship during the chaotic and delayed evacuation. Schettino claims the reef wasn't on the nautical charts for the liner's weeklong Mediterranean cruise. Five other Costa employees were convicted of manslaughter in a plea bargain and were sentenced to less than three years apiece.
Costa is a division of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise company.

subset: commoncrawl


text: James Hogg (1729-1804) was born in Scotland, one of six sons of Gavin and Helen Stevenson Hogg. He married McDowal Alves in 1764 and in 1774 organized a group of 280 emigrants to come to the United States, where Hogg's brother Robert had been living since 1756. The Hoggs settled first in Wilmington, NC, then Fayetteville, and eventually Hillsborough. A merchant, planter, and land speculator, Hogg was a benefactor and friend to education. He became a trustee of Science Hall, Hillsborough's first academy, and a member of the University's board of trustees from 1789 to 1802. He helped select Chapel Hill as the site of the University by persuading his neighbors to donate land and money for the institution. The Hoggs had two sons and four daughters. Daughter Helen Hogg married William Hooper and, after his death, became the wife of Joseph Caldwell (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography 3:160-61).


text:
White beans mashed with ripe avocado and blended with sharp Cheddar and onion makes an incredibly rich, flavorful filling for this wrap. The tangy, spicy slaw adds crunch. A pinch (or more) of ground chipotle pepper and an extra dash of cider vinegar can be used in place of the canned chipotles in adobo sauce. Wrap these up to take as a healthy and portable lunch for work.
Ready In


text:
Search For Properties In Santa Barbara Shores
View All Santa Barbara Shores Listings ›
Current Properties in Santa Barbara Shores
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No properties found
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Santa Barbara Shores is a waterfront neighborhood in Pompano Beach just south of Lake Santa Barbara. Estates in this upscale community enjoy the luxuries of immediate water access and proximity to restaurants, shops and other desirable attractions.
Real Estate: Santa Barbara Shores real estate includes exquisite properties, several of which are located along Lake Santa Barbara or Intracoastal waterways running alongside the tree-lined streets and finger isles. Luxury estates in Santa Barbara Shores feature desirable amenities like gourmet kitchens with stainless steel appliances, walk-in closets, private balconies, resort-style pools and much more. Many Santa Barbara Shores estates offer breathtaking water views and include water frontage with a private dock.
Lifestyle: Residents of Santa Barbara Shores enjoy a luxe lifestyle, as they bask in the exclusivity and luxury of their waterfront neighborhood. Yachters and boaters love Santa Barbara Shores for the abundance of estates with deep-water dockage and proximity to yacht clubs and marinas. Santa Barbara Shores is located near several upscale eateries and shops, and is within a reasonable distance of downtown Pompano Beach, the Pompano Beach Amphitheater, well-maintained parks, and exclusive golf courses.
Education: Families of Santa Barbara Shores reside near several area public schools, including Mcnab Elementary School, Pompano Beach Middle School and Blanche Ely High School. Nearby private schools include St. Coleman School and Cardinal Gibbons High School.
Water Access: Intracoastal waterways weave throughout Santa Barbara Shores, offering unrestricted access to Hillsboro Inlet. Several properties in this neighborhood have outstanding views of the Santa Barbara Lake and surrounding protected canals.


text:
Canon unveils XL1 successor
The XL2 has a similar component-based design as its predecessor, and has the same XL lens mount so current users of the XL1 or XL1s can continue to use their lens. It ships with a new fluorite 20x optical zoom lens, which uses technology found in Canons broadcast lenses and has two neutral density (ND) filters and an improved optical stabilization system.
The camcorder is built around three 1/3-inch 800,000-pixel CCDs, which offer an effective resolution of 720-x-576 pixels for 4:3 capture and 960-x-576 pixels for true widescreen 16:9 recording. The third-generation LSI (large-scale integrated circuit) improves the signal/noise ratio for higher resolution and lower smear than the XL1s, according to Canon.
The CCDs can also capture progressively. As well as the conventional 50i interlaced recording, the XL2 can record footage in 25p for use in Web broadcasts, or for a more film-style output. Web reports have highlighted the XL2s 24P recording facilities, but this only applies to the NTSC version of the camcorder for use in countries such as the US. 24P provides no benefit over 25p, so all progressive PAL camcorders so far have dropped this feature.
Independent filmmakers should also appreciate the Cinema mode, which makes footage look more like film output. A Skin Detail setting controls hue and saturation for skin tones, while the Film Grain setting adds grain. New manual controls include Knee, gamma, black stretch, colour matrix, R gain, G gain, B gain, V details, coring, master pedestal, noise reduction, colour gain.
The XL2 features four audio channels. Two XLR audio inputs with 48V phantom power output are included as standard, while the optional MA-300 provides two more XLR inputs.
The camcorder ships with a new colour viewfinder, which is moveable vertically as well as horizontally and which can also be used as a two-inch LCD screen. The XL2 also features a BNC jack output. Other improvements include an +18dB gain setting, SMPTE timecode support, and a 1KHz test tone (-12dB or -20dB).
Canon has created Software Developer's Kit for the camcorder, so users can write programs to control every aspect of the camcorder from a remote PC. The software controls could even let a remote user change the focus and zoom of the camcorder. No software is immediately available that uses this feature, but Canon expects it to follow the camcorders release.
After a brief period with the XL2 in a Canon-controlled environment, Digit reviews editor Neil Bennett said, the XL2 is a definite improvement on the XL1s on first impression, the XL2 is more balanced on the shoulder than the XL1s, even with the longer 20x lens but well have to wait to see how it stacks up against more modern camcorders such as the DVX100.
The XL2 will ship in September.
From Digit


text:
Coming soon - Add pages to and personalise one of OurPages Editable 5-page Templates, using WordPress themes to let you create and update you Personal Website online within minutes!
Netball-Team.info lets you build an editable website to promote your Netball Team on-line.
This website is operated by Our Pages Ltd, The Lilies, Griffe Grange Valley, Grangemill, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 4BW, England.
Phone +44 1629 650194, Fax +44 1629 690017
Phone +44 1629 650194, Fax +44 1629 690017
Netball Team info's templates can be modified by you so that they can be used by you to build within minutes, an editable, multi paged, multi lingual 'Netball Team Site' to publicise your Netball Team's news, fixtures and results online. Afterwards continue using the Netball Team Site created by paying Our Pages Ltd a twelve pounds annual subscription.


text: You can live an extraordinary, power filled life today. Power for Life will teach you how to dwell in real, authentic spiritual power that will transform your entire life and empower you to experience everything you were created for! God does a work in you so He can do a work through you. Overcome your past and be accelerated into the glorious future God has for you. You only have one life. Make it your best!


text:
pgAdmin III for Greenplum Database
A newer version of this documentation is available. Click here to view the most up-to-date release of the Greenplum 4.x documentation.
pgAdmin III for Greenplum Database
If you prefer a graphic interface, use pgAdmin III for Greenplum Database. This GUI client supports PostgreSQL databases with all standard pgAdmin III features, while adding support for Greenplum-specific features.
pgAdmin III for Greenplum Database supports the following Greenplum-specific features:
- External tables
- Append-optimized tables, including compressed append-optimized tables
- Table partitioning
- Resource queues
- Graphical EXPLAIN ANALYZE
- Greenplum server configuration parameters
Figure 1. Greenplum Options in pgAdmin III


text:
Nevada Facebook Feed
Use the Shop Finder Tool to see a list of stores in any area and find where you want to go!
Shop Finder Instructions
- Choose a country.
- Choose a state or province.
- In the city window, choose All to see all stores in the state, or choose a specific city.
- If you want a paper copy, click on "Printable PDF" to download and print.
- Thank you for your patience while your customized PDF downloads!
- Start your Rowing!
Thank you for your patience!
Use the Google Map
- Zoom into the area you are interested in by using the + and - buttons in bottom left of map
- Click and drag to resposition map
- Click on colored map dot to highlight shop info
- Visit shop website
- See who is participating in RxR Junior or The 9th Row
- Click on direction sign for directions to the store (don't forget to call and make sure they are open first!)


text: Zipper Veil-Suit Combination was designed by Dadants. We added all the features our beekeepers wanted for total protection and comfort for a full day's work in the bee yard. This Zipper Veil-Suit Combination offers the fine features of the Dadant Folding Veil and the Dadant Coveralls to provide total protection for the beekeeper. Zippered side openings allow full protection and easy access to trouser pockets. The location of the veil zipper holds the veil in place, assuring perfect vision while allowing total freedom of movement. Easy on and off. It is a polyester/cotton blend. We recommend using with the Plastic Sun Helmet. (helmet sold separately-see item M01049).


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HOW TO CONTROL THE MULTINATIONALS A Question and a Response By GEORGE W. BALL Senior Partner, Lehman Brothers How legitimate is the power of a multinational company to make decisions that have a measurable impact on the economic life of the foreign countries in which it does business? Can a national government be expected to sit calmly while an absentee corporate management 5,000 miles away is able, by its decisions, to affect the prosperity over which that government presides? We solved this problem of legitimacy within the United States by interpreting federal regulations to govern the practices of a Delaware company, for example, whether it be operating in Texas, Wisconsin, or in its own jurisdiction. In other words, we provided an overall central authority. But when a multinational company operates away from its country of domicile, there is no international authority to which it must be accountable. Governmental intervention at the local level offers no solution, since it usually impairs the ability of the company to deploy its resources freely. Yet, when either a domiciliary or a host government tries to extend its jurisdictional reach beyond its own boundaries, conflict and confusion is inevitable. I suggested in London seven years ago that we give thought to creating an international authority with the power to issue charters that would effectively denationalize our world companies—charters under which corporations would become accountable to an international commission charged with the enforcement of an international companies law. By accepting such accountability, the international company would gain the protection of certain explicit constraints that would define the power of signatory states to interfere with its operations. This was a far-out suggestion intended not for today but for the day after tomorrow. I had nothing more in mind than to inject one more idea into the teeming marketplace of theory and controversy. Certainly, what I proposed was not the only way to approach the emerging predicament. But, sooner or later, we shall have to come to grips with this question—before nation states impose their own solutions at the local level. For that way lies chaos. The unique genius of the multinational company depends on the international mobility of all factors of production. Restrictions or conditions unilaterally imposed by national governments can only destroy the special values that such a company offers. Yet we will pay a heavy price if we do not find a way to safeguard those values—because the multinational company, as it is now developing, is quite clearly the best mechanism anyone has so far suggested for utilizing all of the world's resources efficiently. That is a point even the most xenophobic among us can no longer afford to overlook. At a time when we are to understand that the world's raw material reserves are shrinking, we had better do whatever is necessary to preserve the multinational company as an instrument for efficiently using our finite stock of resources. Otherwise, we risk a Malthusian debacle on a global scale. By HERBERT C. KNORTZ Executive Vice President and Comptroller, ITT The case for control of the multinational corporation appears to have been pre-judged and erroneously concluded. Indeed, one wonders whether "control" is the proper medicine for the patient in question. However, if we assume that control is essential, in what form might that control become operative? There are several possibilities: a) National Rigidity. The host country would look upon a multinational corporation as a second-class citizen, and through such restrictions as tariff walls, credit penalties, labor union constraints, and industry limitations force out all but the most efficient multinational practitioners. b) National Tolerance. It is possible to conceive a form of control that would treat a multinational corporation as a complete citizen of the host country. The multinational "country of origin" would not follow its corporate citizens into new areas of the world. Multinational corporations would probably like to operate in this atmosphere. c) Expanded Supervision. Under this concept, rules and regulations would be established by groups of trading partners, as illustrated by the European Economic Community. The difficulty is that the regional groups derive power only to the extent that their regulatory desires are duly supported and legislated by the national members. d) Preliminary Review. A multinational seeking to enter a country or a line of business within a country would be required to submit its approaches to a reviewing agency for approval—such as in Canada and Argentina. e) Control by Penalty. The multinational would be on record with a specific program covering such items as the number of employees, a relationship between sales price and government price indices, and the maintenance of specific capital ratios. Escrow bank deposits could insure the availability of penalty remittances. Actually, there is some evidence that it is not that the multinational corporation is unnaturally large, but rather 34
Object Description
How to control the multinationals: A Question and a response
Ball, George W.
Knortz, Herbert C.
International business enterprises -- Management
Tempo, Vol. 21, no. 1 (1975), p. 34-35
|Originally published by: Touche Ross, & Co.
|Copyright and permission to republish held by: Deloitte
|PDF page image with corrected OCR scanned at 400 dpi
|Deloitte Digital Collection
|Digital Publisher
|University of Mississippi Library. Accounting Collection
|Date-Digitally Created


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Contact Me | About Me
Cruise Holidays - Michelle Jackson
firstname.lastname@example.com | 210-858-6399
One terrific thing about the end of winter is that it's the perfect time to plan a summer family vacation. A cruise that offers great activities and relaxation for the whole family – together and separately – may be the perfect choice. Why? There are lots of reasons: You can select a cruise to suit your schedule and budget. Whether you can get away for a weekend, a week or a month, there are cruises to fit your schedule. And, accommodations range from cost-efficient inside staterooms to luxury suites. As for destinations, there's Alaska, the Caribbean, Bermuda, New England and Canada, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and more. Your Cruise Holidays personal cruise expert can help you sort through all the options. You can choose accommodations that are right for your family. There are staterooms and suites designed for families of 2 to 10 members or more. You may be able to drive to your ship. In summer, cruises sail from a variety of North American ports, including Seattle, Vancouver, Montreal, San Diego, Galveston, New Orleans, Charleston, Baltimore, New York City and Boston, as well as the traditional Florida ports of Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. You can choose a ship with "kids' club" activities. Organized and supervised, these clubs let your kids hang out and have fun with others their age. This will also give you a chance to work out, attend a class, or just read a book by the pool for a while. Activities vary by cruise line and by ship – again, your Cruise Holidays expert can be your guide. You can spend fun time together. Pool decks are often the center of family fun on a cruise ship, and many ships also offer sport courts, Ping-Pong tables, shuffleboard courts, game rooms, movies, shows and craft activities that families can enjoy together. The number of water activities for kids of all ages is rapidly expanding. Everyone will like the food. A formal dinner in the main dining room is delightful, but most ships also have more casual dining options for families, such as Lido Deck buffets, pizza stands and room service. Cruise ship chefs aim to please, and have been known to produce grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwiches for guests who won't eat anything else. You can have great family adventures off the ship, too, by choosing from a variety of shore excursions. To find out more about summer cruise getaways, talk with your Cruise Holidays personal cruise expert.


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SUZUKI GT380 Bolt Kit
Bullit Custom Cycles unpolished stainless fastener kits for your vintage motorcycle are available! The kits are sorted, labeled and include instructions. They're not just a random assortment of bolts! These are perfect for your basket case, restoration or what have you. These kits are all Allen socket for ease of use and specifically designed to fit the models listed below! *Product not exactly as shown* GT380 a:clutch cover 10 pieces b:points cover 3 pieces c:generator cover 8 pieces d:sprocket cover 14 pieces e:cylinder head/ram air cover 30 pieces f:oiler cover 5 pieces 70 pieces total
Manufacturer : Stainless
Category :
Stainless Bolt Kits & Hardware
Engine Parts
MC Parts


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Tomb door stolen from Albion cemetery; thieves likely looking to sell it as scrap
ALBION, Maine (AP) � Thieves have hit a new low in their quest to steal from cemeteries, making off with a cast-iron tomb door from an Albion graveyard.
Police say the door was taken from Maple Grove Cemetery sometime between Thanksgiving and Saturday.
Kathryn Sawtelle, chairwoman of Albion's cemetery committee, says there has been vandalism at the town's three cemeteries, but the door theft is new. She thinks it was stolen to be sold as scrap, even though cast iron fetches just a dime per pound.
She tells the Morning Sentinel (http://bit.ly/UtOQBr ) she doesn't know the exact dimensions or weight of the door, but thinks it was heavy enough to require a couple of people to carry it.
The door likely dates to the cemetery's establishment in 1820.
Police say there are no suspects.
Information from: Morning Sentinel, http://www.onlinesentinel.com/


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By Liane Kupferberg Carter Nov 19, 2013 9
Gauging Skills
One of the first things people ask me about my 21-year-old son Mickey is, "Is he high functioning?"
I hate that question.
Are they asking his IQ score? If he speaks? Whether he will be able to live independently? I don't know how to answer.
How well does anyone function all the time? Isn't it circumstantial? Mickey does well socially when he feels comfortable and safe with people he knows. He has learned to ask such appropriate questions as, "What did you do today?" or "How was your weekend?" although he has a limited amount of small talk in him. He still struggles to sustain a complex conversation. When he doesn't feel like interacting, he'll say, "Leave me alone, I don't want to talk." Not exactly polite, but still functional. But put him in a room teeming with noisy, unfamiliar people or loud music? He'll be out the door so fast he'll leave skid marks.
All people are high functioning in some ways, less so in others. If you ask me to write an essay, I'd say—modestly—that I am fairly high functioning in that regard. But if you depended on me to rappel down the side of a cliff or navigate a raft through white water, you'd be putting your money on the wrong gal. You'd never make it out alive.
As students, we're all expected to do well in every subject. In reality most of us are not good at everything. As we grow, we tend to narrow our focus. We specialize. We seek out work in areas where we can excel. Autistic or not, everyone has a mix of strengths and challenges.
If you can do calculus but can't tie your shoes, are you high or low functioning? Does high functioning mean you can live independently but low means you can't? Mickey can't yet safely turn on the stove to cook for himself. But he is adept at making his own sandwiches and reheating food in the microwave. He won't starve. Where does he fall on the continuum? Just because an autistic person can speak, make great eye contact or perform academically doesn't mean that he doesn't also have major social and behavioral challenges. Where is the arbitrary cut-off point between high and low? Who gets to decide?
When Mickey was 19 months old he saw his first speech therapist. She said he had a "mild" delay. Several months later, a different evaluator told us the delay was "severe." She said, "It's possible he may never speak at all." Mickey hadn't changed; he was still the same loving, lovable little boy with the megawatt smile. Nor had his challenges changed. What had changed? The evaluator.
During Mickey's first year in a self-contained high school class, teachers gave him work that was too challenging. Mickey became disruptive. He distracted other students with jokes, off-topic remarks and such questions as, "Do brown cows make chocolate milk?" My husband and I asked for a Functional Behavior Assessment.
After observing him, the consultant they'd hired noted that Mickey was anxious and frustrated because the curriculum wasn't geared to his needs. They'd expected him to comprehend ninth-grade reading materials even though he was reading at a fifth-grade level. She developed a behavior plan for the school to follow.
Privately, she told us, "When they called me to come in, they told me I'd be observing a low functioning child. But your son is verbal and socially connected. That's not low functioning."
It's human nature to want to categorize people and create hierarchies, but labels can be dangerous. They can so easily be used to dismiss people, to see them as "less than."
How should I respond when someone asks me where Mickey "falls" on the autism spectrum? His development isn't linear; you can't measure it with a yardstick or clock.
Maybe the only truthful answer to the question "Is your son high or low functioning?" is simply, "Yes."


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Life After Bullies
Writer Dan Savage was tired of silently empathizing with bullying victims. Shocked by the tragic suicides among LGBT teens in recent months, he made a YouTube video to tell teens "It Gets Better"—it's possible to live happily as an openly gay adult.
The project went viral as thousands of videos flooded in from LGBT adults, eager to offer their personal stories as reassurances of hope for struggling young people. Gay parents boasted about their fulfilling family life, a Marine and a police officer kissed in uniform for all of YouTube to see, and a lesbian minister urged teens to have faith.
As gay characters are increasingly appearing in TV shows and the Episcopalian church has begun formulating a same-sex marriage rite, it seems clear that to be LGBT is becoming more positively embraced by our culture.
At the same time, high school is as tough as ever for LGBT teens who struggle to feel comfortable and accepted. Many teens–especially those who have been bullied–can't imagine a life beyond oppression and loneliness.
Fortunately, New Jersey is leading the way with an anti-bullying Bill of Rights. And the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization founded specifically for LGBT teens, has a 24/7 crisis prevention hotline. To raise money for the organization, Broadway stars teamed up to sing Jay Kuo and Blair Shepard's original song, "It Gets Better."
More Videos From the "It Gets Better" Project
Video: The NYC Youth Pride Chorus records an "It Gets Better" message.
Video: LGBT teachers show solidarity with their students, even when it means they have to do it in disguise.
- : LGBT people still aren't protected from workplace discrimination, but a bill under consideration could change that.
- : A cohousing community becomes home to a gay couple and their newly-adopted Latino son.
- : How online activism can help us understand how real change is made.


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We give our people the recognition and rewards they truly deserve for the hard work they do.
Pension Scheme
Our employees are eligible to join the company's Stakeholder Pension Scheme which is managed by Legal and General.
Life Assurance
In the event of death, our employees are covered by a life assurance policy at the rate of two times their basic salary.
Our employees are entitled to 23 days of holiday and 8 public holidays during the annual leave year of January to December. (Management and staff with over five years service are entitled to 25 days of holiday plus 8 public holidays).
With the agreement of their immediate manager, employees can carry forward up to five days of their annual holiday entitlement into the following calendar year.
Other Leave
We provide our employees with other leave from work (including Maternity, Adoption, Paternity, Parental, Compassionate Leave and time off to care for a dependant).
A-Plant Corporate Clothing
All employees are provided with high quality corporate clothing, appropriate to their role.
Recommend a friend
Employees have the opportunity to earn up to £500 for recommending a friend to join the company.
Free Equipment Hire
Our employees benefit from the opportunity to hire company equipment free of charge.
Colleague Assistance Helpline
Our employees have access to a confidential telephone helpline and online support service which provides legal advice, debt counseling or help with relationship difficulties. The services are free of charge and available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
Childcare Vouchers
We provide our employees with the opportunity to participate in the government led Tax Free Childcare Scheme.
Other Benefits
Our employees also have access to a wide range of other benefits including discounted retail vouchers, reduced rate insurance and financial advice.
Health and Wellbeing
A variety of additional benefits include company sick pay and health schemes.


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Request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgericht Halle (Germany) lodged on 10 December 2018 — TK v Land Sachsen-Anhalt
(Case C-773/18)
Language of the case: German
Referring court
Verwaltungsgericht Halle
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: TK
Defendant: Land Sachsen-Anhalt
Questions referred
Is the ex post facto percentage increase within the context of an age-related discriminatory pay system a new form of discrimination if the percentage increase is the same for all stages of a pay grade and therefore the absolute, but not the relative gap between those discriminated against and those not discriminated against varies?
If the answer to Question 1 is in the affirmative, is such a percentage increase over all age brackets justified in cases where the increase is due to the initial payment falling below a minimum set by the constitution of a Member State?
Does EU law, in particular Article 9 of Directive 2000/78/EC, 1 preclude an arrangement which cancels a right to compensation for age-related discriminatory payment after two months if:
– the time limit starts with the delivery of the judgment of 8 September 2011, Hennigs and Mai, C-297/10 and C-298/10, EU:C:2011:560 although the person concerned is not covered by the Bundesangestelltentarifvertrag (Federal Collective Agreement for contractual employees), but his personal situation is the same as in the judgment of 9 September 2015, Unland (C-20/13, EU:C:2015:561);
– the aforementioned judgment can be obtained from the officials and judges concerned (employees) only from general public sources;
– the employers have denied transferability to officials following the delivery of the abovementioned judgment, thereby denying the existence of age discrimination, whereby that legal opinion has also been communicated externally, at least partially;
– the case-law of the administrative courts at first instance has, for the most part, denied the existence of age discrimination within the time limit referred to and also subsequently, until delivery of the judgment of 19 June 2014, Specht and Others, C-501/12 to C-506/12, C-540/12 and C-541/12, EU:C:2014:2005;
– the case-law of the higher courts did not exist within the time limit and the first decision at highest instance was only taken following the delivery of the judgment in Specht and Others;
– in the civil service or judicial relationship (employment relationship) exclusion periods apply only to the reimbursement of special costs and such periods are not shorter than six months;
– Rights to salary (remuneration) are subject to a three-year limitation period, starting from the end of the year in which the right has become due and the beneficiary is aware of or ought to be aware of the right, or a limitation period of ten years runs;
– national rights to salary (remuneration), which are not legally fixed in a timely manner, i.e. within the financial year for which it is sought, are to be asserted?
Does it affect the answer to question 3 if the legal position is unclear or confusing?
Is it sufficient for the commencement of an exclusion period if the disadvantaged category of persons is aware of the difference in treatment, or must the reason for the unequal treatment, i.e. the differentiation criterion, also be known?