A system and method for a user interface to input URL address data obtained from captured video frames while simultaneously viewing a television broadcast, the system having a television with associated television screen, a set-top box, and a remote control. The invention also includes means for initiating a video-viewing mode (where the television receives a television signal via the set-top box and displays the television signal on the television screen), a capture manager for capturing image ...

A system and method are disclosed for effectively compensating for an unbalanced or non-zero centerline radio-frequency potential in a quadrupolar ion trap, the unbalanced centerline potential created by a compensation feature that minimizes non-linear field components created by one or more ejection slots in the ion trap. The ion trap includes a centerline that passes longitudinally through a trapping volume inside of the ion trap, a pair of Y electrodes with inner Y electrode surfaces that are...

An apparatus and method for efficiently performing data transfer operations in an electronic system preferably includes a plurality of buffers that may store data and commands during execution of data transfer operations. Initially, at least a portion of a plurality of commands defining data transfer operations between a memory and peripheral devices may be temporarily stored in a command buffer associated with a processor interface. The processor interface may then issue commands directly to a ...

A system and method for effectively implementing an electronic visual map device comprises a visual map application that provides selected route images for display upon a display device in an initial route mode. The visual map application may also provide selected destination images and related destination information for display upon the display device in a final destination mode. The route images and the destination images may be stored locally in a memory device, or alternately may be downloa...

A method for utilizing validity constraints in a speech endpoint detector comprises a validity manager that may utilize a pulse width module to validate utterances that include a plurality of energy pulses during a certain time period. The validity manager also may utilize a minimum power module to ensure that speech energy below a pre-determined level is not classified as a valid utterance. In addition the validity manager may use a duration module to ensure that valid utterances fall within a ...

A system and method for effectively managing telephone functionality by utilizing a settop box may preferably include a television coupled to the settop box for displaying television programming from a television programming source, and a telephone coupled to the settop box for receiving telephone calls from a telephone network. The settop box may include a TV mute manager for controlling a television mute mode that may be activated to mute audio programming on the television when receiving inco...

A system and method for multi-level context switching in an electronic network comprises a control state machine configured to implement a data priority scheme, a return address generator configured to hold and release return addresses for interrupted instruction modules in accordance with the data priority scheme and context information from the electronic network, and a processor configured to process data from the electronic network in accordance with the data priority scheme and the context ...

A method for implementing a noise suppressor in a speech recognition system comprises a filter bank for separating source speech data into discrete frequency sub-bands to generate filtered channel energy, and a noise suppressor for weighting the frequency sub-bands to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the resultant noise-suppressed channel energy. The noise suppressor preferably includes a noise calculator for calculating background noise values, a speech energy calculator for calculating spe...

The present invention comprises a system and method for flexibly distributing timing signals. Timing signals may require varying delays when connected, via circuit paths of varying propagation delays, to multiple circuit elements in order to preserve circuit synchronization. In one embodiment of the present invention, multiple clock signal generators are programmed to produce clock signals of differing time delays. This programming may be accomplished after the design and fabrication of the circ...

A system for providing deterministic performance from a non-deterministic device comprises one or more nodes that perform isochronous and/or non-isochronous data transfer operations onto an input/output bus of an electronic device. A bandwidth manager preferably programs a deterministic interface with a maximum data value that is selected to prevent non-isochronous conflicts for control of the input/output bus to thereby permit successfully execution of deterministically-scheduled isochronous da...