Patent ID: 7483945
Filing Date: 2009-01-27
Classification: H04L,H04M

Abstract:
1. Apparatus for webcasting over a computer network, comprising: a first subsystem accessible over the computer network and including code for enabling an entity to reserve a webcast event, to obtain an event identifier, an access code, and an attendee URL, and to initiate storage of an event information file associated with the webcast event, where the webcast event is a web-based audio conference event for casting speech of a speaker to one or more audience members over the computer network; a second subsystem connectable to a telephone network and including code for enabling the entity to initiate the webcast event, without access to the event information file, by verifying that a value derived from a one-way hash of the event identifier entered by the entity together with a shared secret matches the access code entered by the entity, code for generating a data stream from an audio signal derived from speech of the speaker, wherein the speech of the speaker is receivable by the second subsystem over the telephone network, and code for uploading a copy of the data stream to a storage system upon interruption of the audio signal; a third subsystem accessible over the computer network and including code responsive to a client browser associated with a listener, who is an audience member, requesting the attendee URL for returning to the client browser a data structure including a stream URL, wherein the stream URL enables a streaming media player to obtain the data stream so that the listener can hear the speaker, who is not an audience member, during the webcast event; a fourth subsystem accessible over the computer network and including code for generating a directory for the webcast event, and code for storing in the directory the event information file and the copy of the uploaded data stream; and a fifth subsystem accessible over the computer network and including code for creating an archive of the webcast event and for storing the archive in the directory, wherein the attendee URL is useful to obtain access to the archive following the webcast event.