Importance

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Abstract

A code symbol driven system and method are disclosed for producing graphical user interfaces which enable prespecified information-related transactions over the Internet. In the illustrative embodiment, the code symbol reader is integrated with a Java-enabled Internet terminal. The code symbol reader is used to read a code symbol (e.g., magstripe or bar code) encoded with information related to or specifying a predetermined Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The predetermined URL specifies the location of a HTML-encoded document that is stored in an HTTP server and contains one or more transaction-enabling Java-Applets. When the code symbol is read using the code symbol reader, and data representative of the URL is provided to a Java-enabled browser program, the corresponding HTTP document is automatically accessed and displayed at the terminal. The transaction-enabling Java-Applet embedded therein is executed in order to produce a graphical user interface on the display screen of the terminal, thereby enabling the user to carry out data entry and display operations related to the prespecified information-related transaction. The transaction-enabling Internet terminal of the present invention can be in the form of an Internet kiosk installed in a public location, in the manner as conventional ATMs. By virtue of the present invention, the code symbol driven system can be easily deployed for use by the mass population so that they can easily conduct various types of information-related transactions, including electronic-commerce, over the Internet.

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First Claim