Abstract: Systems and methods relating to location-based applications, such as widgets, are disclosed. In general, in one embodiment, location-based application service obtains an anticipated location of a mobile device and determines whether the anticipated location of the mobile device is associated with one of a plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with an establishment. An application identifier associated with the plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with the establishment is provided based on the determination, where the application identifier at least one of identifies an application for the mobile device to activate and references a remote source for the mobile device to obtain the application.

Abstract: An apparatus and method directed to automated call screening, and specifically the utilization of location history of a call recipient to determine call authorization, are provided. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a computer readable medium embodied in an article of manufacture is encoded with instructions for directing a processor to receive a request from a first device to communicate with a second device. The processor is further directed to determine at least one location associated with the first device, determine an authorization for the request based at least in part upon the at least one location associated with the first device and at least one prior location of the second device, and transmit the request to the second device in accordance with the authorization.

Abstract: Systems and methods relating to location-based applications, such as widgets, are disclosed. In general, in one embodiment, location-based application service obtains an anticipated location of a mobile device and determines whether the anticipated location of the mobile device is associated with one of a plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with an establishment. An application identifier associated with the plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with the establishment is provided based on the determination, wherein the application identifier at least one of identifies an application for the mobile device to activate and references a remote source for the mobile device to obtain the application.

Abstract: Systems and methods relating to location-based applications, such as widgets, are disclosed. In general, in one embodiment, location-based application service obtains an anticipated location of a mobile device and determines whether the anticipated location of the mobile device is associated with one of a plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with an establishment. An application identifier associated with the plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with the establishment is provided based on the determination, where the application identifier at least one of identifies an application for the mobile device to activate and references a remote source for the mobile device to obtain the application.

Abstract: A semantic based trick play method and system in a media player is provided in which a semantic trick play command is received from a user while the user is experiencing a current content of a media item. Metadata is detected with respect to a current playback position of the media item, and at least one further playback position is determined in the current content of the media item or a related content in another media item. The further playback position is semantically related to the metadata of the current playback position. Playback is then moved to the at least one further playback position, so that the user experiences a media content of the at least one further playback position.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for obtaining look-ahead segments for a streaming media item during playback such that the viewer can easily skip to the look-ahead segments without experiencing any substantial interruption or delay in playback. In general, a streaming media source begins streaming a media item to a streaming media client for playback. In one embodiment, the streaming media client selects one or more segments of the media item as one or more look-ahead segments to prefetch from the streaming media source. Then, while the media item is being streamed to the streaming media client for playback, the streaming media client prefetches the one or more look-ahead segments of the media item from the streaming media source. The look-ahead segments are thereafter utilized to enable the viewer to skip ahead in playback without experiencing a substantial interruption or delay in playback.

Abstract: A system and method for providing proximity-based quality for multimedia content, including: transmitting multimedia content, and intentionally controlling a quality level of a presentation of the multimedia content based on geographic proximity of a user to a particular location including intentionally controlling the quality level of the presentation of the multimedia content in accordance to a defined quality level for each of a plurality of geographic proximity zones associated with the particular location with at least one first one of the plurality of geographic proximity zones having a first defined quality level that is higher than a second defined quality level of at least one second one of the plurality of geographic proximity zones and the multimedia content in each of the plurality of geographic proximity zones is based on the aggregate of the profiles of mobile devices within the geographic proximity zone.

Abstract: Providing and receiving content for nodes of a computer network. In one aspect, a method for receiving content for nodes on a network includes establishing a computer device as a gateway device that can communicate in a first network and communicate with a server in a second network. The gateway device makes a request for content to be provided to at least one destination node in the first network. The requested content is received at the gateway device and is then provided to the destination node, where the received content is based on stored settings for the at least one destination node.

Abstract: Systems and methods relating to location-based applications, such as widgets, are disclosed. In general, in one embodiment, location-based application service obtains a current location of a mobile device and determines whether the current location of the mobile device is associated with one of a plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with an establishment. An application identifier associated with the plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with the establishment is provided based on the determination, where the application identifier at least one of identifies an application for the mobile device to activate and references a remote source for the mobile device to obtain the application.

Abstract: A system and method for providing proximity-based quality for multimedia content, including: transmitting multimedia content, and intentionally controlling a quality level of a presentation of the multimedia content based on geographic proximity of a user to a particular location including intentionally controlling the quality level of the presentation of the multimedia content in accordance to a defined quality level for each of a plurality of geographic proximity zones associated with the particular location with at least one first one of the plurality of geographic proximity zones having a first defined quality level that is higher than a second defined quality level of at least one second one of the plurality of geographic proximity zones.

Abstract: A semantic based trick play method and system in a media player is provided in which a semantic trick play command is received from a user while the user is experiencing a current content of a media item. Metadata is detected with respect to a current playback position of the media item, and at least one further playback position is determined in the current content of the media item or a related content in another media item. The further playback position is semantically related to the metadata of the current playback position. Playback is then moved to the at least one further playback position, so that the user experiences a media content of the at least one further playback position.

Abstract: A device receives key frame information for each of a plurality of key frames of a video content item and sends the key frame information from the device to a recipient while a corresponding segment of the video content item is being rendered by the device. The key frame information may include key frames of the video content item, references to the key frames of the video content item stored by one or more remote sources, or information identifying the key frames of the video content item to enable extraction of the key frames by a recipient device. Each key frame is representative of a segment of the video content item. The key frame information for the video content item is then sent to second users while the first user views the corresponding segment of the video content item. Advertisements may be sent with, or replace, the key frame information.

Abstract: A system and method for collaboratively providing configurations for a media environment are provided. In general, configuration events from a number of media environments are collected and provided to a Collaborative Configuration System (CCS) server. Based on the configuration events, the CCS server generates and provides recommended configurations to a media environment. The recommended configurations may be generated prior to or after receiving a request for recommended configurations from the media environment. In one embodiment, the recommended configurations are provided as a recommended configuration profile providing a set of configurations to be applied at the media environment. In another embodiment, the recommended configurations are provided as a CCS track associated with a particular media presentation. The CCS track includes configuration changes to be applied to the media environment for a number of time slices of the media presentation during playback of the media presentation.

Abstract: A semantic based trick play method and system in a media player is provided in which a semantic trick play command is received from a user while the user is experiencing a current content of a media item. Metadata is detected with respect to a current playback position of the media item, and at least one further playback position is determined in the current content of the media item or a related content in another media item. The further playback position is semantically related to the metadata of the current playback position. Playback is then moved to the at least one further playback position, so that the user experiences a media content of the at least one further playback position.

Abstract: Distributed trick play resolution in a distributed video viewing group network includes determining trick play preferences for each device of a plurality of nodes in the distributed video viewing group network with respect to a video item. Conflicting trick play preferences between the nodes is determined based on one or more of a group consisting of: user rankings, user voting, trick play ranking, and owner resolution. The determined conflicting trick play preferences are resolved.

Abstract: A system and method for bandwidth sharing in a distributed wireless client application using inverse multiplexing termination. The system includes: a group of collocated client playback devices having wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) connectivity, and a centralized inverse multiplexing (IMUX) server which optimizes shared bandwidth of both the WAN via inverse multiplexing and the LAN using either broadcast or multicast of all virtual multiplexing paths to all other client playback devices of the group of collocated client playback devices. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: A content management system for managing content stored by a number of networked Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) associated with a user community is provided. More specifically, the storage space of each of the personal video recorders is physically or logically partitioned into a personal space and a community space. The content management system manages the community spaces of the PVRs such that content relevant to the user community is stored in the collective community space of the PVRs and available to the user community.

Abstract: An Internet radio station program discovery service is provided. A plurality of Internet radio station programs is obtained. For each Internet radio station program of the plurality of Internet radio station programs, the Internet radio station program is dynamically categorized by mapping a dynamically identified topic of the Internet radio station program to a content classifier. A User is enabled to discover an Internet radio station program of interest from the plurality of Internet radio station programs based on the dynamic categorizations for the plurality of Internet radio station programs.

Abstract: Syndication feeds for peer computer devices. In one aspect, a request is received at a server for a syndicated feed from a peer on a peer-to-peer network. It is determined whether the peer is currently online or offline; if online, the requested feed is pulled from the peer and served to the requestor, and if offline, the requested feed is retrieved from a cache of the server and served to the requestor. In one embodiment, an online/offline indicator is inserted in a feed by the server to indicate to the user the online or offline status.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for creating collaborative content tracks to be presented to a user concurrently with a media presentation such as a movie, an episode of a television series, a song, or the like. Each time a user selects and plays a media presentation, user events describing actions taken by the user while viewing or listening to the media presentation are collected and provided to a Collaborative Content Track (CCT) server. The user events may include user events occurring on a primary media playback system, user events occurring on associated secondary user devices, or a combination thereof. In this manner, the CCT server obtains user events for each of a number of media presentations. Based on the user events, the CCT server may generate CCTs for any one of the media presentations to be presented to a user concurrently with the media presentation.