Abstract: A web-based service which provides a notification such an email to a user to facilitate managing the recording of broadcast content using a personal video recorder (PVR). The user can agree to participate in the service in exchange for emails which can provide information such as a summary of programs recorded over a few days, missed recordings, and scheduling conflicts. The notification can include targeted recommendations, targeted advertising and information about recording habits of members of a social network of the user. A notification can be provided on an urgent basis if program schedule conflicts or hardware or software problems with the user's equipment are detected. The user's equipment can include a PC-based PVR, or a PC which communicates with a separate PVR device. PC-related information such as events thrown can also be reported up to the web service.

Abstract: A web-based service which provides a notification such an email to a user to facilitate managing the recording of broadcast content using a personal video recorder (PVR). The user can agree to participate in the service in exchange for emails which can provide information such as a summary of programs recorded over a few days, missed recordings, and scheduling conflicts. The notification can include targeted recommendations, targeted advertising and information about recording habits of members of a social network of the user. A notification can be provided on an urgent basis if program schedule conflicts or hardware or software problems with the user's equipment are detected. The user's equipment can include a PC-based PVR, or a PC which communicates with a separate PVR device. PC-related information such as events thrown can also be reported up to the web service.

Abstract: A web-based service which provides a notification such an email to a user to facilitate managing the recording of broadcast content using a personal video recorder (PVR). The user can agree to participate in the service in exchange for emails which can provide information such as a summary of programs recorded over a few days, missed recordings, and scheduling conflicts. The notification can include targeted recommendations, targeted advertising and information about recording habits of members of a social network of the user. A notification can be provided on an urgent basis if program schedule conflicts or hardware or software problems with the user's equipment are detected. The user's equipment can include a PC-based PVR, or a PC which communicates with a separate PVR device. PC-related information such as events thrown can also be reported up to the web service.

Abstract: Various embodiments utilize a third party, such as a trusted third-party, to perform DRM operations such as “move” operations. In at least some embodiments, the trusted third-party is utilized for both “move” operations as well as local content access such as playback and the like. In at least some embodiments, a third-party maintains a database that includes an association of clients, content, and move version numbers. A client—termed a “source client” maintains at least a move version number locally in a secure fashion. The version number is incremented each time the source client performs a move operation. Both the source client and the third-party increment the version number each time a piece of content is moved. When the client attempts to perform a move operation, it contacts the third-party to ascertain the third-party's move version number. If the move version numbers match and the source client owns the license/content, then, in at least some embodiments, a move operation is permitted.

Abstract: A web-based service which provides a notification such an email to a user to facilitate managing the recording of broadcast content using a personal video recorder (PVR). The user can agree to participate in the service in exchange for emails which can provide information such as a summary of programs recorded over a few days, missed recordings, and scheduling conflicts. The notification can include targeted recommendations, targeted advertising and information about recording habits of members of a social network of the user. A notification can be provided on an urgent basis if program schedule conflicts or hardware or software problems with the user's equipment are detected. The user's equipment can include a PC-based PVR, or a PC which communicates with a separate PVR device. PC-related information such as events thrown can also be reported up to the web service.

Abstract: Various embodiments provide content protection interoperability techniques which support secure distribution of content for multiple content protection technologies. In one or more embodiments a source digital rights management (DRM) system can associate trust data with content to be exported to a target digital rights management (DRM) system. The trust data describes a trust state for the content to enable the target DRM system to maintain the trust state for the exported content. In at least some embodiments, the source DRM system can also associate tracing data with the content to, in the event of a breach in the chain of trust, enable an identification to be made of a source of the exported content and/or a party responsible for exporting the content.

Abstract: Various embodiments utilize a third party, such as a trusted third-party, to perform DRM operations such as “move” operations. In at least some embodiments, the trusted third-party is utilized for both “move” operations as well as local content access such as playback and the like. In at least some embodiments, a third-party maintains a database that includes an association of clients, content, and move version numbers. A client—termed a “source client” maintains at least a move version number locally in a secure fashion. The version number is incremented each time the source client performs a move operation. Both the source client and the third-party increment the version number each time a piece of content is moved. When the client attempts to perform a move operation, it contacts the third-party to ascertain the third-party's move version number. If the move version numbers match and the source client owns the license/content, then, in at least some embodiments, a move operation is permitted.

Abstract: This document describes tools capable of renewing an expired license to entertainment content. The tools, in some embodiments, may repeatedly renew a license using very little resources, such as by forgoing retention of the license, encryption keys, or the entertainment content between renewals. The tools, for example, may provide a license to a particular content receiver (e.g., a laptop computer), and, when that license expires, renew the license with as little as a single retained secret. By so doing the tools enable, among other things, fewer computing resources to be used in renewing a license while maintaining the security of that license's entertainment content.

Abstract: Described is an adaptive scheduler associated with a desktop window manager that dynamically controls the rate at which graphics frames are composed. Values corresponding to performance when composing a frame are measured, and the frame composition rate is adjusted as necessary based on the values. The measured data is sampled to provide smooth adjustments. The sampled data is evaluated as to whether the current frame rate is too slow, too fast, or acceptable. If too slow, the frame rate may increased relative to the refresh rate, while if too fast, the frame rate is decreased relative to the refresh rate. In one implementation, the frame rate is too fast if a count of missed frames achieves a missed threshold value, or if a count of late frames achieves a late threshold value. The frame rate is too slow if a count of early frames exceeds an early threshold value.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for switching first and second tasks in an operating system. The first and second tasks each have first and second traditional states and first and second extended states, in a processing unit. The method comprises: (a) saving the first traditional and extended states from the processing unit to a buffer; (b) updating the buffer by replacing the first extended state by the second extended state; and (c) restoring the first traditional state and the second extended state in the processing unit from the updated buffer.

Abstract: A system and method for synchronizing disparate processing modes and for providing mutually exclusive access to shared system resources. A processing unit operates in disparate first and second processing modes. In the first processing mode, the computer is under the control of an operating system. In the other processing mode, the computer is under the control of a system management mode interrupt handling routine. To synchronize the two processing modes and allow mutually exclusive access to shared hardware resources, the computer system includes shared memory, which contains an intermodal lock, and a mechanism for allowing each processing mode to signal the other. Before either processing mode can access the shared resource, the processing mode must attempt to acquire the intermodal lock. If the lock is acquired, the processing mode accesses the shared resource.

Abstract: A system and method for synchronizing disparate processing modes and for providing mutually exclusive access to shared system resources. A processing unit operates in disparate first and second processing modes. In the first processing mode, the computer is under the control of an operating system. In the other processing mode, the computer is under the control of a system management mode interrupt handling routine. To synchronize the two processing modes and allow mutually exclusive access to shared hardware resources, the computer system includes shared memory, which contains an intermodal lock, and a mechanism for allowing each processing mode to signal the other. Before either processing mode can access the shared resource, the processing mode must attempt to acquire the intermodal lock. If the lock is acquired, the processing mode accesses the shared resource.

Abstract: Waking a computer from a system state. A wake data structure enables a device to wake the computer from a sleeping state. The lowest system state is identified that allows selected devices to still wake the system based on the contents of the wake data structure for the device. A chosen device power state is selected for each of the devices within the computer system and each device is placed within their respective chosen device power state. Wake devices have a particular chosen device power state that supports that wake device's capability of waking the computer system. Other devices are typically turned off. Finally, the operating system turns off any of power resources within the computer system that are no longer used by any of the devices.

Abstract: Waking a computer from a system state. A wake data structure enables a device to wake the computer from a sleeping state. The lowest system state is identified that allows selected devices to still wake the system based on the contents of the wake data structure for the device. A chosen device power state is selected for each of the devices within the computer system and each device is placed within their respective chosen device power state. Wake devices have a particular chosen device power state that supports that wake device's capability of waking the computer system. Other devices are typically turned off. Finally, the operating system turns off any of power resources within the computer system that are no longer used by any of the devices.

Abstract: Sharing a plurality of power resources among a plurality of devices using a set of data structures. Power dependencies are identified using a power management data structure defining which power resources must be on to support the device in a device state and a system state data structure defining which power resources must be off in a corresponding system state. These data structures are used by the operating system where a desired device state for a device is selected. The power management data structure corresponding to the device power state is read to determine which power resources must be on. Only the power resources that must be on are turned on and the power resources that are no longer being used are turned off before placing the device in the desired device power state.

Abstract: A hierarchical data structure is created in dynamic memory that is dynamically expanded or modified during run-time operations of the computer system. Information about the devices is loaded from a definition block into the hierarchical data structure. The information is a byte stream of data that is translated and stored as hierarchical information, such as device objects, data objects, and control method objects. These objects are hierarchically nested within the hierarchical data structure. A device object identifies a corresponding device in the computer system. The hierarchy formed between device objects represents the hierarchical I/O connections within the computer system. A data object identifies configuration and hardware dependency information associated with a corresponding device. A control method object is an executable reference for controlling a corresponding device.

Abstract: A portable, software-controlled system for managing power consumption in a computer system. The power management system is integrated with the operating system of the computer system and is extensible to any add-on devices that are installed into the computer system. Upon the detection of a power down condition indicating that the computer system should be powered down, the power management system may verify that the computer system can be powered down without causing any of the devices that are connected to the computer to lose application data. If all of the devices agree that the computer system can be powered down, then each device has its state saved into memory and is powered down. Next, the state of each processor is saved into memory and power to the processors is disabled. In order to suspend the computer system, power to the memory is maintained, allowing each device state and processor state to be restored upon reboot.