Abstract: A multifunctional ruler and protractor tool with the ability to form and scale a near infinite number of geometric shapes. The tool comprises both a standalone ruler and protractor unit. Rulers are capable of being added to each other successively, creating straight ruler assemblies of virtually any length. The protractor unit can be slid onto a single ruler or a straight ruler assembly containing any number of consecutively connected rulers, and is capable of fastening another ruler to its sides by a quick connect/disconnect mechanism. The protractor component of the protractor unit pivots, allowing for the creation of angles between rulers that are laterally fastened and slidably engaged to it. The sliding lock on the protractor unit can arrest both rotational and translational motion of the protractor unit along any ruler, if it is manipulated to do so. Multiple rulers and protractors can be connected to form both open and closed, regular and irregular, polygons, and other sided geometric shapes.

Abstract: The system and method of the present invention allows for the determination of the relevance of a content item to a query through the use of a machine learned relevance function that incorporate query differentiation. A method for selecting a relevance function to determine a relevance of a query-content item pair comprises generating a training set comprising one or more content item-query pairs. Content item-query pairs in the training set are collectively used to determine the relevance function by minimizing a loss function according to a relevance score adjustment function that accounts for query differentiation. The monotocity of relevance score adjustment function allows the trained relevance function to be directly applied to new queries.

Abstract: In at least one embodiment, a shock absorbing ventilated seat is provided that includes a seat portion; and a back portion adjustably hinged to the seat portion. At least one of the seat and the back portions include a planer sheet of shock absorbing material located therein. The shock absorbing material has a top layer, a bottom layer, and a plurality of pairs of ribs that couple the top layer to the bottom layer so as to create a plurality of channels in the material. The top layer has a plurality of perforations therein that communicate with the plurality of channels, each of the plurality of channels having an opening on an end of the material coupled to an air source that cause air to pass through the openings of the channels and exit through the perforations in the material.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and systems for providing longevity insurance by obtaining information useful for issuing a longevity insurance contract for an individual, and determining a premium or an income payment for the individual that are computed based at least in part on an individual's age at a predetermined date that income payments are deferred to. The longevity insurance contract generally provides deferred income payments for a period of time, such as for the life of the individual, beginning at a predetermined date that is after an individual's anticipated retirement, or at a predetermined date that is after the individual's life expectancy, or on or after a specified birthday of the individual.

Abstract: The method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes retrieving one or more terms or phrases including an instant messaging conversation in which one or more users are participating. One or more term vectors including one or more vector terms associated with the one or more retrieved terms or phrases including the instant messaging conversation are generated and one or more vector terms are selected from said term vectors. The one or more selected vector terms are displayed to the one or more users participating in the instant messaging conversation. An indication of a user selection of a given displayed vector term is received and one or more content items responsive to the selected vector term are identified.

Abstract: The present invention provides messaging capabilities in conjunction with functionality for viewing and interacting with a plurality of content items t in a television environment. According to one embodiment, a method for providing one or more content items to a user comprises setting a context for a client device operated by the user and retrieving one or more representations of the context of one or more buddies associated with the user as indicated in a user profile, the one or more buddies in a social network of the user. The one or more representations of the context of the one or more buddies are displayed on the client device in conjunction with the context of the client device. A representation of a context of a given buddy is selected from the one or more representations and the context of the user is changed to the context of the given buddy.

Abstract: An equipment carrier for transporting one or more work items includes a vertical frame attached to a base frame, where the base frame has, in a preferred embodiment, an expandable portion that telescopes out from the vertical frame. The equipment carrier also includes a locking mechanism for attaching the equipment carrier to a standard dolly. The use of the equipment carrier in combination with the dolly allows for easy transport of the equipment carrier. In one embodiment, work piece arms for supporting work items are pivotally connected to the front of the vertical frame allowing them to swing into horizontal position and then fold down into a vertical position. Also attached to the vertical frame is a strut that is also pivotally connected to the front face of the vertical frame. The strut swings up to support the work piece arm when it is in the horizontal position. The equipment carrier also has components for carrying additional accessories work items needed.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to systems and methods for employing canonical metadata to describe advertisements comprising an advertiser storing an advertisement and arbitrarily complex metadata that is descriptive of the advertisement, which is received at a control center. At the control center, the advertisement is mapped to canonical metadata. The advertisement and canonical metadata are stored at the control center for use in discriminating between advertisements from a plurality of advertisers.

Abstract: A system for automated reward management for network-based contests includes one or more processors and memory coupled to the processors, where the memory stores program instructions executable by the processors to implement a contest manager. The contest manager is configured to collect an entry fee corresponding to each entry of a plurality of entries submitted for a contest over a network, and provide a prize to a winning entry of the contest based at least in part on a total amount of entry fees collected for the contest.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for bookmarking and tagging content items such as media files with user-defined tag information and system-defined tag information based on file types. Utilizing tag information, a user of a bookmarking and tagging service provider can easily search for and retrieve links to media files having specific tag information, even if the media files are located at geographically disparate sites. A user may also retrieve the media files using web feeds.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for determining near-duplicate images. The method and system includes performing a Fourier-Mellin transform on each of a plurality of images. For each image of the plurality of images, the method and system includes generating a signature based on the Fourier-Mellin transform. The method and system includes comparing the signature of at least one of the images to at least one of the signatures of the other plurality of images and determining any near duplicate images based on the comparing of the signatures.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to systems and methods for creating a program for delivery to a client in a video time shifting architecture. The system of the present comprises an advertisement selection system (ADS) operative to select one or more advertisements and transmit one or more identifiers that uniquely identify the selected advertisements and an advertisement management system (AMS) operative to generate a playlist that identifies content. The playlist includes a user requested time shifted program and the one or more selected advertisements. A video server is operative to interpret the playlist and deliver the content to the user.

Abstract: Systems and corresponding methods are provided that include at least one computing device in communication with a plurality of mobile devices over a communication network. The at least one computing device is operable to track with a location service each of a plurality of mobile devices from a departure area to a destination area, collect with each of the plurality of mobile devices objective data with regard to destination area, and compute or otherwise determine an implied interest for the destination area based on the objective data collected. The objective data may include the amount of time each of the plurality of the mobile devices spends at the destination area, the distance(s) traveled by each of the plurality of mobile devices to get to the destination area, and/or the amount of money spent by each owner of the plurality of mobile devices at the destination area.

Abstract: A stringed musical instrument is provided that includes a brace disposed within the hollow chamber of the musical instrument such that the first end of the brace is in contact with the inner side of the soundboard of the musical instrument at a point longitudinally at or above the bridge saddle toward the top end of the instrument. At the second end, the brace is in contact with an inner side of the body at a point longitudinally below the bridge saddle toward the bottom end of the musical instrument. The strings pass over the bridge saddle, through at least one hole in the bridge, and at least one of the strings attaches to the brace directly or indirectly at a point on the brace. The brace receives tension from the at least one string attached to the brace and transfers the tension from the strings to at least the contact point of the first end of the brace.

Abstract: Automated systems and methods are provided for establishing or maintaining a personalized trusted social network for a community of users, with little or no input from any given user. To establish the personalized trusted social network, one or more trusted sources are identified for a given user. The identified trusted sources are added to a user profile for the given user. Also, identified are any annotations, bookmarks, or the like that the identified trusted sources have associated with any shared content. These annotations provide access to microcontent items that the identified trusted sources have integrated with the shared content to thereby enhance or enrich its context. One or more profiles are constructed or updated to track the associations between the identified trusted sources and their annotations. The profile information can be applied to enhance and personalize search and browsing experiences for the given user.

Abstract: A system including a plurality of web servers configured to serve base content and relevant content to a user system; a set of additional-content servers configured to serve the relevant content to the web servers if units in the user profile match units associated with the relevant content; a parsing server configured to extract the units in the user profile from the base content requested by the user and generate a ranked list of the units in the user profile; and a unit-matching module configured to determine whether the units in the user profile match units associated with the relevant content if the user requests the base content, wherein the web servers are configured to serve the base content and the relevant content if the units in the user profile match units associated with the relevant content.

Abstract: A system and method for providing at least one search result responsive to receiving a search query comprising at least one search query term, includes receiving the search query; locating at least one record containing at least one search query term; displaying a text representation of each of the records containing at least one search query term; and displaying a representation of an object in relation with the text representation for each record that includes an object comprising at least one predetermined attribute.

Abstract: A method comprising receiving a search query to generate a search result of one or more media items and providing a personalized search rank of the one or more media items on the basis of a user profile and an item relevance for a given media item with regard to the query metadata associated with the search result is identified and used to identify at least one related media item. The at least one related media item is ranked on the basis of the user profile and the metadata.

Abstract: The invention includes methods and software for presenting a user with a set of interfaces that reveal what events are to occur, or are likely to occur, in a transaction, and provide the ability to program the automatic monitoring of these anticipated events with a customizable set of alerts. A merchant encodes events that are possible for the transaction as part of developing an online transaction system such as an online catalog. The data regarding these events is encoded in an electronic communication, such as an email or onsite transaction history item, such that this data can be detected by a receiving system. The method includes presenting and setting monitoring options for event notices that have not yet been received. The chosen options for event notices that have not yet been received are used to program the monitoring and alerting of the user when such event notices have or have not been received.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for decomposing a complex problem or task into one or more constituent components, operating in parallel over a plurality of computing devices in communication over a network. A system according to the present invention comprises one or more pipelets. A given pipelet comprises a read data interface operative to receive incoming data, one or more functions for processing the incoming data, and a write data interface operative to make the processed incoming data available as output data to be further processed. The system according to the present embodiment further comprises a controller operative to receive a pipeline specification that identifies the one or more pipelets as belonging to a pipeline, generate a dependency map that identifies an order in which to execute the one or more pipelets and execute the pipelets according to the dependency map to generate a result.