Abstract: Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between task requesters who have tasks available to be performed and task performer users who are available to perform tasks, such as interactions that enable improvement of unsatisfactory task performance results from human task performer users. In some situations, after a task performer user has generated initial results from performance of a task supplied by a task requester, the task requester indicates that the initial results are only partially satisfactory (e.g., only partially satisfy one or more criteria for the task performance results), and may result in only a partial payment rather than a full payment amount associated with fully satisfactory performance of the task. The task requester may also supply information to provide one or more opportunities to the task performer user to supply additional improved supplemental results (e.g., so as to receive the full payment amount).

Abstract: Interactions between an item and an online shopper may be used to determine interest in an item or a category of items. Once interest has been determined, the online shopper may be presented with an option to initiate communication with other users. This communication may be between a plurality of users including shoppers, owners, experts, item representatives, and so forth. Communication may include text chat, video chat, audio chat, telephone, and so forth. Rewards may be provided to some or all users to encourage communication.

Abstract: Methods and systems facilitating a preferred network scan in a 4G communications system are disclosed. A user device identifies a new search event when operating in connected state. The user device transitions to idle state, performs a preferred network scan, and returns to connected state.

Abstract: Methods and systems for optimizing voice call setup times for user devices. A user device that is registered to a packet switched network and in an idle state receives a command to establish a voice call. The user device selects a legacy cell of a circuit switched network. The user device then establishes a radio connection with the selected legacy cell without first establishing a radio connection with a serving cell of the packet switched network.

Abstract: Haptic feedback may be provided to a user of an electronic device, such as an electronic book reader device, to confirm receipt of user input or otherwise convey information to the user. The haptic feedback may be provided more quickly than a display update time of a display of the electronic device. Different patterns, durations, and/or intensities of haptic feedback may be used in response to different events.

Abstract: A networked computer system provides various services for assisting users in locating, and establishing contact relationships with, other users. For example, in one embodiment, users can identify other users based on their affiliations with particular schools or other organizations. The system also provides a mechanism for a user to selectively establish contact relationships or connections with other users, and to grant permissions for such other users to view personal information of the user. The system may also include features for enabling users to identify contacts of their respective contacts. In addition, the system may automatically notify users of personal information updates made by their respective contacts.

Abstract: An electronic user device can provide intelligent power management. The device can monitor information such as charge level and rate of power consumption, and determine an appropriate time to charge the device. If a device is placed on a charger at a time when the device does not require charging, and the charging could potentially shorten the life of the device battery, the device might activate an internal switch or communicate with the charger to prevent the device from being charged. The device can be configured to notify the user when the device should be charged using any number of notification approaches. If the device is unable to be charged during a certain period, or the rate of power consumption exceeds at least one set value, the device can adjust functionality of various components and/or applications in order to conserve power until the device is able to be charged.

Abstract: A power distribution system for a data center includes a transformer that transforms three-phase source power to three-phase operating power. The phase-to-neutral operating voltage for each phase is at least about 260 volts. Power distribution units are coupled to the transformer. The power distribution units supply operating power from the transformer to computer systems in the data center.

Abstract: A system and method for electronically searching a personalized library of content includes, in at least one embodiment, receiving one or more search terms and electronically searching a text searchable database to produce search results. After receiving a search result selection, a page image in a page image database corresponding to the search result selection is identified. A substitute image of the identified page image is prepared, wherein a portion of the content in the identified page image is suppressed in the substitute image. The substitute image is then provided for computer display, wherein the one or more search terms in the substitute image are highlighted when the substitute image is displayed. The substitute image appears substantially the same as the identified page image except for the portion that is suppressed. Information identifying the location of the search terms in the substitute image may be provided for highlighting.

Abstract: A computer system that provides services to clients may be configured to adaptively throttle incoming service requests. It may modify throttle parameters to aggressively increase throttling in response to detecting that the system is in an overloaded state. For example, a throttle multiplier value may be increased by a large amount in an attempt to quickly exit the overloaded state. The throttle multiplier value may be increased multiple times before the system exits the overloaded state. The percentage of incoming requests that are throttled and/or the particular requests that are throttled may be dependent on the throttle multiplier value and/or on a request priority rank. Some time after the system returns to a non-overloaded state, the system may gradually reduce throttling by iteratively decreasing the throttle multiplier value until it is zero. Gradually reducing throttling may allow the system to avoid oscillating between an overloaded state and a non-overloaded state.

Abstract: A system is provided that extrapolates item characteristics from items considered to possess a characteristic to items not known to possess the characteristic. The system may include an item data repository that stores data representing physical items. These items can include first items having a characteristic and second items not known to have the characteristic. A characteristic extrapolation module can extrapolate the characteristic from at least some of the first items to at least some of the second items based at least in part on the strength of associations between the plurality of items. A recommendations module may provide item recommendations based at least partly on the characteristic of the items.

Abstract: A page update handler enables a browser to update the display of a page with data received from a server. For example, a page may initially be displayed with a visual display object that serves as a placeholder for data being retrieved by the server; once the server retrieves the data and sends it to the browser, the page update hander may populate the display object with the data. As another example, the server may predictively retrieve data in anticipation of a user performing a particular action on a page, and may send this data to the browser in a hidden format; if the user subsequently performs the action, the page update handler may update the displayed page with the predictively retrieved data.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments including systems and methods relating to the management of heat load in a data center. An access frequency of a data object is estimated in a computing device. The data object is stored in at least one of a plurality of storage units. Each of the storage units comprises a plurality of solid-state storage devices in a proximal arrangement. The storing is based at least in part on the access frequency of the data object and a density of the arrangement of the solid-state storage devices within the at least one of the storage units.

Abstract: Disclosed in various embodiments are systems and methods providing for storage of mass data such as metrics. A plurality of data models are generated in the server from a stream of metrics describing a state of a system. Each of the metrics is associated with one of a plurality of consecutive periods of time, and each data model represents the metrics associated with a corresponding one of the consecutive periods of time. The data models are stored in a data store and each of the metrics is discarded after use in generating at least one of the data models.

Abstract: In an environment such as a cloud computing environment where various guests can be provisioned on a host machine or other hardware device, it can be desirable to prevent those users from rebooting or otherwise restarting the machine or other resources using unauthorized information or images that can be obtained from across the network. A cloud manager can cause one or more network switches or other routing or communication processing components to deny communication access between user-accessible ports on a machine or device and the provisioning systems, or other specific network resources, such that the user cannot cause the host machine to pull information from those resources upon a restart or reboot of the machine. Further, various actions can be taken upon a reboot or attempted reboot, such as to isolate the host machine or even power off the specific machine.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for placing user interface elements in a network page. A first network page is generated with client side code embedded therein that can track navigation input data associated with the user. The navigation input data can be interpreted to determine whether the user has a tendency to idle an input device in a particular area of the network page or exhibit any other behavior that allows a high value area to be identified.

Abstract: A method for sharing electronic books may include receiving a request to borrow an electronic book. The request may be received from a borrowing user's electronic book reader. The method may also include generating a borrowing user's license for the electronic book. The method may also include transmitting a copy of the electronic book to the borrowing user's electronic book reader. The method may also include transmitting the borrowing user's license to the borrowing user's electronic book reader.

Abstract: Indexing and querying in multiple languages is accomplished using an ordered chain of filters and/or other such components. When receiving information to be indexed or for a query, the information can be tokenized and typed based at least in part on the language of each token. The character types can be adjusted if appropriate for the languages, and the tokens can be further segmented using a dictionary for the respective language types. Once appropriate tokens are determined, relevant synonyms in each appropriate language can be determined and typed accordingly. If necessary the case of the tokens and synonyms can be adjusted and further segmented based on punctuation. The terms and synonyms then can be used as part of the index or as part of the search query to include other terms or phrases based on relevance to the original information.

Abstract: Methods and systems for customer-transparent inventory fulfillment costs. A method may include an enterprise detecting a customer's selection of a given one of a number of inventory items, and in response to detecting the selection, the enterprise generating a display and instructing that the display be displayed to the customer. The display may include fulfillment options for the given item, where each of the options includes an indication of a corresponding fulfillment entity within a fulfillment network and an indication of a corresponding price. The price may be determined dependent upon fulfillment costs of completing order fulfillment of the given item for the customer from the corresponding fulfillment entity.