Abstract: A computer system and method for efficiently processing a digital image into reflow content is presented. The method comprises each of the following as executed on a computer. A digital image is obtained for processing. The digital image includes at least some content suitable for conversion into reflow content. The digital image is processed into a digital content file. The digital content file includes both reflow content and non-reflow blocks of content. For each non-reflow block of content in the digital content file, the following are performed. A confidence rating is determined for the non-reflow block of content. If the confidence rating for the non-reflow block of content falls below a predetermined threshold, an evaluation of the non-reflow block is triggered.

Abstract: Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between computing systems, such as by performing transactions between parties that are automatically authorized via a third-party transaction authorization system. In some situations, the transactions are programmatic transactions involving the use of fee-based Web services by executing application programs, with the transaction authorization system authorizing and/or providing payments in accordance with private authorization instructions previously specified by the parties. The authorization instructions may include predefined instruction rule sets that regulate conditions under which a potential transaction can be authorized, with the instruction rule sets each referenced by an associated reference token.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for redirecting orders based on delivery site unavailability. A first delivery site that will be unavailable during an unavailability period is identified, and a coincidence between the unavailability period and a pick-up period of a shipment at the first delivery site is determined, the shipment being currently scheduled to be picked up by a customer at the first delivery site during the pick-up period. A second delivery site is then determined. A notification is sent to the customer of the second delivery site, and a rerouting of the shipment to the second delivery site is initiated.

Abstract: A method is disclosed that includes receiving a request for a transaction from a customer at a seller server system via an electronic-commerce website and identifying a customer account stored at the seller server system based on an identity of the customer. A plurality of financial instruments is associated with the customer account. The plurality of financial instruments has a customer-specific sequence including at least a first financial instrument pre-selected by the customer and a second financial instrument. The method includes automatically attempting to collect a particular payment associated with the transaction from a first financial service provider corresponding to the first financial instrument and automatically attempting to collect the particular payment from a second financial service provider corresponding to the second financial instrument in response to data received at the seller server system indicating a denial of the payment.

Abstract: Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between computing systems, such as by performing transactions between parties that are automatically authorized via a third-party transaction authorization system. In some situations, the transactions are programmatic transactions involving the use of fee-based Web services by executing application programs, with the transaction authorization system authorizing and/or providing payments in accordance with private authorization instructions previously specified by the parties. The authorization instructions may include predefined instruction rule sets that regulate conditions under which a potential transaction can be authorized, with the instruction rule sets each referenced by an associated reference token.

Abstract: Techniques are described for automatically and dynamically determining how to handle items being returned from customers while the items are in transit. Various factors may be considered to determine appropriate item return handling, including by assessing current conditions at the time of the determination. In addition, the dynamic item return handling may include selecting one of various potential return destinations for each item being returned and one of various types of return routing for the return. In some situations, the item return handling is performed for an item being returned from a customer while the item is at an intermediate shipping location, such as a selected location to which the customer was directed to send the item. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Abstract: Techniques are described for providing enhanced interactions with software services, such as when executing software programs use remote software services. For example, if a software program is executing on a first computing system and using remote services provided by one or more other computing systems, one or more local software proxies may be executed on the first computing system to represent the remote services. The software program may interact in a common manner with the local software proxies, while each local software proxy may interact with its corresponding remote service in a manner specific to that remote service and transparent to the software program. Furthermore, a local software proxy may facilitate software program testing, such as by interacting with a local copy of a remote service rather than the actual remote service during testing and/or by emulating asynchronous message interactions with a remote service during testing.

Abstract: Techniques are described for providing managed virtual computer networks whose configured logical network topology may have one or more virtual networking devices, such as by a network-accessible configurable network service, with corresponding networking functionality provided for communications between multiple computing nodes of a virtual computer network by emulating functionality that would be provided by the networking devices if they were physically present.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for automatically detecting associations between particular sets of search criteria, such as particular search strings, and particular items. Actions of users of an interactive system, such as a web site, are monitored over time to generate event histories reflective of searches, item selection actions, and possibly other types of user actions. An analysis component collectively analyzes the event histories to automatically identify and quantify associations between specific search strings (or other types of search criteria) and specific items. As part of this process, a decay function reduces the weight given to a post-search item selection event based on intervening events that occur between the search event and the item selection event.

Abstract: Techniques are described for providing enhanced access to software services or other software programs that provide interfaces for use by clients. The enhanced access may, for example, be provided for a software service having multiple distinct versions with distinct corresponding interfaces, such as if some clients continue to initiate access to older versions of the software service using corresponding older interfaces, while other clients initiate access to a current software service version using a corresponding current interface version. The enhanced access techniques may further include automatically adapting requests that correspond to older interface versions of a software service so that the adapted requests correspond to the current interface version for the software service, and responses may similarly be adapted from a format for a current version of a software service to a format for a prior interface version used by the request that resulted in the response.

Abstract: A system for presenting a set of recommended items corresponding to a first item is presented. The system comprises a processor, a memory; and a computer executable component. The computer executable component executes on the system, via the processor, and is configured to perform the following. An indication is received requesting the display of recommended items corresponding to the first item. A set of recommended items corresponding to the first item is then obtained. Display information is generated for displaying a list of items and the corresponding set of recommended items. The list of items includes the first item. Additionally, display information is provided, the display information for displaying the list of items and the corresponding set of recommended items on a consumer device.

Abstract: A recommendations system is provided in various embodiments for selecting items to recommend to a user. The system includes a recommendation engine with a plurality of recommenders, and each recommender identifies a different type of reason for recommending items. In one embodiment, each recommender retrieves item preference data and generates candidate recommendations responsive to a subset of that data. The recommenders also score the candidate recommendations. In certain embodiments, a normalization engine normalizes the scores of the candidate recommendations provided by each recommender. A candidate selector selects at least a portion of the candidate recommendations based on the normalized scores to provide as recommendations to the user. The candidate selector also outputs the recommendations with associated reasons for recommending the items.

Abstract: A web site system includes an event history server system that persistently stores event data reflective of events that occur during browsing sessions of web site users, and makes such data available to other applications and services in real time. The server system may, for example, be used to record information about every mouse click of every recognized user, and may also be used to record other types of events such as impressions and mouse-over events. The event data of a particular user may be retrieved from the server system based on event type, event time of occurrence, and various other criteria. In one embodiment, the server system includes a cache layer that caches event data by session ID, and includes a persistent storage layer the persistently stores the event data by user ID. Also disclosed are various application features that may be implemented using the stored event data.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable medium is described for facilitating interactions between task requesters who have tasks that are available to be performed and task performers who are available to perform tasks. In some situations, the tasks to be performed are human performance tasks that use cognitive and other mental skills of human task performers, such as to employ judgment, perception and/or reasoning skills of the human task performers. In addition, in some situations the available tasks are submitted by human task requesters via application programs that programmatically invoke one or more application program interfaces of an electronic marketplace in order to request that the tasks be performed and to receive corresponding results of task performance in a programmatic manner, so that an ensemble of unrelated human agents can interact with the electronic marketplace to collectively perform a wide variety and large number of tasks.

Abstract: A service is disclosed for enabling web sites and other entities to provide behavior-based content to end users. The service can be implemented as a web service that is remotely accessible over the Internet. Web sites use the web service's interface to report events descriptive of item-related actions performed by end users (e.g., item views, item purchases, searches for items, etc.). The web service analyzes the reported event data on an aggregated basis to detect various types of associations, including associations between particular search queries and items. The detected associations are recorded in site-specific datasets, and are made available to the corresponding sites via the service's interface.

Abstract: Techniques are described for facilitating performance of tasks supplied by task requesters, such as by a task exchange server interacting with mobile task performer users available to perform tasks at various geographical locations. Some or all of the tasks may each be associated with geographical locations and/or other device-related criteria related to the performance of the task, and one or more mobile task performer users may be identified as being appropriate to perform the task based on the location of, qualifications of, and/or characteristics of mobile device(s) of the user. Such identified task performer users may then be notified of such appropriate tasks in various ways, such as by sending one or more electronic messages with information about the tasks to one or more mobile devices of the users, and may in some situations use one or more of their mobile devices as part of the task performance.

Abstract: Systems and methods for monitoring Web page content associated with processing a resource request are provided. A client computing device generates a sample image corresponding to a set of resources rendered in response to a resource request. A processing component, such as an image analysis component, then compares the sample image with an averaged reference image to identify a compared image. The averaged reference image is determined from averaging a pixel intensity value for each pixel in a first reference image with a pixel intensity value for each pixel in a second reference image. These first and second reference images both correspond to the same set of requested resources. The processing component then weights the compared image to produce a weighted compared image and determines whether a sum of the intensity values for each pixel in the weighted compared image exceeds a threshold. Aspects of systems and methods for generating an alert message if the threshold is exceeded are also provided.

Abstract: System and method for sortation of picked inventory into individual orders in an order fulfillment process, for example order fulfillment processes in materials handling facilities. Collections of items picked from inventory for multiple orders are stowed to locations at a stow and sortation station. The items for a particular order may be stowed to two or more different locations, and items for two or more orders may be stowed to one location; no particular location is assigned to or reserved for each order. Thus, no space is allocated or reserved for incomplete orders at the station. When all items for a particular order are stowed to locations at the station, the order may be picked from the various locations at the station and placed into order receptacles. The order receptacles may be shipping containers.

Abstract: A decision tree is provided as a machine learning classifier to predict a user attribute, such as a geographical location of a user, based on a network address. More specifically, the decision tree is constructed via machine learning on a set of sample data that reflects a relationship between a network address and a user attribute of a “known user” whose profile information is recognizable. For a given network address, the decision tree can be used as a machine learning classifier to predict the most likely user attribute of a potential user. With the predicted attribute, a network service can target a group of potential users for various campaigns without recognizing the identities of the potential users.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a system comprises a plurality of nodes coupled to a network. At least a subset of the nodes are configured to maintain a replica of a state machine. The nodes are classified into a plurality of non-overlapping classes. A first class comprises at least one node that is a current participant in a consensus protocol to control transitions of the state machine. A second class comprises nodes that are not current participants in the consensus protocol but which are reclassifiable into the first class. The node(s) in the first class are configured to act on a proposal for a transition of the state machine according to the consensus protocol.