Abstract: A surrogate origin is substituted for a user-entered or system-determined origin, and maneuvers for a route from the surrogate origin to a destination are determined and presented to the user as driving directions. A surrogate origin may be pre-selected or pre-configured for a user identity.

Abstract: Blotches may be identified and processed to reduce or eliminate the blotch. The blotch may be in just one of several separations and multiple separations may be used, for example, to identify the blotch. An implementation (i) compares a first component image of an image with a first component image of a reference image, (ii) compares a second component image of the image with a second component image of the reference image, and (iii) determines based on these comparisons whether the first component image of the image includes a blotch. Multiple image separations also, or alternatively, may be used, for example, to modify the blotch, as well as to evaluate whether a modification is beneficial.

Abstract: A first query and a second query, both of which were submitted by a first user to identify information that satisfies a single information need of the first user, are received. The first query and the second query are stored in association with one another and based on a chronological order in which the first query and the second query were submitted by the first user to generate a first query reformulation path. A query is received from a user and more than one query reformulation path is accessed. The received query is compared with queries included in the accessed query reformulation paths to identify a relationship between the received query and a query included in a relevant query reformulation path. One or more prevalent end points is determined based on the relevant query reformulation path and at least one of the prevalent end points is presented to the user.

Abstract: An electronic message may be reconfigured to effect an enhanced notification using an input interface to receive at least one electronic message created by or on behalf of a message source for delivery to an intended recipient. A matching engine determines whether the electronic message corresponds to a predetermined definition of an enhanced notification. An enhancement engine reconfigures the electronic message to the enhanced notification if stored information related to the intended recipient indicates that the intended recipient is subscribed to receive the enhanced notification. Reconfiguring the electronic message may include reconfiguring the message to provide special handling, routing or presentation.

Abstract: Instant messages sent by a viewer of a video while the video is perceivable to the viewer may be monitored. An event of interest occurring in the video may be identified based on the monitored instant messages. Metadata that describes the event of interest may be generated and assigned to the video. A request for video content associated with the video may be received from a user. An indexed collection of videos that includes the video may be searched for the requested video content. Based on the search, it may be determined that the video satisfies the user's request. The event of interest occurring in the video may be identified based on the metadata assigned to the video. User perception of a scene from the video that includes the event of interest may be enabled.

Abstract: Separations or images relating to film or other fields may be registered using a variety of features, such as, for example: (1) correcting one or more film distortions; (2) automatically determining a transformation to reduce a film distortion; (3) applying multiple criteria of merit to a set of features to determine a set of features to use in determining a transformation; (4) determining transformations for areas in an image or a separation in, a radial order; (5) comparing areas in images or separations by weighting feature pixels differently than non-feature pixels; (6) determining, distortion values for transformations by applying a partial distortion measure and/or using a spiral search configuration; (7) determining transformations by using different sets of features to determine corresponding transformation parameters in an iterative manner; and (8) applying a feathering technique to neighboring areas within an image or separation.

Abstract: Informing a viewer of a television program of the identity of other online identities that represent users concurrently viewing that same television program includes determining dynamically a first television program to which a television viewing device associated with a viewer is tuned and identifying one or more other viewers associated with television viewing devices that are presently tuned to the first television program. Trait information related to the viewer or to the other viewers is stored in a data store related to the first television program. A subset of the other viewers that have similar traits is determined based on the stored trait information. The viewer is graphically informed of the subset of other viewers.

Abstract: Implementing an electronic calendar can include accessing a first electronic calendar owned by a first party, accessing a second electronic calendar owned by a second party, and presenting a view that combines at least one existing entry from within each of the first and second electronic calendars. Source information for each of the first and second electronic calendars may be electronically maintained. The combined view may be updated electronically to reflect a change to at least one of the existing entries from within at least one of the first and second electronic calendars. Electronic calendars may be accessed and overlaid without importing events, thus enabling simple updating. Event information may be imported and source or other attributes may be associated with imported information to enable updating and other sorting functions.

Abstract: A first sales pitch appropriate for a particular telephone caller of a telephone call center may be selected by receiving a call from a caller to the telephone call center, accessing information about the caller including an indication of past misbehavior or a sales pitch preference of the caller that includes a preference not to receive one or more undesired sales pitches, and automatically selecting the first sales pitch based upon the sales pitch preference of the caller, for example, if there is no indication of past misbehavior. The call may be transferred to a human operator, and the human operator may be assisted in presenting the first sales pitch to the caller, for example, by displaying at least a portion of the first sales pitch to the human operator.

Abstract: A method and search engine for classifying a source publishing a document on a portion of a network, includes steps of electronically receiving a document, based on the document, determining a source which published the document, and assigning a code to the document based on whether data associated with the document published by the source matches with data contained in a database. An intelligent geographic- and business topic-specific resource discovery system facilitates local commerce on the World-Wide Web and also reduces search time by accurately isolating information for end-users. Distinguishing and classifying business pages on the Web by business categories using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes is achieved through an automatic iterative process.

Abstract: Providing location information on a mobile device includes receiving signals from external devices. Each signal includes information that specifies a geographic location for the external device that has provided the signal. A geographic location for the mobile device is calculated by using the information contained in each of the received signals. A representation of the geographic location of the mobile device is generated. The representation of the geographic location is included within an electronic message that provides information describing a user of the mobile device to other users of an electronic communications system. The electronic message is transmitted to another device to provide an indication of the geographic location for the user to one of the other users of the electronic communications system.

Abstract: Generating a keyword resolution includes receiving one or more keywords from a requestor and determining a geographic location to be associated with a resolution of at least one of the keywords against electronic information within at least one electronic information store. The keywords are resolved against the electronic information based, at least in part, on the geographic location and at least one matching result revealed through the resolution of the keywords based, at least in part, on the geographic location associated therewith is made perceivable.

Abstract: Regulating user interface controls includes identifying a grouping from among different groupings and providing a set of user interface controls corresponding to the identified grouping. The groupings can correspond to the maturity levels (e.g., kids and teenagers) of different network service provider users.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for improving security in a single-sign-on context by providing, to a user's client system, two linked authentication credentials in separate logical communication sessions and requiring that both credentials be presented to a host system. Only after presentation of both credentials is the user authenticated and permitted to access applications on the host system.

Abstract: Managing instant messages may include receiving instant messages created by or on behalf of one or more message sources for delivery to an intended recipient. From among the received instant messages, qualifying instant messages may be identified that satisfy a capture rule, and two or more of the qualifying instant messages may be captured. The intended recipient may be informed of the captured instant messages unobtrusively, and also may be enabled to manage the captured instant messages.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for the configuration of a home-networking system. Home-networking configuration information may be stored on a host system in a manner accessible to the home-networking system and migrated to a home-networking gateway or router that has not yet been configured. Wireless configuration information may be stored on a home-networking gateway or router and used to configure one or more wireless access points through the use of a physical connection, such as a wired communications pathway. One or more wireless home-networking devices may be configured based on wireless configuration information stored in a central repository on a host system or a home-networking system. The wireless configuration information may be accessible only through the use of a security code.

Abstract: History and navigation information in a computer application are managed by establishing a global context that can communicate with multiple resources, each of which resides in an associated local context. State information from one or more of the local contexts is communicated to the global context, and global navigation information (for example, defining a drop-down history list or back/forward button states) is generated based on the communicated state information. Using the global navigation information, a user of the computer application can move among previously visited resources in a global manner.

Abstract: Systems and methods for allowing challenge messages to be sent directly to a recipient's inbox where normally the challenge message would be sent to a pending folder or deleted. Challenge messages sent between federated messaging services contain a federated token which can be identified, authenticated and validated to determine whether the challenge message should be sent to a recipient's inbox. The federated token can include an authentication portion and a validation portion. Authentication methods for the authentication portion can include, for example, checksums, salts, hashes and digital signatures. Once a federated token is authenticated by decrypting the authentication portion according to one or more of these authentication methods, the federated token is validated by determining the defined use-base and determining whether the receipt of the federated token satisfies the defined use.

Abstract: A wireless network may be managed by identifying one or more wireless subscriber systems included in a lobe pool of a wireless network, identifying at least one candidate subscriber system outside of the lobe pool with which to enable communications, and reconfiguring the antenna such that the lobe pool includes the identified candidate subscriber system.

Abstract: A method and system for populating identities in a message service involves registering a user of a first messaging service with a second messaging service. User identities for users other than the registered user may be identified. These user identities may be associated with the first messaging service and may be stored in a list associated with the registered user. It is determined if each identified user identity has a matching user identity associated with the second messaging service. If so, a database associated with the second messaging service is populated with the matching user identities. Determining whether a matching user identity exists may be performed, for example, by making character strings comparisons between user identities or using a database that stores a mapping of first messaging service user identities to second messaging service user identities. The mapping database may be generated as corresponding user identities are discovered.