Abstract: Techniques are provided for leveraging narrowband connectivity (such as dial-up communications or other types of low bandwidth communications) to provision or configure broadband connectivity between a broadband access provider and a broadband device, such as a DSL modem or a cable modem. Specifically, because narrowband connectivity does not require advance configuration or provisioning by the host system of connectivity parameters for an access-seeking device, a modem at an access-seeking device may be leveraged to establish a narrowband connection between that device and a host system and to enable an exchange or negotiation of connectivity parameters necessary to enable future broadband connectivity. Thus, once established, the narrowband connection may be used as a conduit for communicating required provisioning information between the broadband-enabling host and the access-seeking device to enable broadband connectivity by the device in the future.

Abstract: Establishing trust according to historical usage of selected hardware involves providing a usage history for a selected client device; and extending trust to a selected user based on the user's usage history of the client device. The usage history is embodied as signed statements issued by a third party or an authentication server. The issued statement is stored either on the client device, or on an authentication server. The usage history is updated every time a user is authenticated from the selected client device. By combining the usage history with conventional user authentication, an enhanced trust level is readily established. The enhanced, hardware-based trust provided by logging on from a trusted client may eliminate the necessity of requiring secondary authentication for e-commerce and financial services transactions, and may also be used to facilitate password recovery and conflict resolution in the case of stolen passwords.

Abstract: A method of collecting data in connection with the retrieval of a media file includes the steps of transmitting to a media device an embedded media player page for playing the media file and transmitting a media file identification message to a log server. The media file identification message identifies the media file. The log server records that the media file has been selected for play back by a user in a log associated with the media file.

Abstract: The invention provides a system and method for automatically displaying a user's logged-in status across an Internet based network of affiliated Web sites via a visual indicator such as a toolbar to help the user to be certain about his logged-in status when he stays with one or switches from one to another affiliated Web site.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for distributing personalized content to potentially large numbers of recipients. A pool is selected, from among all content available for distribution, of those content elements that will be made available for simultaneous distribution, and personalized content is selected for distribution from that pool. The content of the pool can change with new selections over time. For each individual recipient, content elements in the pool are examined to determine if they are predicted to be of sufficient interest to that recipient for distribution, and if so, those content elements are distributed. If not, successive content elements in the pool are examined, relaxing the standard for sufficient interest, until at least one content element is found and distributed to the individual recipient.

Abstract: The invention provides a Web service which enables a publisher to share his digital resources such as an address card or a calendar with a number of subscribers based on different sharing relationships. The Web service includes a host-based interface called “My Community”, for example, with which the publisher manages the share-relationships with his community members. The community members are organized into different groups. Each group includes a number of community members who have a common sharing relationship with the publisher with respect to one or more views of the shared resources. A resource may have multiple views. Each of the views has Metadata describing sharing-styles, as well as version, creation date, size, and the like. Each sharing style corresponds to a specific sharing relationship between a community member and the publisher.

Abstract: Methods and system are provided to predict data related to advertising. Predicted data may include impressions, clicks, actions, or other data related to the advertisement, such as the ratio of impressions to clicks or the ratio of clicks to actions. Methods for predicting revenue of an advertising campaign use a revenue predictor in a campaign control computer while the campaign is ongoing. Based on a starting point in time during the advertising campaign when a starting revenue and volume data through the starting point in time were known and a target point in time, a cumulative predicted revenue can be determined. Based on an estimated revenue generated by the advertising campaign from a time just after the starting point in time until a selected point in time and a predicted revenue from a time just after the selected point in time until the target point in time is computed, the cumulative predicted revenue for the advertising campaign through the target point in time is determined.

Abstract: Latency in a real-time electronic communication is dynamically managed. A communication delay arising from a receiving data buffer is measured and a latency adjustment necessary to adjust the size of the communication delay to within a predetermined range and an optimal range for a size of the communication delay are determined. Using these parameters, the number of samples for an audio playback data block passing through the receiving data buffer is modified.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for suggesting an intermediate point-of-interest (POI) for a user that is traveling. A series of locations of a ground-based vehicle is received. At least some of the locations are related to at least one travel pattern. A route is identified based on relating at least some of the received locations to at least one travel patterns and an intermediate point-of-interest is identified responsive to a predicted interest of a user based on the route.

Abstract: Methods and systems consistent with the present invention enable the control of aspects of an advertising campaign, such as revenue expenditure, by comparing actual and desired behavior and incorporating feedback and feed-forward error correction to continuously adjust the campaign's behavior. In certain embodiments, this control is achieved without considering individual advertisement requests or ad placements, thus bypassing the lowest-level details and instead adjusting behavior on a campaign-wide level using an adaptive control system.

Abstract: Certain disclosed implementations use digital image processing to reduce the differential resolution among separations or images in film frames, such as, for example, red flare. A location in the red image may be selected using information from another image. The selected location may be modified using information from that other image. The selection may include comparing features of an edge in the first image with features of a corresponding edge in the other image. The modification may include performing wavelet transformations of the two images and copying certain coefficients (or a function of these coefficients) produced by the application of the transformation to the second image to the coefficients produced by the application of the transformation to the first image. The copied coefficients may be correlated with the selected location. Other disclosed techniques vary from the above and may be applied to other fields.

Abstract: A system, apparatus, and method are presented for shaping a reference signal from an advertising campaign that allocates advertisements in digital or online advertising. The method includes receiving a reference signal; providing parameters representing a volume of revenue generating events resulting from the advertising campaign; shaping the received reference signal to adjust for variations in the volume of revenue generating events; and using the shaped reference signal to determine a control signal to control the allocation of advertisements.

Abstract: An instant messaging user may use a buddy list that includes a user-selected list of potential instant messaging recipients (“buddies”) to identify another instant messaging user with whom instant messages are to be exchanged. An instant messaging user also may use a buddy list for other purposes, such as to initiate playing of an on-line game or to invite participants to play an on-line game.

Abstract: Responding to an account reactivation request includes receiving an account reactivation request from a former subscriber having a deactivated account and automatically accessing stored account information related to the deactivated account based on the account reactivation request. The stored account information is compared with a reactivation standard to produce a comparison result. Based on the comparison result a response to the reactivation request is provided. The receiving, accessing, comparing, and responding may be performed by a computer without interaction between the former subscriber and a service representative.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for predicting a destination for a ground-based vehicle. Travel patterns are accessed and a series of locations of a ground-based vehicle are received. At least some of the received locations are related to at least one accessed travel pattern, and a destination of the ground-based vehicle is predicted based on relating the received locations with the travel patterns. An existence of an event may be predicted using the predicted destinations of a ground-based vehicle.

Abstract: In accordance with the invention, a system, method, and apparatus for analyzing advertisement-related data are presented, which may include receiving data related to an aspect of an advertisement and modeling the aspect of the advertisement with a mathematical model. The mathematical model may include a control-signal-related component, a control-signal-independent component, and an error component. Each component may be updated based on at least one of a control signal, the received data, and a previous state of at least one of the components. An updated model may be created based on the updated components. The system, method, and apparatus may also include predicting the aspect of the advertisement using the updated model. Exemplary aspects of and data related to the advertisement may include one or more of the following: a number of impressions, “clicks,” or “conversions” and/or the impression-to-conversion, impression-to-click, or click-to-conversion ratios.

Abstract: An instant messaging user may use a buddy list that includes a user-selected list of potential instant messaging recipients (“buddies”) to identify another instant messaging user with whom instant messages are to be exchanged. An instant messaging user also may use a buddy list for other purposes, such as to initiate playing of an on-line game or to invite participants to play an on-line game. The buddy list may be used as an on-line game leaderboard that presents a list of players of the on-line game in ranked order.

Abstract: This invention concerns optimal ad selection for Web pages by selecting and updating an attribute set, obtaining and updating an ad-attribute profile, and optimally choosing the next ad. The present invention associates a set of attributes with each customer. The attributes reflect the customers' interests and they incorporate the characteristics that impact ad selection. Similarly, the present invention associates with each ad an ad-attribute profile in order to calculate a customer's estimated ad selection probability and measure the uncertainty in that estimate. An ad selection algorithm optimally selects which ad to show based on the click probability estimates and the uncertainties regarding these estimates.

Abstract: A system and method are described for verifying a user. More specifically, a user contacts a goods or service provider and gives that provider information about himself or herself in order to register for receipt of goods or services. The provider then uses this information along with other information detected from another source, such as a network provider, to verify that the user is providing accurate information. Once the provider has determined that the information provided by the user is accurate, the user is allowed to register for certain services or purchase goods. A component of these systems and methods is to perform format and frequency of usage checks on the received data from the user and/or the network provider.

Abstract: A communication system including a multiplicity of communications terminals connectable to a communications network for enabling users to communicate with a user not necessarily identified with a given communications terminal. The system also includes apparatus for monitoring whether the user is connected to the network, and apparatus for annunciating network connection status information relating to other users who are in a set of sought users.