Abstract: Data storage techniques and solutions simultaneously provide efficient random access to information and high noise resilience. The amount of storage space utilized is only slightly larger than the size of the data. The solution is based on locally decodable error-correcting codes (also referred to as locally decodable codes or LDCs). Locally decodable codes are described herein that are more efficient than conventional locally decodable codes. Such locally decodable codes are referred to as “multiplicity codes”. These codes are based on evaluating multivariate polynomials and their derivatives. Multiplicity codes extend traditional multivariate polynomial based (e.g., Reed-Muller) codes. Multiplicity codes inherit the local decodability of Reed-Muller codes, and at the same time achieve substantially better parameters.

Abstract: A conferencing service enables users to schedule telecommunication conferences. At the time when the host of a previously scheduled conference joins the conference, one or more participants of the conference do not have active communication sessions with the conferencing service. In response to the host joining the conference, the conferencing service notifies such participants that the conference is starting. Because the conferencing service notifies these participants that the conference is starting, it may be unnecessary for these participants to wait on hold for the host to join the conference.

Abstract: A method is disclosed in a gaming and media system for quickly and easily creating and sending mail communications including pre-populated, or preformed, messages. Upon receipt of a communication, a recipient may also quickly and easily download a game discussed in the message.

Abstract: A device for suppressing ambient sounds from speech received by a microphone array is provided. One embodiment of the device comprises a microphone array, a processor, an analog-to-digital converter, and memory comprising instructions stored therein that are executable by the processor.

Abstract: Equipment in a data center may be wired in a topology in which each piece of equipment is served by one Static Transfer Switch (STS). Each group of equipment is assigned a main UPS and a reserve UPS, which may be connected to an underlying power source such as a utility. The main UPS and the reserve UPS are connected to the first and second inputs of an STS. For dual-corded equipment, the first cord is served by the output of the STS, while the second cord is served by the main UPS without an intervening STS. Thus, if the main UPS fails, the STS transfers power to the second UPS, thereby allowing the first cord to be powered. The second cord, not being served by the STS, simply loses power, thereby doubling the power draw at the first cord at roughly the same time that the transfer occurs.

Abstract: Detection of user accounts associated with spammer attacks may be performed by constructing a social graph of email users. Biggest connected components (BCC) of the social graph may be used to identify legitimate user accounts, as the majority of the users in the biggest connected components are legitimate users. BCC users may be used to identify more legitimate users. Using degree-based detection techniques and PageRank based detection techniques, the hijacked user accounts and spammer user accounts may be identified. The users' email sending and receiving behaviors may also be examined, and the subgraph structure may be used to detect stealthy attackers. From the social graph analysis, legitimate user accounts, malicious user accounts, and compromised user accounts can be identified.

Abstract: Provided herein are systems and methodologies for bare metal machine restoration of a client computing environment over a network-based backup system. System recovery can be performed by performing a network boot from a predetermined server or set of servers on the Internet and/or an associated local network, followed by retrieving information relating to an operating system and/or environment of a system being recovered, such as incremental or full operating system images. Upon retrieval of information, the information can be used to conduct a full restore of the operating environment of the computing device. Additionally, a user can restore personal or other system data following rebuilding of the system operating environment. A cloud-based structure is provided herein as well as a hybrid peer-to-peer/cloud-based structure, wherein information used in a restore can be obtained from a global network location (e.g., cloud server(s)) and/or from one or more local peers.

Abstract: Text input may be identified from a combination of key stroke information and handwriting gesture information. In one example, a touch screen displays an on-screen keyboard. A user then draws a character on the keyboard over the key that represents the character. In this way, two types of information are provided that identify the character that the user intended to enter: the particular drawing gesture that the user provided, and the location on the keyboard at which the user drew that gesture. These two pieces of information may be used, in combination, to determine which character the user intended to enter, and may help to interpret the input accurately in the case where either the gesture or key information, individually, would have been ambiguous.

Abstract: Techniques to perform garbage collection in an environment where more than one software programming language is in use are described. A technique may include creating a managed proxy object in one language that creates an unmanaged object in memory in a different language. A collection of nodes is generated and maintained, where a node comprises: a reference to the managed proxy object, and a reference to the unmanaged object. A count of the nodes in the collection is maintained. When the count exceeds a threshold, the collection is traversed, and garbage collection is performed on any unmanaged object in a node when the managed proxy object in the same node has been collected. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: A mobile device and method for rendering graphical objects and dynamic effects associated therewith to a display of the mobile device are described. The mobile device includes a position and rotation tracking module, a graphics rendering module, and a display. The position and rotation tracking module generates data indicative of a change in position and/or rotation of the mobile device. The graphics rendering module processes the data to determine a spatial relationship between a graphical object to be rendered to the display and a virtual source. The graphics rendering module then renders the graphical object and at least one dynamic effect in association therewith to the display. The graphics rendering module renders the dynamic effect in a manner that is based at least in part on the determined spatial relationship between the graphical object and the virtual source.

Abstract: The subject disclosure is directed towards resource sharing and/or isolation in a role based access (RBA) system. A resource may be associated with an owner, via an owner property, which provides isolation by enforcing exclusive access to that resource by the owner (unless the owner chooses to share). Sharing is provided by allowing the owner to identify, in a GrantedTo list, selected receiving user(s) or user role(s) that can have shared access. Also described is administrator-level control over the ability to share resources and/or receive shared resources, e.g., an administrator selects whether a resource owner is permitted to share resources and/or whether receiving users/user roles are permitted to receive shared resources.

Abstract: A co-range partitioning scheme that divides multiple static or dynamically generated datasets into balanced partitions using a common set of automatically computed range keys. A co-range partition manager minimizes the number of data partitioning operations for a multi-source operator (e.g., join) by applying a co-range partition on a pair of its predecessor nodes as early as possible in the execution plan graph. Thus, the amount of data being transferred is reduced. By using automatic range and co-range partition for data partitioning tasks, a programming API is enabled that abstracts explicit data partitioning from users to provide a sequential programming model for data-parallel programming in a computer cluster.

Abstract: A method for compressing a high dynamic range (HDR) texture. A first block of texels of the HDR texture in a red-green-blue (RGB) space may be transformed to a second block of texels in a luminance-chrominance space. The first block may have red values, green values and blue values. The second block may have luminance values and chrominance values. The chrominance values may be based on a sum of the red values, a sum of the green values and a sum of the blue values. The luminance values and the chrominance values may be converted to an 8-bit integer format. The luminance values may be modified to restore a local linearity property to the second block. The second block may be compressed.

Abstract: One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for sharing content. A user can acquire content, such as locally and/or remotely, that they wish to share with one or more recipients. The user provides or establishes one or more endpoints (e.g., email alias, cell-phone/text messaging address, etc.) for one or more recipients with which to share content using a sharing channel. A universal resource identifier (URI), comprising a link to the content to be shared is generated. Upon receiving an indication of sharing (e.g., drag-n-drop of content into the channel), at least one of the selected content and the URI are automatically sent to the one or more endpoints for the respective one or more recipients via the sharing channel. The user can thus share a plurality content with multiple recipients at multiple different endpoints in a single act.

Abstract: Techniques for filtering and promoting application store applications are described that can be employed to provide filtered application information and/or application promotions to client devices. The filtering and promoting can be based at least in part upon system information that describes configurations and capabilities of the client devices. In one or more embodiments, various system information for a client device is detected. The detected system information for the client device is used to filter application data in an application catalog. Page information to be provided to the client device for interaction with the application catalog is then ascertained using the filtered application data. The page information is sufficient to enable the client device to render targeted application store pages having filtered application information and/or promotions that are selected based on the detected system information.

Abstract: Computer system navigation tools provide “links” to various different files, lists, folders, and/or other storage elements and allow users to organize files, e.g., by hierarchical properties, lists, auto lists, folders, and the like. Such systems and methods allow users to assign properties to a file (optionally in a hierarchical manner), to change assigned properties, to search, view, and retrieve information based on the assigned properties, and the like.

Abstract: Controlling assistance information comprises determining a user mode based on computer input signals generated by a user. If the user is in a passive mode and assistance information is detected, the assistance information is disabled in response to detecting a hidden signal. The assistance information is then enabled if later a reset signal is detected. If the user is in passive mode and assistance information is not detected, the assistance information is enabled in response to detecting a trigger signal. If the user is in an active mode and assistance information is detected, the assistance information is disabled.

Abstract: In a device having a memory accessed as multiple pages, two or more pages of the multiple pages having identical content are identified. While the two or more pages are being identified, other processes running in the device are allowed to use the two or more pages, including being allowed to change cache attributes of each of the two or more pages. The two or more pages are combined into a single combined page (e.g., a newly allocated page of the multiple pages), and a process page record having multiple entries pointing to the multiple pages is updated so that entries that previously pointed to one of the two or more pages instead point to the single page.

Abstract: Notification techniques are described. In an implementation, an unlock screen is displayed by a mobile communications device that indicates that one or more keys of the mobile communications device are locked. If an input is detected at the mobile communications device to remove the lock, an animation is displayed that gives an appearance that the unlock screen is a page that is being turned and removing the lock of the one or more keys.

Abstract: A message queue (e.g., an email mailbox) may comprise messages received from various sources and including various types of content. For respective messages, a trust category may be identified, e.g., a trusted message category comprising messages received from a known source, an untrusted message category comprising messages received from an unverified source, and a suspicious message category comprising messages containing potentially malicious attachments or potentially unwanted content. The message queue may be presented to the user with the messages of each trust category having a visual style that visually distinguishes the trust categories; e.g., trusted messages may be visually emphasized, and suspicious messages may be visually de-emphasized.