Patents Assigned to Microsoft Corporations
  • Patent number: 7720773
    Abstract: We set out a graphical model for describing probability distributions over labeled partitions of an undirected graph which are conditioned on observed data. We show how to efficiently perform exact inference in these models, by exploiting the structure of the graph and adapting the sum-product and max-product algorithms. The method can be used for partitioning and labeling hand-drawn ink fragments, image data, speech data and natural language data amongst other types of data elements. A significant performance increase is obtained by labeling and partitioning simultaneously. It is also possible to partition without labeling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Martin Szummer, Philip Cowans
  • Patent number: 7721272
    Abstract: Those files accessed by tools during a build process are invisibly tracked in such a way that the information can then be used to drive an incremental build of just enough files to bring the build fully up to date. The tracking information includes the association between distinct tool processes. Each build tool has its own file activity tracked, each thread of operation within tools are tracked separately and a tracking log is associated with a chain of tool processes so that when the tracking logs are interpreted the context in which they were created is preserved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventor: Kieran Paul Mockford
  • Patent number: 7721223
    Abstract: An improved application sharing system and method are described wherein shared window data is treated according to different sets of rules depending upon the fraction of the shared window data that corresponds to the actual shared window. In this manner, occlusions of a shared window on a sharer display may be disguised or handled by a viewer display to minimize the impact of the occlusion on a viewing user, providing a more consistent and less confusing viewer experience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Ido M. Ben-Shachar, Deana Rae Fuller, Ivan J. Leichtling, Robert W. Schmieder
  • Patent number: 7721219
    Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods that provide automatic generation of user interfaces via creation of a class-based model. A system is provided that facilitates generating a user interface. The system includes a class component to generally define properties and methods associated with one or more interface actions. A service component parses the class to automatically generate all or a portion of a user interface from the interface actions. Push and Pull-type models can be provided to facilitate merging of actions from various classes such as provided by third parties or from existing component developments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Michael R. Harsh, Brian K. Pepin, Nikhil Kothari, Andrew Cheng-min Lin, Julien Jacques Nicolas Ellie, Simon Calvert
  • Patent number: 7720906
    Abstract: Systems and methods of a Web service for remote terminal service application discovery are described. In one aspect, a Web service in an Intranet is provided. The Web service is coupled to a public network. The Web service facilitates remote client computer discovery over the public network of information corresponding to application(s) deployed on the Intranet. The remote client computer is external to the Intranet. The application(s) are configured for terminal server based access for a user of the remote client computer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Tad Dennis Brockway, Robert K. Leitman
  • Patent number: 7720809
    Abstract: A method and system for integrating form data in an ERP system with a target application are provided. The method includes receiving a first input from a user of an ERP system while a form is running on an application layer of the ERP system to initiate a data integration process. Next, a metadata form XML file is generated at an ERP platform layer from the form running on the application layer. Then, the metadata form XML file is sent from the ERP platform layer to the application layer for use by target applications in integrating data from the form into the target applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Bardur Knudsen, Per Reitzel, Rajesh Veluswamy
  • Patent number: 7721271
    Abstract: A system for providing translations of applications for operation in a non-native language. The translation makes use of associated tables either existing within the operating system or at locations outside of the operating system. The translation system makes use of application based translations tables that may also interrelate with core translation tables and community translation tables, prior to sending the data to a graphical interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Houman Pournasseh, Rerkboon Suwanasuk, Xiaofeng Zang, Bjorn C. Rettig, Hideki Ohyama, Hongying Lian, Yong Guo, Jan Roelof Falkena, ZhongYuah Li, Mamatha Suresh
  • Patent number: 7720834
    Abstract: Application launching on a computer via indexed data. Based on a search term entered by a user, the computer searches an index containing metadata representative of one or more applications installed on the computer. A user interface on the computer's display has a window for displaying the results of searching the index. In addition, the user interface receives user input to select an application from the search results to be initiated. The computer is responsive to the user input via the user interface for initiating the selected application installed on the computer. A computer-readable medium including a persistent component, an index component, a query component, and an execution component embodies further aspects of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Hyder Ali, Dane Alexander Glasgow, David Anton Walters, David Dawson, Marek Gorecki, Neel I. Murarka
  • Patent number: 7720965
    Abstract: Implementations of client health validation using historical data are described. In one implementation, historical data on a client, such as a laptop, attempting to access a network is scanned. The historical data can come in many forms, including cookies and application data caches saved on the client. The historical data can be used to assess a health of the client. For example, if historical data stored in an application data cache indicates interactions between the client and a website known to disseminate malicious agents, the client can be assessed to have unacceptable health. Alternately, if the historical data indicates that the client has not interacted with enough suspicious sources to constitute a danger to the network, the client can be assessed to have acceptable health. In such a case, the client can be allowed to access the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey Kaditz, Bashar J Kachachi, Joel M. Soderberg
  • Patent number: 7721229
    Abstract: Displaying calendars may be provided. In response to a first input initiated by a user, a first calendar may be displayed comprising a user's calendar. Next, a second calendar may be overlaid over the first calendar. The second calendar may be displayed transparently with respect to the first calendar. Then, a third calendar may be displayed beside the first calendar. The second or third calendar may each comprise an event calendar, a project calendar, or a calendar of another user not associated with the first calendar. In addition, a second user initiated input may be received selecting an entry on the second calendar. In response to the received second user initiated input, the second calendar may be redisplayed not transparently with respect to the first calendar. Moreover, in response to the received second user initiated input, the first calendar may be redisplayed transparently with respect to the redisplayed second calendar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Glenn Frankel, Richard Henry Leukart, III
  • Publication number: 20100120422
    Abstract: Location position information of a mobile device utilizing Wi-Fi, FM, AM, television transmissions(s), other radio transmission(s), electromagnetic, acoustic, or other signals received from base stations or access points. The position information can be provided through a Web service and/or locally on a mobile user device. The position information can be provided with a certainty and/or uncertainty probability percentage or other perceivable means for the user to determine the expected accuracy of the location information. Also provided is a means for updating base station information to include newly detected base stations through information from a plurality of user devices, wherein each user device is given a reliance factor. User devices that have a low reliance factor are disregarded and/or scrutinized to determine accuracy prior to such information being utilized to update information. Functioning of the system can be improved through analysis of usage data and/or the additions to the database.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2005
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew Man Chung Cheung, John C. Krumm, Chandrasekhar Thota, Steve J. Lombardi, Anurag Sharma
  • Publication number: 20100122205
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention provide a system and method for scrolling or dragging information on a display. A panning tool is provided that may scroll information, such as a web page, on a display in tandem with movement of a cursor. If interactive elements are present on the page or document, an interactive element may be activated as desired. Scrolling may be accomplished with the panning tool either on non-interactive elements or interactive elements that are not required to be activated. Furthermore, inertia of movement of the information on a display is optimized and autoscrolling is provided in which a page or document may be scrolled without dragging.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2010
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: ROBERT J. JARRETT, RICHARD J. DUNCAN, EMILY K. RIMAS-RIBIKAUSKAS
  • Publication number: 20100122191
    Abstract: A programmable effects system for graphical user interfaces is disclosed. One embodiment comprises receiving one or more effect elements to apply to an element in a graphical user interface for a device, ordering the effect elements in a pipeline of operations, and storing the pipeline of operations in an effect template. Then, after the graphics hardware capability for a device is determined, the effect template may be used to create a shader that includes supported effects to render an element in the graphical user interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Robert Aldinger, Fabian Toader
  • Publication number: 20100122152
    Abstract: Generally described, embodiments of the present invention relate to applying and evaluating conditional formatting rules to a given range of cells. Additionally, multiple conditional formatting rules may be evaluated to TRUE for the same cell contained in a user interface and multiple formats applied to that cell.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Benjamin C. Chamberlain, Bruce Cordell Jones, Christopher M. Street, Eric B. Vigesaa
  • Publication number: 20100121902
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a computer system configures an online service to function as a service delivery platform, where the online service includes a plurality of service delivery platform components configured to process inputs received from services that are to be hosted by the online service. The computer system receives an indication that a service is to be hosted using the online service, where the indication includes a service configured for hosting by the online service and a portion of use information indicating how the service delivery platform components are to be used to host the service for various computer clients. The computer system processes the portion of use information received with the indication to configure the service delivery platform components in an appropriate manner for hosting the service and provides the hosted service to computer clients in the appropriate manner as determined by the accessed use information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Arun Ramanathan Chandrasekhar, Purushottam Shridhar Amradkar, Roy Peter D'Souza
  • Publication number: 20100121855
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable medium for accessing and managing an online storage system is disclosed. Access to a storage resource in a multiple server storage system is provided by sending to a lookup partitioning service server a resource identifier that is associated with a storage resource stored in a particular storage partition of a storage server. The LPS returns the looked-up partition that stores the storage resource associated with the resource identifier. Access to the storage resource is then enabled to the looked-up storage partition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2010
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Apurva F. Dalia, Craig Allen Harry, Nishant Dani, Shan Jiang, Brad Dean Thompson, Bradley J. Barrows, David R. Shutt
  • Publication number: 20100117931
    Abstract: A display apparatus described herein includes a display screen and a display processor. The display processor includes a plurality of function units that comprise functions that are representative of data that is desirably displayed on the display screen. The display processor is configured to receive configurations, compositions, and/or parameters for the plurality of function units. In addition, the display processor displays data on the display screen based at least in part upon output of the plurality of function units.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: J. Turner Whitted, James Thomas Kajiya, Erik S. Ruf, Ray A. Bittner, JR.
  • Publication number: 20100122219
    Abstract: Methods and systems providing a user interface control allowing a user to specify a scope of items on a computer system or network is disclosed. Certain aspects provide an input control through which a user can specify an explicit scope, or range, of items, while also identifying explicit exclusions from the specified scope, thereby reducing ambiguity regarding identification of items included and items excluded from the scope. When a user explicitly selects an item for inclusion in the scope, the explicitly selected item is added to the scope definition, and all descendants of the explicitly selected item are implicitly selected for inclusion. When a user explicitly selects an item for exclusion from the scope, the explicitly selected item is added to the scope definition as an exclusion from an explicitly included item, and all descendants of the explicitly selected item are implicitly selected for exclusion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2009
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Lyon King-Fook Wong, Stephen Hoefnagels, Timothy P. Mckee, Chris J. Guzak, David G. De Vorchik, Benjamin A. Betz
  • Publication number: 20100121815
    Abstract: The selection of a media content item having preferred instance attributes includes finding a preferred instance of a media content item having two or more different instances by recognizing a first instance of the media content item having a first set of instance attributes and recognizing a second instance of the media content item having a second set of instance attributes. The selection of a media content item having preferred instance attributes further includes selecting either the first instance of the media content item or the second instance of the media content item based on differences between the first set of instance attributes and the second set of instance attributes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Andrew L. Silverman, Shane McRoberts, John Zybura
  • Publication number: 20100121838
    Abstract: Technologies are described herein for providing a more efficient approach to ranking search results. An illustrative technology reduces an amount of ranking data analyzed at query time. In the technology, a term is selected, at index time, from a master index. The term corresponds to a number of documents greater than a threshold. A set of documents that includes the term is selected based on the master index. A rank is determined for each document in the set of documents that contains the term. Each document in the set of documents that contains the term is assigned to a top document list or a bottom document list based on the rank. Predefined values of at least part of the rank are stored in the top document list for documents in the top document list and are not stored in the bottom document list for documents in the bottom document list.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2010
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Vladimir Tankovich, Dmitriy Meyerzon, Mihai Petriuc