Patents Assigned to Yahoo!
  • Patent number: 9087070
    Abstract: Disclosed is a system and methods for data compression and decompression. The systems and methods discussed herein include an encoder, dictionary, decoder, literal string and control output. The discussed systems and methods encode data transmitted over a communications channel through the use of a dynamically compiled dictionary. Upon reviewing the characters within the transmitted data in view of the dictionary, an encoded/compressed output string is created. Such output string may also be decoded in a similar fashion via a dynamically compiled dictionary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventor: Steve W. Francis
  • Patent number: 9087507
    Abstract: Computer-based skimming and scrolling of aurally presented information is described. Different levels of skimming are achieved in aural presentations with allowing a user to navigate an aural presentation according to significant points identified within an information source. The significant points are identified using various indicia that suggest logical arrangements for the information contained within the source, such as semantics, syntax, typography, formatting, named entities, and markup tags. The identified significant points signal changes in playback mode for the audio presentation, such as different tones, pitches, volumes, or voices. Similar indicia may be used to generate identifying markers from the information source that can be aurally presented in lieu of the information source itself to allow for aural scrolling of the information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventor: Srinivasan H. Sengamedu
  • Patent number: 9087106
    Abstract: A process for generating social recommendations is provided. For each user, a user profile index is accessed to determine reading interests of the user. Further, relevance matching is performed to determine matching users having at least one publishing interest that is relevant to the reading interests of the user. Next, the matching users are ranked. Based on the ranking, one or more top ranked matching user(s) are determined. Additionally, a social recommendation for each of the top ranked matching user(s) is enabled to be made to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Hao Zheng, Xianyu Zhao, Peng Liu
  • Patent number: 9087455
    Abstract: Map interactivity for a visually-impaired user is provided. A map is displayed on a display module of a device and a grid is overlaid onto the displayed map using a rendering module. Each cell of the grill corresponds to a location on the map. Further, a user selection is received using the input module concerning a cell of the grid from the displayed map. Information associated with a selected cell is retrieved using the location module within the device and a speech segment relating to the information is output using an output module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Jayant Sai, Victor Tsaran
  • Patent number: 9087325
    Abstract: A social network site with enhanced user interaction functionality. In particular implementations, a method includes receiving, at a social network site, a request from a first user for a personal page corresponding to a second user; transmitting a response to the request, wherein the response comprises the requested personal page of the second user, wherein the personal page comprises one or more controls that enable modification of the personal page; responsive to an activation of the one or more controls by the first user, determining if the first user is included in a group of trusted users associated with the second user, wherein the group of trusted users are permitted to modify the personal page of the second user; and conditionally storing data characterizing modification of the personal page by the first user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Ryo Chijiiwa, William Clement Aldrich, Vu Hao Thi Truong, Michael Speiser
  • Patent number: 9087332
    Abstract: A method for adaptive display of internet advertisements to look-alike users using a desired user profile dataset as a seed to machine learning modules. Upon availability of a desired user profile, that user profile is mapped other look-alike users (from a larger database of users). The method proceeds to normalize the desired user profile object, proceeds to normalize known user profile objects, then seeding a machine-learning training model with the normalized desired user profile object. A scoring engine uses the normalized user profiles for matching based on extracted features (i.e. extracted from the normalized user profile objects). Once look-alike users have been identified, the internet display system may serve advertisements to the look-alike users, and analyze look-alike users' behaviors for storing the predicted similar user profile objects into the desired user profile object dataset, thus adapting to changing user behavior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Abraham Bagherjeiran, Renjie Tang, Zengvan Zhang, Andrew Hatch, Adwait Ratnaparkhi, Ralesh Parekh
  • Publication number: 20150199435
    Abstract: The present invention relates to systems, methods, and user interfaces for browsing a collection of content items saved by a user or by one or more buddies associated with a given user. The method of the present invention comprises saving one or more content items and one or more associated keywords as specified by a user. An interface is generated that displays the one or more saved content items and the one or more associated keywords, as well as the one or more buddies associated with a given user. A user indication of the selection of a given keyword or the selection of a given buddy by the user is received. The one or more displayed content items are filtered according to the selected keyword, buddy, or combination of selected keyword and buddy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 2, 2013
    Publication date: July 16, 2015
    Applicant: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Kenneth Norton, Chung-Man Tam, Jianchang Mao, Zhichen Xu, Adrienne Bassett, Ashley Hall, Nathan Arnold
  • Patent number: 9083794
    Abstract: A device, system, and method are directed towards sending a status of a user in a social network to a recipient. In one embodiment, a status of the user is received over a channel. The channel may include an application protocol. The recipient is selected based on a membership in the social network, a preference of the recipient, or a media format of the status. Another channel is selected based on information about a mode of communication between the recipient and the user and/or another member related to the user in the social network. The status may be modified based on social network information, preferences of a recipient, receiving device information, channel information, or the like. The status is forwarded to the recipient over the other channel. Forwarding may comprise unicasting, multicasting, and/or delaying sending the status until the other channel is available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Cameron Marlow, Neal Sample, Chris Kalaboukis
  • Patent number: 9081945
    Abstract: An information processing device includes a meeting determination unit, an authentication reception unit, and an authentication determination unit. The meeting determination unit determines whether a user who is an authenticatee meets a user who is an authenticator based on information received from terminals used by the users. The authentication reception unit receives information indicating that an authentication operation is performed for the authenticatee from the terminal of the authenticator who is determined to have met the authenticatee. The authentication determination unit permits the authenticatee to use a predetermined information service, when receiving, from a predetermined number of terminals of authenticators, the information indicating that the authentication operation is performed for the authenticatee.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO JAPAN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kentaro Fuse, Chiaki Fujimon
  • Patent number: 9083791
    Abstract: Embodiments are directed towards providing a web-based framework for access and use of mobile device applications within an application stack. The mobile device includes a mobile web framework application (MWFA) that, when the mobile device boots up, seeks to connect online to a remote web-based interface manager. The remote interface manager provides a display of an application user interface to the mobile device, from which a user may access various applications that may be configured to execute at a remote device rather than on the mobile device. The user may also add to or otherwise modify the applications within the application stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Yahoo ! Inc.
    Inventor: Matthew Ahrens
  • Patent number: 9084096
    Abstract: The present disclosure is descriptive of discovering structure, content, and context of a media event, e.g., a live media event, using real-time discussions that unfold through short messaging services. Generally, a sampling of short messages of a plurality of users is obtained. The sampling of short messages corresponds to a media event. A segment in the media event is identified using the sampling of short messages, and at least one term taken from the sampling of short messages is identified. The at least one term is indicative of a context of the identified segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: David Ayman Shamma, Lyndon Kennedy, Elizabeth F. Churchill
  • Publication number: 20150193495
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized to analyze a content item comprising text to identify: a quote, a named entity that is the source of the quote (e.g., a person or organization such as a company), and identification information for the named entity (such as a title of the person giving the quote). Quotes may also be ranked to determine, for example, the best quotes to include in an article.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Maria Renhui Zhang, Nicholas D'Aloisio-Montilla, Qichu Lu
  • Publication number: 20150195344
    Abstract: Method, system, and programs for data processing. In one example, a record is received. The record is separated into multiple partitions. Each partition is submitted to an iterative pipeline, wherein the iterative pipeline comprises two or more processing stages that are run in parallel and one of the multiple partitions passes through one of the two or more processing stages in one iteration. The multiple partitions are passed through two or more processing stages. The partitions that have passed through each of the two or more processing stages are merged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Ajitsen Surendran, Satyadeep Sridharan Musuvathy
  • Publication number: 20150195224
    Abstract: A computer system, computer program product, and computer-implemented method for communicating electronic messages over a communication network coupled thereto are provided. The computer system comprises a network interface for receiving messages sent over the network and addressed to a user of the computer system; and computer executable electronic message processing software. The software comprises instructions for directing the computer system to receive a message over the network, and to identify whether a sender of the received electronic message is a human or a machine. The identifying includes first and second phases of operation. The first phase includes an offline phase employing information and activities resident on the computer system. The second phase includes an online phase employing resources remotely accessible over the network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Zohar KARNIN, Guy Halawi, David Wajc, Edo Liberty
  • Publication number: 20150193426
    Abstract: Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for dynamically modifying images based on the content of articles associated with the images, particularly the emotional content of an article. Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure allow users to quickly and easily identify the emotional nature of an article based on such an image. Characteristics of an image associated with an article may also be modified in response to comments from viewers regarding the article.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventor: Agnes Liu
  • Publication number: 20150193440
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure may be used to gather, rank, categorize, and perform other processing of various types of content. In some embodiments, content items such as text, images, video, and other content are received from a variety of different sources and are processed to generate an article containing selected content items. While there may be hundreds or thousands of separate articles and stories regarding a particular topic, embodiments of the present disclosure help provide users with a single concise article that contains high-quality content items selected from among a potentially vast number of disparate sources.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Maria Renhui Zhang, Nicholas D'Aloisio-Montilla, Qichu Lu
  • Publication number: 20150193540
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for providing a personalized news stream to a user. One method includes an operation for identifying user features associated with a user. The user features include personal features and social features. The personal features are based on activities of the user and the profile of the user. The social features are based on information about social connections of the user. The method further includes operations for extracting content features from a corpus of content items, for identifying intersections between user features and content features, and for assigning weights to the content features from the corpus based on the identified intersections. A score for each content item is determined based on the content features and the respective weights of the content items. The content items are then ranked based on the scores. One or more of the ranked content items are displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventor: Mike Wexler
  • Publication number: 20150195379
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized to analyze a content item comprising text to identify: a quote, a named entity that is the source of the quote (e.g., a person or organization such as a company), and identification information for the named entity (such as a title of the person giving the quote). Quotes may also be ranked to determine, for example, the best quotes to include in an article.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2014
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Maria Renhui Zhang, Nicholas D'Aloisio-Montilla, Maximillion Zhaohong Mai, Praveenkumar Venkatesan
  • Patent number: 9078025
    Abstract: The present invention provides techniques relating to rich media advertising. Techniques are provided in which an advertiser-provided image-based component of an advertisement creative is matched with an advertiser-provided audio component of the advertisement creative. A rich media advertisement may be served that includes the image-based component and a synchronously presented audio component. The image-based component and the audio-based component may be elements of a companion advertisement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Sudharsan Vasudevan, Suhas Sadanandan
  • Patent number: 9075981
    Abstract: A user is authenticated using portraits of known contacts. During a challenge-response process, a collection of portraits are presented, some known to an authenticated user and some randomly selected. Responsive to correctly identifying the known portraits, the user is granted access to a system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: YAHOO! INC.
    Inventors: Chang-Chih Lin, Kai-Li Chiang