Abstract: A computer-implemented technique for applying rewards points associated with a payment card is disclosed. A computer system stores information associated with a person's payment card, such as a credit or debit card, including information indicative of rewards points associated with the card. The computer system then receives from a remote device a first message indicative of a transaction between the person and another entity. The transaction includes a payment of a specified amount from the person to the other entity. In some embodiments the transaction has already been completed, and the computer system causes rewards points to be applied to it post-transaction. In other embodiments the transaction has not yet been executed and may be a requested cash transfer. The computer system determines how many rewards points correspond to the specified amount and causes the rewards points to be used for at least a portion of the transaction amount.

Abstract: The various embodiments herein disclose an intelligent system and method for user behavior, communication, connection and engagement management. The intelligent system is a digital platform for connecting and engaging users, their product or service brands or vendors and related stakeholders that enable all the participants to connect, communicate and engage with each other. Further, the platform provides a means to establish two way relationships between the users and brands or vendors.

Abstract: A playback device includes a port configured to receive content from an external memory device, a device memory residing in the device, and a controller programmed to execute instructions that cause the controller to read a read data pattern from the defined region in the external memory device and determine if the read data pattern correlates to an expected data pattern to a predetermined level, wherein the expected data pattern is derived at least in part from a defect map of the defined region. A memory device includes an array of memory cells configured to store at least one bit of data, the array of memory cells being organized into regions, at least one first region of the array of memory cells having stored therein a defect map of the array of memory cells, and at least one second region of the array of memory cells being designated as a defined region having a known defect pattern.

Abstract: To provide an advertisement distribution method of determining a distribution destination of an advertisement of a product that has a low direct relevance to execution pieces of information collected from home appliances. The advertisement distribution method includes: a collecting step of collecting, from each of one or more of home appliances owned by each of users, one or more pieces of execution information each indicating a function that has been executed by the home appliance; a detecting step of, with respect to each user, detecting an unused function that has not been used in each home appliance by analyzing the collected pieces of execution information and functions of the home appliance; and a transmitting step of extracting a user who is expected to purchase a product based on a detection result, and transmitting an advertisement to one or more of the home appliances owned by the extracted user.

Abstract: Media objects are transformed into active, connected objects via identifiers embedded into them or their containers. A decoding process extracts the identifier from a media object and possibly additional context information and forwards it to a server. The server, in turn, maps the identifier to an action, such as returning metadata, re-directing the request to one or more other servers, requesting information from another server to identify the media object, etc. The linking process applies to broadcast objects as well as objects transmitted over networks in streaming and compressed file formats.

Abstract: Methods and systems are described for providing advertising services to devices with a customized adaptive user experience. In one embodiment, a system includes a storage medium to store one or more software programs and a format and targeting builder unit to create and edit customizable ad formats and create target user segments. The system includes processing logic that is configured to execute instructions of at least one software program of the format and targeting builder module to provide the options of custom scripting for creating and editing ad formats and targeting user segments with different categories.

Abstract: A computer-based method for asynchronously requesting content items to a user computing device is described. The method is implemented using a user computing device in communication with a memory. The method includes receiving a content management response, generating a plurality of content request messages for requesting at least one content item from a plurality of content providers based on the plurality of links, asynchronously transmitting a first content request message to a first content provider and a second content request message to a second content provider where the first and second content request messages are transmitted based on the at least one transmission rule, receiving a content response message including a content item from at least one of the first and the second content provider, determining the content item to display on the user computing device, and displaying the determined online content item on the user computing device.

Abstract: A system and method for selecting advertisements is disclosed. In example embodiments, a method includes submitting an offer to display an advertisement at a remote device, receiving one or more advertising bids, each bid indicating an advertisement and comprising bid amount, selecting a bid from the one or more advertising bids that results in a highest product, the highest product calculated by multiplying an estimated conversion rate for the advertisement indicated by the bid with the bid amount of the bid, and transmitting the advertisement indicated by the bid to the remote device for display.

Abstract: Techniques for providing third party incentivized communications sessions are described. In some embodiments, a Voice over IP (VoIP) conversation is sampled for audio information such as a word, phrase, utterance, or phoneme that may be associated with an advertisement in a database. The database may be searched for the audio information, or in some embodiments a text equivalent of the audio information, and the associated advertisement may be served to a participant in the VoIP communication session. In some implementations, data from or about the conversation may be compiled for analysis.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides techniques for calculating an entity's cybersecurity risk based on identified relationships between the entity and one or more vendors. Customer/vendor relationships may impact the cybersecurity risk for each of the parties involved because a security compromise of a downstream or upstream provider can lead to a compromise of multiple other companies. For example, if organization A uses B (e.g., a cloud service provider) to store files, and B is compromised, this may lead to organization A being compromised (e.g., the files organization A stored using B may have been compromised by the breach of B's cybersecurity). Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a technique for calculating a cybersecurity risk score for an organization based on identified customer/vendor relationships.

Abstract: A contextual analysis engine systematically extracts, analyzes and organizes digital content stored in an electronic file such as a webpage. Content can be extracted using a text extraction module which is capable of separating the content which is to be analyzed from less meaningful content such as format specifications and programming scripts. The resulting unstructured corpus of plain text can then be passed to a text analytics module capable of generating a structured categorization of topics included within the content. This structured categorization can be organized based on a content topic ontology which may have been previously defined or which may be developed in real-time. The systems disclosed herein optionally include an input/output interface capable of managing workflows of the text extraction module and the text analytics module, administering a cache of previously generated results, and interfacing with other applications that leverage the disclosed contextual analysis services.

Abstract: Particular embodiments receive a request from a user of the social networking system to view notifications. One or more notifications for the user may be assessed based on advertisement criteria for target social actions. Advertisements and corresponding criteria may be provided by a third party. Relevance scores may be determined for at least one of the one or more advertisements with respect to the user. At least one advertisement may be selected for delivery to the user in a notification interface. Advertisement(s) may be selected when corresponding relevance score(s) exceed a pre-determined threshold score. Finally, the selected at least one advertisement may be provided to a notification controller for delivery to the user.

Abstract: Online meeting experience is integrated with online and/or offline collaborative workspace(s). Documents and other content generated through team collaboration and managed by a content management system are automatically made available during the meeting, updated, and stored in collaborative workspace linked to a particular meeting. Newly generated content during the meeting is also added to the workspace. As a result, online meetings become part of the collaborative workspace rendering reusable and searchable data through meeting content and updates to associated documents.

Abstract: A system for enabling the remote ordering of products, primarily for use in a multi-vendor system, is disclosed. Orders are placed remotely, such as through wireless devices connected to a central server. The central server, in turn, is in communication (wireless or otherwise) with a server located at one or more venues within the organization operating the system. The one or more venues provide products or services available for ordering through the system. Where multiple venues are involved, the system is designed to handle differences in the product or service availability at those different venues, and provides for an ability to make corrections to orders that may be or may become necessary on account of those differences. The system provides for multiple options through which users can pay for and receive orders, and also provides methods for synchronizing the remote ordering system with pre-existing, conventional methods of ordering and product/service order fulfillment.

Abstract: A system to perform brand impact verification (BIV) for a utilization-related software application (URSA), associated with an identity and a software development process (SDP) including multiple phases. The system includes a requirements-design module to determine brand characteristics of a brand associated with the identity, and software application properties associated with the URSA. The system also includes a BIV testing engine, executed by a computer system, to identify design test procedures to produce quantitative and qualitative design test results based on the determined brand characteristics and the determined software application properties. The BIV testing engine also implements the design test procedures to generate design test results in an SDP design step of an SDP associated with the URSA. The design test procedures are implemented in the SDP in a SDP design step prior to implementing an SDP full implementation test step testing a full implementation of the URSA.

Abstract: A contextual analysis engine systematically extracts, analyzes and organizes digital content stored in an electronic file such as a webpage. Content can be extracted using a text extraction module which is capable of separating the content which is to be analyzed from less meaningful content such as format specifications and programming scripts. The resulting unstructured corpus of plain text can then be passed to a text analytics module capable of generating a structured categorization of topics included within the content. This structured categorization can be organized based on a content topic ontology which may have been previously defined or which may be developed in real-time. The systems disclosed herein optionally include an input/output interface capable of managing workflows of the text extraction module and the text analytics module, administering a cache of previously generated results, and interfacing with other applications that leverage the disclosed contextual analysis services.

Abstract: Systems and methods for application-based billing in a wireless subscriber billing system are disclosed. A wireless client device can generate and transmit a billing request to the billing system. The billing system generates a validation response to the billing request and transmits the validation response to the client device. The validation response can be processed by the client device to enable a service linked to the billing request.

Abstract: A computer modeling apparatus and method optimize refinery operations. Included are an input module enabling user specification of inventory information including at least one rundown component, and user specification of refinery product commitments, and a processor routine executable by a computer and coupled to the input module. The processor routine, in response to the user specification, sequences refinery operations into a schedule that matches refinery commitments with inventory and unit rundown operations, wherein the refinery operations include refinery operations events, and provides on output a display of the schedule in a manner enabling optimized refinery operations.

Abstract: A cloud-based risk assessment service collects industrial data from multiple relevant and connected sources for storage and analysis on a cloud platform. The service analyzes gathered data from internal and external sources and customers across different industries to identify operational trends as a function of industry type, application type, equipment in use, device configurations, and other such variables. Based on the analysis, the risk assessment service identifies risk factors inherent in a customer's particular industrial enterprise. The cloud-based system generates a risk profile for the customer that identifies the determined risks and recommends risk aversion strategies based on the customer's specific profile, compared to industry standards, product information, internal business expectations, external regulatory bodies, and/or past performance.

Abstract: An e-commerce system is provided that tracks purchase transaction across multiple client devices. The e-commerce system stores hop information describing when a customer is exposed to a product of a vendor through an affiliate who advertises the vendor's products. The e-commerce system determines from the stored hop information which affiliate or affiliates to compensate for the sale of a product. This allows the e-commerce system to determine, after the sale, whether additional affiliates need to be compensated for the sale of the product based on the hop information.