Abstract: A listing tune-up system is provided. An example listing tune-up system may include a detecting module to detect a listing for an item. The listing may comprise various information including a title, and a category of the item for transaction. The example listing tune-up system may include a determining module to determine a recommended category set for the item using categories of existing listings that match one or more keywords in the title. The example listing tune-up system may include a verifying module to verify whether the category of the item complies with the recommended category set. The example listing tune-up system may further include a generating module to generate a tune-up report for the listing upon completion of the verification. The tune-up report may comprise the recommended category set and/or other editing suggestions.

Abstract: A computer system affords a user the ability to interactively formulate, visualize, and modify query plans that are to be posed to a database. The computer system provides query visualization in the form of decision trees having nodes selectable/deselectable to search for alternative query plans with lower or minimum execution time. The estimated cost and/or the execution time of a subtree of a query plan may be mapped according to a rectangle area metaphore, with the area of a rectangle enclosed by a larger rectangle representing a parent node in the plan tree. Query plans may be saved by the system in order to facilitate their visualization, optimization, and/or modification at a later date.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a new approach to the problem of finding communities in complex networks relating to a social definition of communities and percolation are disclosed. Instead of partitioning the graph into separate subgraphs from top to bottom a local algorithm (communities of each vertex) allows overlapping of communities. The performance of an algorithm on synthetic, randomly-generated graphs and real-world networks is used to benchmark this method against others. An heuristic is provided to generate a list of communities for networks using a local community finding algorithm. Unlike diffusion based algorithms, The provided algorithm finds overlapping communities and provides a means to measure confidence in community structure. It features locality and low complexity for exploring the communities for a subset of network nodes, without the need for exploring the whole graph.

Abstract: Systems and methods of tracking and rewarding users of search engines, content networks, communication networks, other networks and/or combinations of networks are described. In many embodiments, users create accounts and control when and the type of information that is tracked. The tracked information can be used to provide rewards, customize offers and rewards and to improve services provided to the user. One embodiment includes receiving secure identification information from the user, retrieving user account information using the secure identification information, receiving a search query from the user, crediting the user account with a reward that is directly related to providing the search query, and returning search results.

Abstract: A distributed file system and method distributes file system objects across multiple self-contained volumes, where each volume is owned by a unique file system node. Logical links are used to reference a file system object between volumes. Each file system node includes a relocation directory in which is maintained hard links to locally-stored file system objects that are referenced from another file system node using logical links. Various file system operations that involve multiple volumes are performed without having to place a write lock on more than one volume at a time. Various caching schemes allow the various file system nodes to cache file system object data and metadata.

Abstract: An indication of refusal of a lock request is received with a first operation identifier for a resource that is already locked with a lock associated with a second operation identifier from an agent that controls the resource, wherein the agent returns a value that determines how long the lock request is to stay on the queue. The lock request is placed in a queue with a lock queue timeout period based on the value from the agent. The lock request is reissued if the lock associated with the second operation identifier has been released and the lock request reaches a position of the queue from which the lock request is processed within the lock queue timeout period. The lock request is re-queued if the reissued lock request is not granted based on how many times the lock request has been previously placed in the queue.

Abstract: A method, device, and system are provided for accessing metadata in a data storage system. More specifically, a requesting application requests a cache application to allocate a cache page to retrieve metadata from a storage device. After metadata is written to the cache page, the cache page is locked by the requesting application. The cache page is maintained in a locked state by the requesting application. This allows the data stored within the cache page to be quickly accessed and updated by the requesting application without waiting for the cache page to be written back to the storage device after every update to the cache page occurs.

Abstract: Sequential media reclamation is usually performed after portions of a sequential access volume's data are no longer needed and the unused portion of the volume exceeds a threshold. Improved sequential media reclamation is provided by using a sequential access disk volume (for example, a volume of a virtual tape library (VTL)) embodied as a sparse file. Reclamation of objects stored in the volume is accomplished by nulling out regions of the sparse file that contain the objects that are no longer needed. A replication method is also provided in which information about the objects stored in the sparse file (such as offset and length) is used during replication to enable the correct portions of a target volume (embodied as a sparse file) to be nulled out to match a source volume (also embodied as a sparse file).

Abstract: A computer-implemented data processing system and method for storing a data set at a plurality of data centers. The data centers and hosts within the data centers may, for example, be organized according to a multi-tiered ring arrangement. A hashing arrangement may be used to implement the ring arrangement to select the data centers and hosts where the writing and reading of the data sets occurs, version histories may also be written and read at the hosts and may be used to evaluate causal relationships between the data sets after the reading occurs.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for rendering published documents tamper evident. Embodiments render classes of documents tamper evident with cryptographic level security or detect tampering, where such security was previously unavailable, for example, documents printed using common printers without special paper or ink. Embodiments enable proving the date of document content without the need for expensive third party archival, including documents held, since their creation, entirely in secrecy or in untrustworthy environments, such as on easily-altered, publicly-accessible internet sites. Embodiments can extend, by many years, the useful life of currently-trusted integrity verification algorithms, such as hash functions, even when applied to binary executable files. Embodiments can efficiently identify whether multiple document versions are substantially similar, even if they are not identical, thus potentially reducing storage space requirements.

Abstract: A video retrieval system is proposed that retrieves trajectory data from a database as a response to a search query. The search query is formulated on the basis of a search trajectory, which is represented as a plurality of search segments. Minimum hounding areas are generated, whereby the plurality of the minimum hounding areas cover the search trajectory or at least one of the search segments. The video retrieval system accesses the database by using at least one of the minimum bounding areas as a query area, whereby the minimum bounding areas of the plurality of bounding areas are arranged overlap-free and/or adjacently or with a search trajectory independent overlap.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for query expression evaluation for query optimization. Embodiments include receiving a query including a plurality of predicates; creating a truth table representing the possible solutions to the query; identifying a plurality of intersections of the truth table, the plurality of intersections including each predicate of the query; assigning a selectivity factor to each predicate; determining in dependence upon the selectivity factors for each predicate a selectivity rating for each of the intersections of the truth table; selecting one or more of the intersections in dependence upon the selectivity rating; and determining in dependence upon the selected intersections a percentage of rows in a database table returned by the query; and providing the percentage of rows in the database table to an access plan generator for query optimization.

Abstract: A content management system detects a change to one part of a document, and to generate a corresponding change in a different part of the same document. Dynamic inclusion rules define conditions that, when satisfied, allow automatically changing a link in a document to a new link when corresponding data in the document is added or changed. If a change corresponds to a defined dynamic inclusion rule, a corresponding query in the rule is evaluated according to the changes in the document. When there is enough information to run the query, the query is automatically executed in a background process. If there is a single link that satisfies the query, the document may be updated with the new link. If multiple links satisfy the query, the top ranked query result may be automatically selected, or the user may select which link should be included in the document.

Abstract: A method for organizing images from multiple image capture devices includes allowing the determination of an offset between image capture times recorded in a first image capture device and image capture times recorded in a second image capture device, adjusting the image capture times recorded in the second image capture device by the offset to produce adjusted image capture times by a computer processor, and sequencing images taken by the first image capture device and the second image capture device in an chronological order. The sequencing is based on the image capture times for the images captured by the first image capture device and the adjusted image capture times for the images captured by the second image capture device.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for retrieving information in large heterogeneous data bases, wherein information retrieval through visual querying/browsing is supported by dynamic taxonomies; the process comprises the steps of: initially showing (F1) a complete taxonomy for the retrieval; refining (F2) the retrieval through a selection of subsets of interest, where the refining is performed by selecting concepts in the taxonomy and combining them through boolean operations; showing (F3) a reduced taxonomy for the selected set; and further refining (F4) the retrieval through an iterative execution of the refining and showing steps.

Abstract: A system and method for hosting entity-specific photo-sharing websites for entity-specific image capture devices provides software for the entity-specific image capture devices that causes the image capture devices to transmit entity ID information when the image capture devices transmit images over the Internet. The system and method further provide an online photosharing service capable of hosting the entity-specific photo-sharing websites for each of the entities, such that when the image capture devices connect to photo-sharing service, the photo-sharing service uses the entity ID received from the image capture devices to automatically associate the image with the photo-sharing websites of the identified entity.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer products, for generating a natural language expression in response to a query. A computer-implemented method of generating a natural language expression in response to a query, includes generating a text frame from the query, and processing the text frame in conjunction with a grammar and one or more logic configuration files applied recursively to the text frame to generate the natural language expression from the query, the logic configuration files including functions that can pass arguments.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for reducing identification of chunk portions in data de-duplication. The method includes detecting sequences of stored identification of chunk portions of at least one data object, indexing the detected stored identification of chunk portions based on a sequence type, encoding first repeated sequences of the stored identifications with a first encoding, encoding second repeated sequences of the stored identifications with a second encoding, and avoiding repeated stored identifications of chunk portions.

Abstract: An apparatus or method in which information external to a file is used to select a directory within a file system where the file is to be stored. In one embodiment of the method a first request is received to create a first file in a file system, wherein the first request comprises a first file system path. First information is also received that describes data contained in a first data object. A first redirect file system path component is selected from a plurality of redirect file system path components in response to receiving the first information. The first file system path is then modified by adding the first redirect file system path component to the first file system path.

Abstract: A method for brokering of know-how in various formats between users on an electronic Web service platform includes: allowing users access to the electronic Web service platform, requesting registration data from a user on the platform, managing interest area categories, receiving user offers for know-how in at least one interest area category, enabling searches of users for know-how in at least one interest area category, calculating and displaying a rating in respect of offers in at least one interest area category, approving to a selected offer an agreed exchange of know-how and a corresponding transfer of credit points, conveying selected know-how from the provider to the consumer and booking a corresponding transfer of credit points, and accepting and storing a rating given to the provider by the consumer in respect of the transferred know-how, wherein the rating is assigned to the interest area category of the transferred know-how.