Abstract: A system and/or method that effectuates and facilitates the generation and provision of differential pricing policies based at least in part on the relative social network standing that a seller might have with a potential purchaser are provided. The system includes a component that receives data associated with a seller, a good, or a service that the seller lists for sale or barter in an online market place. The component determines, based at least in part on the particular good or service, a differential pricing policy that can be associated therewith. The differential pricing policy can then be utilized to selectively provide differentiated prices to a purchaser based on a relative social network standing that can be established between the purchaser and the seller.

Abstract: A method and a system for predicting shrinkable yield for business assessment of integrated circuit design shrink are provided. An assessment system is provided to determine cost benefits of a design shrink of an integrated circuit chip. A cost benefit analysis across different design shrink technologies is provided early in the process, so that business decisions regarding employment of design shrinks can be made as early as possible.

Abstract: An airline travel planning system is described. The system includes a server computer executing a server process including a search process to search for set of pricing solutions in accordance with at least one destination and at least one origin. The search process represents the set of pricing solutions in the form of a directed acyclic graph. The system also includes a client computer executing a client process on the set of pricing solutions. The client process has a manipulation process that manipulates the set of pricing solutions in response to user preferences.

Abstract: Techniques are described for using predictive pricing information for items to assist in evaluating buying and/or selling decisions in various ways, such as on behalf of end-user item acquirers and/or intermediate item providers. The predictive pricing for an item may be based on an analysis of historical pricing information for that item and/or related items, and can be used to make predictions about future pricing information for the item. Such predictions may then be provided to users in various ways to enable comparison of current prices to predicted future prices. In some situations, predictive pricing information is used to assist customers when purchasing airline tickets and/or to assist travel agents when selling airline tickets. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and it is submitted with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to a system, method, or computer program product for an institution provided data share platform. The institution provided data share platform allows customers and commercial partners to access data the institution may have. Specific platform data access may be limited and/or monitored by the institution to ensure customer safety and privacy compliance. Allowing access to the institution data provides a customer the means to create customized applications utilizing the data in combination with data provided by the customer. In return for access to the platform, the institution may recover assessments based on the application the customer creates.

Abstract: Data processing services are offered on a per-unit basis, where a unit is, for example, an application program running on a server. Environmental complexity, level of change, and type of environment are determined for each unit of the services and points are assigned. The points are summed to give a count of points for each unit, and the counts of points are summed to provide a total number of points. A baseline price for the services is divided by the total number of points to provide a per-point price. The price of any unit may then be determined by multiplying its count of points by the per-point price. When a new unit is added in, its count of points is determined. The baseline price is then adjusted by multiplying the count of points for the new unit by the per-point price, and adding the result to the previous baseline.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a method and system for a rapid and automated creation of a price schedule comprising steps and an implementation for providing a set of construction (or other) plans created with an architectural, civil, industrial or other software design tool, such as CAD, and optionally a palette of 2-dimensional and/or 3-dimensional architectural parametric symbols that correspond to respective construction plan elements, such as windows, doors, acrylic glass blocks and/or sky lights. At least one parametric symbol corresponding to a construction plan element is preferably inserted into the construction plans. A cost value for each of the inserted parametric symbols is preferably calculated corresponding to respective plan elements. A price schedule is then optionally created which includes the total cost for all of the inserted parametric symbols corresponding to respective plan elements.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention involve an integrated thermal printer with a scale that is connected to a computer. The computer is connected to a web server that is authorized by a government postal agency, e.g. the USPS, to issue postage.

Abstract: A method and system that allows for large amounts of data to be printed utilizing a small memory is provided. The complete image to be printed on the print medium is separated into different regions each having associated print data. The memory device, while being too small to store all of the print data for the full image, is capable of storing the print data associated with each region. The print data for each region is released from the print head controller to the memory device for printing in a timed fashion based on movement of the print medium. The print data for a subsequent region will not be passed to the memory until the print medium has moved a sufficient distance, thereby indicating that printing of the preceding region has been completed.

Abstract: A method and system for transit characteristic prediction. In one embodiment, a method may include determining respective transit latencies from a source location to a number of destination locations, and grouping the destination locations according to a fitness function into a number of subsets corresponding to respective geographical regions. The grouping may involve a series of divisions and combinations of potential regions to form a plurality of sets of potential regions. Each set of potential regions may be evaluated using the fitness function, and the set with the better fitness score may be selected. The method may also include dynamically updating the respective transit characteristic, regrouping the regions, and reselecting a set of potential regions based on empirical transit data.

Abstract: Estimating the cost of an ESD for software and subsequent updates for the software. First program instructions determine a cost of the ESD associated with packaging together components of the software. Second program instructions receive a selection from an operator whether to push or pull the subsequent updates to a customer, and determine a cost for distributing the subsequent updates based on the selection. Third program instructions estimate a cost of the ESD associated with a type of program used by the customer to create images of the software. Fourth program instructions estimate a cost of the subsequent updates associated with distributing the updates to a remote distribution site.

Abstract: The principles of the present invention provide the ability to flexibly change the delivery point and time for a mail item, while the item is en route. The recipient, sender, or mailer may flexibly change the delivery point of the item alone or in combination with each other. While an item is en route between the sending point and the delivery point, a notification is sent to indicate that the item is in transit. In response, the delivery of the item may be changed. For example, the destination specified by the sender (e.g., the delivery address written on the item) may be changed or a delivery time may be specified. The item is then delivered to the new delivery point and/or at the specified delivery time.

Abstract: An ink billing system is used between a client company X 200 that prints information and a printer manufacturer that supplies ink cartridges (or toner) to the company X 200. The company X 200 has a main server 210, a plurality of in-store servers 220, 230 in communication with the main server, and a plurality of inkjet (or laser) printers 240 each having an ink cartridge 20 (or toner) for printing according to commands from the in-store server 220, 230. When billing the company X 200 based on the number of ink shots (or drum charging time) used by the printers 240 and stored on the main server 210, the terminal device 100 of the printer manufacturer changes the billing rate per unit of ink according to the ink shot count (or drum charging time).

Abstract: A method of classifying retail products and services includes providing a listing of groupings of at least one of retail products and services in a computerized system, and providing a listing of price level groups defined within the computerized system. The method also includes receiving a user selection of groupings of at least one of retail products and services from the listing of groupings of at least one of retail products and services and a user-selected price level group from the listing of price level groups. The method also includes and assigning the user-selected price level group to the user selection of groupings.

Abstract: A ticketing management system and computer implemented method for managing ticket requests is provided including a request management system, configured to receive ticket requests and allocate tickets to purchasers, a back-end office ticketing system, configured to record ticket requests and a fulfillment center configured to receive the ticket requests from the back-end office ticketing system and deliver the tickets to the purchasers. The request management system includes a shopping module. The shopping module is configured to receive at least one primary request for an event and storing the primary request, receive at least one alternate request for an event and storing the alternative request and allocate events to a user based on the primary request and alternative request selections.

Abstract: Computer-implemented systems and methods are provided for determining future profitability for an entity. A present profitability model is generated for the entity based upon present values for a plurality of components of profitability. The present profitability model is used to create a future profitability forecast for the entity.

Abstract: A method for handling large amounts of standard data contained in one or more databases conforming to a standard data model is described. When large amounts of standard data are needed to answer requests of end-users of a software application, the method assumes that a significantly reduced amount of metadata useable by the software application are first built out of the large amounts of standard data. The metadata are stored in an intermediate database of metadata and delivered to the software application through a metadata engine in lieu of the large amounts of standard data. The invention allows software application to consider much larger amounts of standard data to better answer end-user requests in an acceptable elapsed time.

Abstract: Disclosed is a market-based software system that will help user-retailers manage price and inventories more effectively. The system will take advantage of available price and sales data to provide pricing recommendations that will achieve a retail user's objectives. The system will offer a solution that will allow for pricing improvement shortly after installation by utilizing data that is readily available. The system will recommend price changes that help a user achieve specified objectives such as contribution, sales volume, desired margins, and the like. The system can also collect and process price and sales data on an ongoing basis, which can enable improved estimates of customer price sensitivity and performance on a category-by-category basis. This data can be used to improve further pricing decisions.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for monitoring and enforcing price parity. In one implementation, a computer-implemented method monitors price parity. The method includes generating, by a server, a task related to pricing of an item. The server receives, in response to the task, a first price and a second price of the item. The first price corresponds to an offering price of the item by a third-party seller via a sales channel of a retailer and the second price corresponds to an offering price of the item by the third-party seller via a sales channel of the third-party seller. The server evaluates whether the second price violates a price parity rule, based on at least a comparison of the first price and the second price.

Abstract: A method of dynamic pricing of a resource is presented. For example, the method includes determining a set of anticipated demands for one or more users to acquire the resource according to uncertainty of the one or more users in preferring one or more certain time periods of a plurality of time periods for acquiring the resource. Prices for the resource differ between at least two of the plurality of time periods. Each anticipated demand of the set is associated with a different one of the plurality of time periods. The method further includes setting prices for the resource during each of the plurality of time periods according to the determined set of anticipated demands. The determining of the set of anticipated demands and/or the setting of prices are implemented as instruction code executed on a processor device.