Abstract: Systems and methods to specify device specific user interface information in firmware of a USB device are described. In one aspect, a USB device receives a host-specific device request from an application executing on a computing device coupled to the USB device. The USB device identifies a host-defined string descriptor defined by the application. The host-defined string descriptor is stored in firmware of the USB device.

Abstract: A method and system for description of synthetic audiovisual content makes it easier for humans, software components or devices to identify, manage, categorize, search, browse and retrieve such content. For instance, a user may wish to search for specific synthetic audiovisual objects in digital libraries, Internet web sites or broadcast media; such a search is enabled by the invention. Key characteristics of synthetic audiovisual content itself such as the underlying 2d or 3d models and parameters for animation of these models are used to describe it. More precisely, to represent features of synthetic audiovisual content, depending on the description scheme to be used, a number of descriptors are selected and assigned values. The description scheme instantiated with descriptor values is used to generate the description, which is then stored for actual use during query/search.

Abstract: Systems and techniques for navigating an organization of information may be used for navigating program functions, file directories, Web-sites, or any other appropriate organization of information. In one implementation, a navigation technique includes generating a one-dimensional navigation structure for an organization of information, the navigation structure comprising a plurality of elements, each element representing a portion of information, and detecting a command indicating selection of one of the elements in the navigation structure. The technique also includes determining whether the selected element has at least one associated element and, if the selected element has at least one associated element, modifying the navigation structure by deleting the non-selected elements from the navigation structure and adding the elements associated with the selected element to the navigation structure.

Abstract: User interface systems and methods are disclosed. The user interfaces include at least one focus pointer that allow a user to quickly access the elements contained in a plurality of folders. A fixed focus pointer selects one of a plurality of elements of a main folder in response to interaction of a user. A moveable focus pointer scrolls through a plurality of elements of the first subfolder to select a second subfolder in response to interaction of a user. The user interface may include additional folders and focus pointers.

Abstract: Optical storage media often contain data structures for a menu suitable for selection of a title, a chapter, a parameter or others. Such menus usually comprise a number of buttons to be displayed, with each button having a state. Possible states of buttons are “unselected”, “selected” or “activated”. According to the invention, the representation of a menu button may vary, depending on its state. An image or an image sequence, e.g. cartoon, may be associated to a buttons state, providing user animation. Further, a sound or sound sequence, e.g. melody or click, may be associated to a buttons state, and may be played back when the button enters this state. A data structure is disclosed which allows storage of such menu data e.g. on a Blu-ray disc.

Abstract: A method for navigating a graphical user interface (GUI) having at least one page, comprising providing a first booklet, wherein user interaction with the first booklet can cause the GUI to navigate to a new page; providing a request based on user interaction with the first booklet; mapping the request to a control tree factory; generating a control tree from the factory based on the request wherein the control tree includes a booklet control corresponding to the first booklet; advancing the control tree through at least one lifecycle stage based on the request; and generating a response wherein the response can be used to render the new page.

Abstract: A system and method for building a representation of a graphical user interface (GUI), comprising generating a class, generating a first representation of the GUI, wherein the class can produce a second representation GUI based on the first representation, generating a second representation of the GUI from the class, wherein the second representation includes at least one control, and wherein the first representation can include at least one of hierarchical relationships among controls, control properties, and control event information.

Abstract: Recorded video is accessed from printed notes or summaries derived from the video. Summaries may be created automatically by analyzing the recorded video, and annotations are made by a user on a device for note-taking with digital ink and video. The notes and/or summaries are printed along with data glyphs that provide time based indexes or offsets into the recorded video. The indexes or offsets are retrieved by scanning the glyph on the printout. The glyph information can be embedded in the printouts in many ways. One method is to associate block glyphs with annotations or images on the printed pages. Another method is to provide an address carpet in an annotated timeline. Yet another method is to provide a two-dimensional address carpet with X-Y position mapped to time which can be used to provide selected access to the video. The accessed video may be played back on the note-taking device on a pen computer, or on a summary interface on a Web browser-type device.

Abstract: A method (1000) and apparatus for generating an interface comprising a plurality of screens, on a first computer (107) for display by a second computer (102) is disclosed. A hierarchical compositing expression representing an arrangement of one or more graphical objects for a first screen of the interface is constructed. A description of the compositing expression is then transmitted to the second computer (102), together with object identifiers corresponding to graphical objects for the first screen. The compositing expression is reconstructed based on the transmitted description and identifiers, where the transmitted identifiers are mapped to a description of each of the graphical objects stored within the second computer (102). The first screen of said interface is then displayed according to the reconstructed compositing expression.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided that allows a user to automatically add content, such as an event, to a container, such as, a calendar without directly accessing the container. Second and third preferred embodiments are also provided.

Abstract: A system and method for web browsing contemporaneously displays multiple web pages, preferably within a single window, for a user to view. In a preferred embodiment, a current web page, a past web page, and a future web page are contemporaneously displayed in a single window. In this embodiment, the present invention tracks a past web page and renders it in a first panel, renders the current web page in a second panel, and identifies a hyperlink in the current web page to retrieve and render the future web page in a third panel. Preferably, all of these panels are embedded within a single window. In this manner, the user contemporaneously views the current web page, the past page, and the future web page in the single window. Preferably, a web browsing room is implemented in a three-dimensional space where walls of the rooms correspond to various ones of the aforementioned panels. The user can view the web pages in the browsing room using various three-dimensional navigation techniques.

Abstract: An interactive computer program for seaming a number of images into a panorama. Various parameters which affect how the images are seamed can be changed interactively. Parameters such as position, orientation, focal length, which image will be visible where images overlap, and the opacity curve can be changed. The result of any change is immediately visible. A user can move the control points, thereby “morphing” or distorting the contribution to the panorama of an image. Each pixel is assigned an “alpha” value which indicates the opacity value of that pixel in an area where images overlap. Alpha values can be changed according to a pre-established curve. The original images are not changed. Instead, only the transform between the original images and the final panorama is changed.

Abstract: To improve ease of operation with which a user selects an image when many images are simultaneously displayed on a screen, a frame, which divides many images into 12 areas, is superimposed and displayed on a screen displaying thumbnail exhibition thereon. For example, the press of a channel key allows selecting one of the areas and moving to the selected area a focus frame indicating a candidate image for selection, and then the presses of cursor keys allow moving the focus frame to a desired image to be selected. The number of areas can be changed and displayed according to the number of channel keys when a television remote control is used, or according to the number of numeric keys when a mobile telephone is used.

Abstract: A system displays a graphical element in a graphical user interface, and receives a command to display the at least one graphical sub-element associated with the graphical element. The system replaces the display of the graphical element with a display of at least one graphical sub-element associated with the graphical element, and implements the graphical sub-element such that execution of the graphical element invokes execution of the graphical sub-element associated with the graphical element.

Abstract: To improve ease of operation with which a user selects an image when many images are simultaneously displayed on a screen, a frame, which divides many images into 12 areas, is superimposed and displayed on a screen displaying thumbnail exhibition thereon. For example, the press of a channel key allows selecting one of the areas and moving to the selected area a focus frame indicating a candidate image for selection, and then the presses of cursor keys allow moving the focus frame to a desired image to be selected. The number of areas can be changed and displayed according to the number of channel keys when a television remote control is used, or according to the number of numeric keys when a mobile telephone is used.

Abstract: A preview window generator can be configured to sense a presence of navigation input applied to a resource reference (e.g., an icon, file path, etc.) displayed in an application window. The resource reference displayed in the application window can represent a resource such as stored content (e.g., a file, folder, etc.). While sensing input such as presence of a pointer in a vicinity of the resource reference in the application window, the preview window generator displays a context view (e.g., a file system view) including a representation of the stored content. Accordingly, a user can view the stored content in a relevant context view such as a storage context indicating where the content is stored in a file system without having to launch a separate windows explorer application. The preview window can be configured to receive input, enabling a viewer to modify a particular context view.

Abstract: A graphical user interface for a portable electronic device includes an application display region that displays a current application context of an application and a navigation bar adjacent to the application display region. The navigation bar includes two horizontally adjacent regions, comprising a current context region for displaying an indicator of the current application context and a prior context region for displaying an indicator of an application context preceding the current application context. The application display region simulates shifting of the application display in a first direction upon detecting user selection of the prior context region, and simulates shifting of the application display in a second direction, opposite the first direction, upon detecting user selection of an application context different from the current application context and the prior application context.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable medium is described for creating a prototype GUI for conversion into an actual GUI whose appearance when displayed matches the appearance of the prototype GUI. In some situations, multiple personnel may participate in the process, such as a non-technical GUI designer that specifies the prototype GUI appearance information and a technical GUI developer that specifies various non-appearance information for a corresponding actual GUI. A prototype GUI is first created based on layout and other appearance information specified for various GUI elements, and corresponding proxy GUI objects are generated that store appearance information but not various non-appearance information used as part of an actual GUI. Proxy GUI objects for a prototype GUI can then be converted into actual GUI objects for use with an actual GUI, and various non-appearance information can be specified for the actual GUI objects in various ways.

Abstract: While viewing an electronically displayed document, a user creates a bookmark by selecting a desired part of a document to be marked. In response, a visual indicator is displayed and a bookmark object is created preferably separate from the document. The bookmark object comprises information linking the bookmark object to the desired part of the document as well as user-modifiable properties. If another part of the document is subsequently displayed, at least a portion of the visual indicator is still displayed. Later selection of the portion of the visual indicator causes the desired portion of the document to be re-displayed. Because the object is separate from the document, it may be viewed and sorted by its properties apart from its display with the document. A placemark is created whenever the display of a current document is discontinued. In response to a discontinuation signal, a placemark object comprising information linking the placemark object to a last-viewed part of the document is created.

Abstract: When a picture image recorded by a digital camera is reproduced, a high quality picture image is immediately reproduced without repetitive test prints for enhancing a picture quality or repetitive minor adjustments based on a confirmation via a monitor. Recording is carried out by a digital camera having a function of adding recording information representing a recording condition (a recording information adding unit) to digital image data obtained by the recording. A set-up processing unit in an image reproducing apparatus carries out image processing on the image data obtained by the recording for enhancing a picture quality using the recording information added to the image data, and the image reproducing apparatus reproduces the image data in the form of a print or a display on a monitor.