Abstract: Aspects in accordance with embodiments of the invention may include a method for remotely setting, controlling, or modifying settings on a programmable communicating thermostat (PCT) in order to customize settings to a specific house and user, including steps of: receiving at a remote processor information entered into the PCT by the user; receiving at the remote processor: non-electrical information associated with the specific house or user; and energy usage data of the specific house; performing by the remote processor energy disaggregation on the energy usage data; determining by the remote processor a custom schedule for the PCT based upon the information entered by the user, the non-electrical information associated with the specific house or user, and disaggregated energy usage data; revising by the remote processor, the custom schedule for the PCT based upon additional user input or seasonal changes; providing the custom schedule for the PCT to the PCT.

Abstract: Systems and methods for managing inventory in an online advertising system are described herein. The inventory may comprise advertisement (“ad”) impressions. In accordance with certain implementations, the systems and methods enable advertisers to target groups of inventory (e.g., “run of” inventory groups) made available by publishers and sold at a non-premium rate, while also enabling the publishers to selectively designate certain inventory within a given inventory group as premium. Inventory so designated is automatically excluded from an inventory group to which it would normally belong both during a booking process as well as during an ad serving process.

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to methods of disaggregating low resolution whole-house energy consumption data. In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, methods may include steps of: receiving at a processor the low resolution whole house profile; selectively communicating with a first database including non-electrical information; selectively communicating with a second database including training data; and determining by the processor based on the low resolution whole house profile, the non-electrical information and the training data, individual appliance load profiles for one or more appliances.

Abstract: The present invention generally teaches systems and methods for creating appliance signatures based upon whole house composite load profiles. Methods may includes steps such as identifying primitive elements including transients and absolute steady state levels; clustering the primitive elements along multiple dimensions to form impulses; combining impulses to form simple bundles; combining simple bundles with each other or impulses to form complex bundles; and determining specific appliance signatures that substantially match the complex bundles. Methods may also include steps such as determining transitions within the whole house composite load profile; determining household specific appliance state machines for each appliance in the household; and disaggregating the whole house composite load profile into individual appliance energy loads by assigning the determined transitions to the determined household specific appliance state machines.

Abstract: The present invention provides techniques in which an advertisement basket application is provided to a user. Through the application, the user can store advertisements, including promotions or coupons, as the user enters or encounters them online, as well as tag data about stored advertisements. The user can later search for and retrieve a stored advertisement for use at an appropriate time. Stored advertisements may include advertisements that are or are incorporated into applications with which the user may interact over time. User interactions with stored advertisements can be used in measuring advertisement and campaign performance, which may include brand engagement value.

Abstract: Systems and methods for determining the availability of resources, such as Internet advertising opportunities, are described herein. A query may be received to determine eligible resource inventory for a set of attributes and attribute values received in the query. The query may overlap with inventory that protected, and thus is desired to not be covered by the query. Accordingly, the query may be modified to include additional attributes and attribute values, or to include one or more inventory protection tags, to prevent the query from overlapping with the protected inventory. Furthermore, advertisement campaigns may be modified in a similar manner to prevent protected inventory from matching the advertisement campaigns. Still further, individual inventory items may be annotated with tags to prevent the inventory items from being associated with protected inventory defined by tags.

Abstract: An embodiment may include an apparatus comprising a controller for a display system, a first look up table containing data for the controller to operate the display system, and a second look up table with data that is offset from the first look up table data to preserve memory space in the controller. An embodiment may be a method comprising storing color data in a first look up table, storing color data in at least one offset look up table, the at least one offset look up table using offset values from the first look up table, and controlling a display with the first look up table and the at least one offset look up table.

Abstract: Embodiments of a graphics processor and method for controlling a display panel in self-refresh and low-response time modes are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed. In some embodiments, a self-refresh (SR) control signal is generated for a display controller when an image represented by the frames becomes static instructing the display controller to enter SR mode. A lower-response-time (LRT) control signal is generated for the display controller when the image becomes active instructing the display controller to enter an LRT mode.

Abstract: Disclosed are novel methods and apparatus for efficiently providing critical path analysis of a design. In an embodiment, an apparatus disclosed can assist in creating a single critical path schematic which can be used to simulate both rising and falling edge delays. This saves time as only one schematic and one simulation is required instead of the two generally required.

Abstract: A method for distributing code resident on a remote application server to a local server. When a client requests information, a request handler on the local server handles the request. If the information is available on the local server, the request handler satisfies the request using this information. If the information is not available locally, the request handler accesses the remote application server to obtain the requested information. The request handler forwards the information to the client and caches it on the local server. Where the information cannot be transferred to the local application server, the request handler establishes a proxy to the remote application server that forwards a client request to the remote application server and a response from the remote application server to the client. The client communicates transparently with the remote application server via the proxy on the local application server.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for sharing resources in a network environment. An application running on a client can access a resource on a remote computer by submitting a request via an Internet browser. The request is analyzed, converted to proper format and is transferred over the network lines to a server that can satisfy the request. For security reasons, an application may not be authorized to submit a request directly to a server on the Internet. If a requesting application has a trusted status, then its request for connecting to the server is granted. If a request submitted by an application to a server is denied, then a server that entrusts the application is identified, and the request is submitted to that server. A program code called a “servlet” is implemented on that server to accept the requests submitted by a trusted application. The submitted requests are analyzed by the servlet and are forwarded to a resource server that can satisfy the requests.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for authenticating users. Prior art mechanisms require each individual application (running on an “application server”) that the user is accessing to provide for the ability to use the various authentication mechanisms. One or more embodiments of the invention externalize the authentication mechanism from the application in the form of a login server. Only the login server needs to be configured to handle authentication mechanisms. The application server checks if a request has an active and valid session (e.g., a valid session may exist when there is active communication between a client and server that has not expired). If there is not a valid session, the application server redirects the user to the login server. The login server attempts to authenticate the user using any desired authentication mechanism. Once authenticated, the login server redirects the user back to the application server.

Abstract: A method of demand based retrieval of a data file including pages of data, in a network system having a remote host system interconnected to at least one local host system via a first communication link, and one or more end-user systems interconnected to the local host system via a second communication link. A cache buffer is maintained in the local host system for storing a plurality of data pages. Upon receiving a request from an end-user system for the data file, the cache buffer is checked to determine if one or more data pages currently referenced by the request are available therein. If so, one or more of the available data pages are transmitted from the cache buffer to the end user system. Otherwise, the referenced pages are retrieved from the remote host system to the local host system via the first communication link, stored in the cache buffer in the local host system, and transmitted to the end-user system via the second communication link.

Abstract: Disclosed are novel methods and apparatus for efficiently providing critical path analysis of a design. In an embodiment, an apparatus disclosed can assist in creating a single critical path schematic which can be used to simulate both rising and falling edge delays. This saves time as only one schematic and one simulation is required instead of the two generally required.

Abstract: Disclosed are novel methods and apparatus for efficiently providing critical path analysis of a design. In an embodiment, an apparatus disclosed can assist in creating a single critical path schematic which can be used to simulate both rising and falling edge delays. This saves time as only one schematic and one simulation is required instead of the two generally required.

Abstract: Disclosed are novel methods and apparatus for efficiently providing critical path analysis of a design. In an embodiment, an apparatus disclosed can assist in creating a single critical path schematic which can be used to simulate both rising and falling edge delays. This saves time as only one schematic and one simulation is required instead of the two generally required.

Abstract: A network-based authentication scheme is provided that performs authentication in a centralized manner for the stand-alone computers of a particular organization. Since authentication is centralized, the individual computers do not need to store authentication information, and control over all of the computers rests in a single location, enabling the system administrator to manage access and utilization of the computers from this location. The network-based authentication scheme includes an authentication manager, remotely located with respect to a local computer, that performs authentication for the local computer. The authentication manager receives login information from the local computer, verifies this information against an authentication file, and returns indications of the services on the local computer that the user is able to utilize. The local computer receives these indications and displays icons representing the services available to that user.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for authenticating users. Prior art mechanisms require each individual application (running on an “application server”) that the user is accessing to provide for the ability to use the various authentication mechanisms. One or more embodiments of the invention externalize the authentication mechanism from the application in the form of a login server. Only the login server needs to be configured to handle authentication mechanisms. The application server checks if a request has an active and valid session (e.g., a valid session may exist when there is active communication between a client and server that has not expired). If there is not a valid session, the application server redirects the user to the login server. The login server attempts to authenticate the user using any desired authentication mechanism. Once authenticated, the login server redirects the user back to the application server.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for sharing resources in a network environment. Typically, a computer linked to the Internet may have resources or may provide services, that are usable by other computers. A user, using one or more embodiments of the invention, can access those resources or services as if they were locally situated. An application running on a client can access a resource on a remote computer by submitting a request via an Internet browser. The request is analyzed, converted to proper format and is transferred over the network lines to a server that can satisfy the request. For security reasons, an application may not be authorized to submit a request directly to a server on the Internet. For example, limitations have been implemented that prohibit a requesting application from obtaining access to resources of a server computer unless that application is a trusted application. If a requesting application has a trusted status, then its request for connecting to the server is granted.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for authenticating users. Prior art mechanisms require each individual application (running on an “application server”) that the user is accessing to provide for the ability to use the various authentication mechanisms. One or more embodiments of the invention externalize the authentication mechanism from the application in the form of a login server. Only the login server needs to be configured to handle authentication mechanisms. The application server checks if a request has an active and valid session (e.g., a valid session may exist when there is active communication between a client and server that has not expired). If there is not a valid session, the application server redirects the user to the login server. The login server attempts to authenticate the user using any desired authentication mechanism. Once authenticated, the login server redirects the user back to the application server.