Abstract: Portable devices include environmental sensors that generate metrics about the environment (e.g., accelerometers detecting impulses and vibration, and GPS receivers detecting position and velocity). Such devices often use environmental metrics to extract user input directed at the device by the user, and status information about the device and the environment. Presented herein are techniques for using environmental metrics to infer physical activities performed by the user while attached to the device. For example, jogging may be inferred from regular, strong impulses and typical jogging speed; walking may be inferred from regular, weak impulses and typical walking speed; and riding in a vehicle may be inferred from low-level vibrations and high speed (optionally identifying the type of vehicle ridden by the user). Based on these inferences, the device may automatically present applications and/or or adjust user interfaces suitable for the user's physical activity, rather than responsive to user input.

Abstract: Life events relating to a user are displayed on a calendar. A user may navigate to different time periods in the calendar and see past life events relating to the user displayed on the calendar. The life events that are displayed on the calendar may include different types of content and be determined from different sources. For example, the life events for the time period may be: pictures, events, social media posts, messages, and the like. Different content sources may be used to locate the life events relating to the user. The life events that are selected for display on the calendar may be shown differently from other content that is included on the calendar. The life events may be processed to adjust an appearance of the life event before it is displayed. A user may also share a life experience with other users.

Abstract: A user sends a location request to a user of a group that requests the user's current location. For example, one family member may send a location request to another family member that is part of their family group for their current location. The user receiving the request may accept the location request or reject the location request. When the location request is reject, the requesting user is not provided with the current location information of the user. When the location request is accepted, the requesting user is provided with the current location information of the user. In addition to providing the location information to the requesting user, the location may also be shared with other members of the group. For example, a message may be sent to each of the family members that are part of the group that informs them that a member has updated their location.

Abstract: Techniques for creating breadcrumbs for a trail of activity are described. The trail of activity may be created by recording movement information based on inferred actions of walking, not walking, or changing floor levels. The movement information may be recorded with an accelerometer and a pressure sensor. A representation of a list of breadcrumbs may be visually displayed on a user interface of a mobile device, in a reverse order to retrace steps. In some implementations, a compass may additionally or alternatively be used to collect directional information relative to the earth's magnetic poles.

Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure aggregate and present event information relating to a calendar event associated with an application executing on a computing device. In some embodiments, data relating to the calendar event is obtained from a content source that is outside an execution context of the application. The data relating to the calendar event is obtained and/or presented intermittently in a user interface element associated with the application. The content source that is outside the execution context of the application may be within an execution context of one or more other applications, an operating system of the computing device, and/or a web service.

Abstract: Portable devices include environmental sensors that generate metrics about the environment (e.g., accelerometers detecting impulses and vibration, and GPS receivers detecting position and velocity). Such devices often use environmental metrics to extract user input directed at the device by the user, and status information about the device and the environment. Presented herein are techniques for using environmental metrics to infer physical activities performed by the user while attached to the device. For example, jogging may be inferred from regular, strong impulses and typical jogging speed; walking may be inferred from regular, weak impulses and typical walking speed; and riding in a vehicle may be inferred from low-level vibrations and high speed (optionally identifying the type of vehicle ridden by the user). Based on these inferences, the device may automatically present applications and/or or adjust user interfaces suitable for the user's physical activity, rather than responsive to user input.

Abstract: Portable devices include environmental sensors that generate metrics about the environment (e.g., accelerometers detecting impulses and vibration, and GPS receivers detecting position and velocity). Such devices often use environmental metrics to extract user input directed at the device by the user, and status information about the device and the environment. Presented herein are techniques for using environmental metrics to infer physical activities performed by the user while attached to the device. For example, jogging may be inferred from regular, strong impulses and typical jogging speed; walking may be inferred from regular, weak impulses and typical walking speed; and riding in a vehicle may be inferred from low-level vibrations and high speed (optionally identifying the type of vehicle ridden by the user). Based on these inferences, the device may automatically present applications and/or or adjust user interfaces suitable for the user's physical activity, rather than responsive to user input.

Abstract: A user sends a location request to a user of a group that requests the user's current location. For example, one family member may send a location request to another family member that is part of their family group for their current location. The user receiving the request may accept the location request or reject the location request. When the location request is reject, the requesting user is not provided with the current location information of the user. When the location request is accepted, the requesting user is provided with the current location information of the user. In addition to providing the location information to the requesting user, the location may also be shared with other members of the group. For example, a message may be sent to each of the family members that are part of the group that informs them that a member has updated their location.

Abstract: A user sends a location request to a user of a group that requests the user's current location. For example, one family member may send a location request to another family member that is part of their family group for their current location. The user receiving the request may accept the location request or reject the location request. When the location request is reject, the requesting user is not provided with the current location information of the user. When the location request is accepted, the requesting user is provided with the current location information of the user. In addition to providing the location information to the requesting user, the location may also be shared with other members of the group. For example, a message may be sent to each of the family members that are part of the group that informs them that a member has updated their location.

Abstract: Portable devices include environmental sensors that generate metrics about the environment (e.g., accelerometers detecting impulses and vibration, and GPS receivers detecting position and velocity). Such devices often use environmental metrics to extract user input directed at the device by the user, and status information about the device and the environment. Presented herein are techniques for using environmental metrics to infer physical activities performed by the user while attached to the device. For example, jogging may be inferred from regular, strong impulses and typical jogging speed; walking may be inferred from regular, weak impulses and typical walking speed; and riding in a vehicle may be inferred from low-level vibrations and high speed (optionally identifying the type of vehicle ridden by the user). Based on these inferences, the device may automatically present applications and/or or adjust user interfaces suitable for the user's physical activity, rather than responsive to user input.

Abstract: Portable devices include environmental sensors that generate metrics about the environment (e.g., accelerometers detecting impulses and vibration, and GPS receivers detecting position and velocity). Such devices often use environmental metrics to extract user input directed at the device by the user, and status information about the device and the environment. Presented herein are techniques for using environmental metrics to infer physical activities performed by the user while attached to the device. For example, jogging may be inferred from regular, strong impulses and typical jogging speed; walking may be inferred from regular, weak impulses and typical walking speed; and riding in a vehicle may be inferred from low-level vibrations and high speed (optionally identifying the type of vehicle ridden by the user). Based on these inferences, the device may automatically present applications and/or or adjust user interfaces suitable for the user's physical activity, rather than responsive to user input.

Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure aggregate and present event information relating to a calendar event associated with an application executing on a computing device. In some embodiments, data relating to the calendar event is obtained from a content source that is outside an execution context of the application. The data relating to the calendar event is obtained and/or presented intermittently in a user interface element associated with the application. The content source that is outside the execution context of the application may be within an execution context of one or more other applications, an operating system of the computing device, and/or a web service.

Abstract: Life events relating to a user are displayed on a calendar. A user may navigate to different time periods in the calendar and see past life events relating to the user displayed on the calendar. The life events that are displayed on the calendar may include different types of content and be determined from different sources. For example, the life events for the time period may be: pictures, events, social media posts, messages, and the like. Different content sources may be used to locate the life events relating to the user. The life events that are selected for display on the calendar may be shown differently from other content that is included on the calendar. The life events may be processed to adjust an appearance of the life event before it is displayed. A user may also share a life experience with other users.

Abstract: Portable devices include environmental sensors that generate metrics about the environment (e.g., accelerometers detecting impulses and vibration, and GPS receivers detecting position and velocity). Such devices often use environmental metrics to extract user input directed at the device by the user, and status information about the device and the environment. Presented herein are techniques for using environmental metrics to infer physical activities performed by the user while attached to the device. For example, jogging may be inferred from regular, strong impulses and typical jogging speed; walking may be inferred from regular, weak impulses and typical walking speed; and riding in a vehicle may be inferred from low-level vibrations and high speed (optionally identifying the type of vehicle ridden by the user). Based on these inferences, the device may automatically present applications and/or or adjust user interfaces suitable for the user's physical activity, rather than responsive to user input.

Abstract: A user sends a location request to a user of a group that requests the user's current location. For example, one family member may send a location request to another family member that is part of their family group for their current location. The user receiving the request may accept the location request or reject the location request. When the location request is reject, the requesting user is not provided with the current location information of the user. When the location request is accepted, the requesting user is provided with the current location information of the user. In addition to providing the location information to the requesting user, the location may also be shared with other members of the group. For example, a message may be sent to each of the family members that are part of the group that informs them that a member has updated their location.

Abstract: Techniques for creating breadcrumbs for a trail of activity are described. The trail of activity may be created by recording movement information based on inferred actions of walking, not walking, or changing floor levels. The movement information may be recorded with an accelerometer and a pressure sensor. A representation of a list of breadcrumbs may be visually displayed on a user interface of a mobile device, in a reverse order to retrace steps. In some implementations, a compass may additionally or alternatively be used to collect directional information relative to the earth's magnetic poles.

Abstract: Systems and methods that regulate range of access to personal information of a mobile unit's owner. The access control component can designate granularity for access levels and/or a spectrum of access modes—(as opposed to a binary choice of full access or no access at all). Such access can be based on a spectrum and/or discrete trust relationship between the owner and user of the mobile unit. A profile definition component can exploit an owner's trust relationships to designate levels of security. The profile definition component can further define a profile based on a set of applications, such as entertainment mode, browser mode, and the like.

Abstract: A digital calendar sharing control and visibility system and method for providing a user with control and visibility of digital calendar sharing. The system and method enhance and improve the sharing capabilities of current digital calendar applications. The system and method include a time-based (or expiration) sharing feature that gives a user control over the expiration date of the calendar sharing. The user can expire the sharing after a certain duration or date. The user also can specify a date range or a time range that a person can view in the user's digital calendar. A sharing audits and history feature allows a user to view who has looked at their calendar and what calendar information has been viewed. A private notes section allows a user to enter information that will not be seen by another person, even if that person has sharing permission to view the user's calendar.

Abstract: A unique system, method, and user interface that facilitate ordering personal items based on past personal interaction between a user and the user's correspondents are provided. In particular, the system provides alternative views of information, such as messages, that is organized around people using an ordering based on the history of communication between the recipient and sender. Social metrics can be calculated based on social metadata associated with the messages, for example. Metrics can be used to configure how or which messages are viewed and their order in one or more pane views. Each pane view can present different orderings of messages—which are displayed by the recipient or sender of the message. So for instance, instead of viewing messages in chronological receipt date, they can be viewed by the message's sender and ordered by the number of messages previously sent to the user.

Abstract: Methods and systems for using a foot-based interface to interact with a computer are described. An application program from a plurality of application programs is executed on an operating system of a personal computer. The application program is configured to receive user input via a foot-based interface. Further, user input is received from the foot-based interface and mapped into a command. Moreover, the command controls an application program function. Also, the command is executed and an output corresponding to the execution of the command is generated. Additionally, the output is displayed to the user.