Abstract: An advertiser specifies a conversion-based bid for a conversion event associated with an ad. If a conversion event occurs for the ad, an effective conversion-based bid can be adjusted by a risk premium associated with the ad. An account associated with the advertiser can be debited based upon the adjusted effective conversion-based bid.

Abstract: A shred is digital data that includes an image of a portion of a document, such as a field of a form. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is traditionally used to convert images of text into textual content. However, OCR engines are often not sufficiently capable to convert images of handwritten text into textual content. In a disclosed technique, a library of shreds is created where each shred is manually associated with a character string that represents the textual content of the shred. A computer extracts visual features of a new shred that includes an image of a handwritten text. Based on the visual features, and without performing OCR, the computer identifies a shred from the library of shreds that is visually similar to the new shred, and determines that the character string associated with the library shred accurately represents the textual content of the new shred.

Abstract: An advertiser specifies a conversion-based bid for a conversion event associated with an ad. If a conversion event occurs for the ad, an effective conversion-based bid can be adjusted by a risk premium associated with the ad. An account associated with the advertiser can be debited based upon the adjusted effective conversion-based bid.

Abstract: A system generates a score for a document based on best seller list information relating to the document, circulation information relating to the document, publisher sales information relating to a publisher associated with the document, author sales information relating to an author associated with the document, user behavior information relating to access of the document by users, and/or a link-based score of a web document relating to the document.

Abstract: A system generates a score for a document based on best seller list information relating to the document, circulation information relating to the document, publisher sales information relating to a publisher associated with the document, author sales information relating to an author associated with the document, user behavior information relating to access of the document by users, and/or a link-based score of a web document relating to the document.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for determining a probability that a traffic conversion of a content item associated with a content source (e.g., website) will occur based on past traffic patterns for that content source. A traffic conversion defines, for example, minimum traffic interactions of one or more associated user sessions with a content source. The minimum traffic interactions can be based on, for example, the duration of the one or more user sessions on the content source, or a quantity of pages associated with the content source navigated in the one or more associated user sessions.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus for determining similarity measures between vertical categories based on users' online activities. The similarity measures are symmetric similarity measures based on both a similarity measure of a first vertical category relative to a second vertical category and a similarity measure of the second vertical category relative to the first vertical category.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus for determining similarity measures between vertical categories based on users' online activities. The similarity measures are symmetric similarity measures based on both a similarity measure of a first vertical category relative to a second vertical category and a similarity measure of the second vertical category relative to the first vertical category.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus for determining similarity measures between vertical categories based on users' online activities. The similarity measures are symmetric similarity measures based on both a similarity measure of a first vertical category relative to a second vertical category and a similarity measure of the second vertical category relative to the first vertical category.

Abstract: An advertiser specifies a conversion-based bid for a conversion event associated with an ad. If a conversion event occurs for the ad, an effective conversion-based bid can be adjusted by a risk premium associated with the ad. An account associated with the advertiser can be debited based upon the adjusted effective conversion-based bid.

Abstract: Among other disclosed subject matter, a computer-implemented method for characterizing user information includes receiving a plurality of identifiers associated with respective users. The method includes identifying, using the plurality of identifiers, any information portions in an information collection relating to at least one of the users, the information collection reflecting network activities by the users. The method includes generating a record that includes the plurality of identifiers associated with the corresponding information portions. The method includes identifying at least one of the information portions as corresponding to a category established for user classification. The method includes identifying a subset of the plurality of identifiers as associated with the category; and.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for determining a probability that a traffic conversion of a content item associated with a content source (e.g., website) will occur based on past traffic patterns for that content source. A traffic conversion defines, for example, minimum traffic interactions of one or more associated user sessions with a content source. The minimum traffic interactions can be based on, for example, the duration of the one or more user sessions on the content source, or a quantity of pages associated with the content source navigated in the one or more associated user sessions.

Abstract: An improved system and method for providing context information of executable code to an input method is provided. Advanced text input methods may be made aware of the type of text expected to be received as input so that input methods may achieve a higher accuracy in recognition of text input. Generic interfaces provide a framework for supporting application authoring platforms to allow application developers to easily specify context information to the system and have it reliably forwarded to the correct input methods. Additionally, a context tagging tool may associate specific text input fields of an existing application with an input scope without modifying the application itself. The context tagging tool may create a manifest that contains tags associating the specific text input fields with an input scope. Any advanced input methods use by the application may be updated with instructions for accessing the context information stored in the manifest.

Abstract: An improved system and method for providing context information of executable code to an input method is provided. Advanced text input methods may be made aware of the type of text expected to be received as input so that input methods may achieve a higher accuracy in recognition of text input. Generic interfaces provide a framework for supporting application authoring platforms to allow application developers to easily specify context information to the system and have it reliably forwarded to the correct input methods. Additionally, a context tagging tool may associate specific text input fields of an existing application with a n input scope without modifying the application itself. The context tagging tool may create a manifest that contains tags associating the specific text input fields with an input scope. Any advanced input methods use by the application may be updated with instructions for accessing the context information stored in the manifest.

Abstract: A method and apparatus relating to the recognition of free-form data input is disclosed. The method involves ordering writing strokes based upon spatial relationships between the strokes, and partitioning the strokes into segments. The segments are then ordered based upon spatial relationships between the segments, and the segments are analyzed to associate characters with the segments. The apparatus includes a capture interface, an ordering module, and a recognition module. The capture interface records the strokes, and the ordering module orders segments of the strokes based upon spatial relationships of the segments. The recognition module analyzes the segments and associates characters with the segments.

Abstract: An improved system and method for providing context information of executable code to an input method is provided. Advanced text input methods may be made aware of the type of text expected to be received as input so that input methods may achieve a higher accuracy in recognition of text input. Generic interfaces provide a framework for supporting application authoring platforms to allow application developers to easily specify context information to the system and have it reliably forwarded to the correct input methods. Additionally, a context tagging tool may associate specific text input fields of an existing application with an input scope without modifying the application itself. The context tagging tool may create a manifest that contains tags associating the specific text input fields with an input scope. Any advanced input methods use by the application may be updated with instructions for accessing the context information stored in the manifest.

Abstract: A method and apparatus relating to the recognition of free-form data input is disclosed. The method involves ordering writing strokes based upon spatial relationships between the strokes, and partitioning the strokes into segments. The segments are then ordered based upon spatial relationships between the segments, and the segments are analyzed to associate characters with the segments. The apparatus includes a capture interface, an ordering module, and a recognition module. The capture interface records the strokes, and the ordering module orders segments of the strokes based upon spatial relationships of the segments. The recognition module analyzes the segments and associates characters with the segments.

Abstract: Ink strokes of cursive writing are segmented to make the cursive writing more like print writing, particularly with respect to the number of strokes of a character. A stroke-segmentation module first finds the local extrema points on a stroke of input ink. Then the local extrema points are stepped through, two (or three) at a time. The stroke-segmentation module may compare the three (or four) ink segments that are adjacent to the two (or three) local extrema points to a set of predefined stroke-segmentation patterns to find a closest matching pattern. Strokes are then segmented based on a stroke-segmentation rule that corresponds to the closest matching pattern. Additional stroke segmentation may be performed based on the change of curvature of the segmented ink strokes. Then, a character-recognition module performs character recognition processing by comparing the segmented ink strokes to prototype samples at least some of which have been similarly segmented.

Abstract: A method and apparatus relating to the recognition of free-form data input is disclosed. The method involves ordering writing strokes based upon spatial relationships between the strokes, and partitioning the strokes into segments. The segments are then ordered based upon spatial relationships between the segments, and the segments are analyzed to associate characters with the segments. The apparatus includes a capture interface, an ordering module, and a recognition module. The capture interface records the strokes, and the ordering module orders segments of the strokes based upon spatial relationships of the segments. The recognition module analyzes the segments and associates characters with the segments.

Abstract: A feature extractor samples points on an input pattern drawn in real time. In addition to X and Y coordinates, each sample has an up/down or Z coordinate value representing whether or not the sample point is a perceptible part of the pattern. The groups of coordinate values are transformed into respective sets of coefficients of Chebyshev polynomials by least-squares fit. A recognition unit can use the coefficients as features to identify the character. Additional features, such as aspect ratio and center of gravity, are also derived to aid in recognizing the pattern or reconstructing its image.