Abstract: A system includes a power supply and a plurality of buses coupled to the power supply. A bus selector is coupled to an output of each of the plurality of buses. A power storage unit that is separate from the power supply is coupled to an output of the power supply via the bus selector. A power controller is coupled to an output of the bus selector and to an output of the power storage unit. The power controller selects a power output as the output of the power supply or the output of the power storage unit.

Abstract: A system includes a camera module having an image sensor configured to capture image data and a thermal plate thermally coupled to the image sensor. A first temperature sensor is configured to capture a temperature of the image sensor. A thermoelectric cooler is included in the camera module, with a cold side of the thermoelectric cooler coupled to the thermal plate and a hot side of the thermoelectric cooler thermally coupled to a heat sink. A controller is coupled to the thermoelectric cooler and to the first temperature sensor. The controller is configured to generate a control signal in response to a comparison of the temperature of the image sensor to a stored temperature for the image sensor. The control signal adjusts transfer of heat between the cold side of the thermoelectric cooler and the hot side of the thermoelectric cooler.

Abstract: A system for resolving disputes in an online answers community is disclosed. The system improves the system's ability to resolve reports of abuse.

Abstract: A system for resolving disputes in an online answers community is disclosed. The system improves the system's ability to resolve reports of abuse.

Abstract: Micro-donations are received from users for various items of content published by different content providers. The micro-donations are aggregated into the user accounts and the content provider accounts until a transaction condition is satisfied. When the transaction condition is satisfied for the user account, a process to collect the micro-donation amount contributed by a respective user to different content providers is effectuated. When the transaction condition is satisfied for a content provider account, the micro-donation amount received from different users and aggregated within the content provider account is provided to the respective content provider. Various user and content provider incentives are implemented to encourage participation by the users and the content providers.

Abstract: A system for resolving disputes in an online answers community is disclosed. The system improves the system's ability to resolve reports of abuse.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for performing a fundraising campaign are provided. A charity is determined to receive contributions from a plurality of entities. With regard to the charity, contribution constraints are received from each entity of the plurality of entities. The contribution constraints for an entity may include a contribution budget and at least one conditional contribution conditioned on a contribution amount of at least one other entity contributing to the charity. Contribution amounts are calculated for the plurality of entities based on the contribution constraints. Each entity is informed of a corresponding contribution amount of the calculated contribution amounts, so that the entities can provide their respective contribution amounts to the charity.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided that include online advertising auction mechanism with expressive bidding. Auction mechanisms are provided in which bidding takes into account one or more externality conditions present upon display of the advertisement. An externality condition includes any condition associated with the presence or non-presence of other advertisements along with a subject advertisement, or associated with characteristics or circumstances relating to any such other advertisements. Auction mechanisms are provided that deter or disincentivize over-bidding, while still retaining good revenue and efficiency properties.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided that include expressive bidding techniques for use with online advertising auctions. Methods and systems are provided relating to bidding for display of an advertisement, where the bidding takes into account one or more externality conditions present upon display of the advertisement. An externality condition includes any condition associated with the presence or non-presence of other advertisements along with a subject advertisement, or associated with characteristics or circumstances relating to any such other advertisements. For example, whether an advertisement is displayed exclusively or with other advertisements is an externality condition.

Abstract: A method for optimizing quantitative return-on-investment performance in an online advertising campaign. The advertising campaign has a finite campaign period and a finite spending budget within a system that includes a bidding facility for bidding on a plurality of advertising slots. The method seeks to optimize performance of the campaign according to an objective function that includes a marginal return on investment variable, which variable is maintained throughout a series of iterations. Techniques are disclosed for capturing campaign parameters and constraints from advertisers, and mathematical techniques are used in determining a selected advertising slot upon which to bid at each iteration. A tracking system provides a history of winning bids and forecast of inventory. After bidding, the value of the marginal return on investment variable is changed based on the results of the bidding. The next bidding operations are based on the value of the marginal return on investment variable.

Abstract: A system for performing adaptive bidding to secure Internet advertising impressions in an auction. Included are systems for analyzing advertising campaign objectives, including a campaign period, a target number of impressions, a target budget. An exemplary technique defines a bidding agent for performing the adaptive bidding seeking the minimum target spending of the budget. Objective results of the campaign such as average cost per won impression, total campaign duration relative to desired campaign period, and total expenditure relative to campaign budget can be optimized based on an empirically determined forecast. Techniques for adapting bids include statistically modeling winning bids during an exploration bidding phase, performing iterations for adjustment of the bid amounts using learn-while-bid adaptive bidding, learn-then-bid adaptive bidding, and guess-double-adjust adaptive bidding.

Abstract: This patent discloses a system to host a competition for an online advertisement opportunity. Notice of the online advertisement opportunity may be sent to software agents, one of which may represent a guaranteed contract. On receipt of the notice, the software agents may prepare and submit bids. An ad server may receive bids, including a first bid from a first software agent representing a guaranteed contract and a second bid from a second software agent representing a nonguaranteed contract. The ad server may screen out bids and arbitrate the remaining bids to determine a highest bidder for the online advertisement opportunity.

Abstract: Example embodiments described herein may relate to pricing contracts for a display advertising system utilized, for example, in Web-based advertising.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system and method for distributing advertisements in a network-based advertisement campaign. The method and system includes determining a number of advertisement placements for a contract within a contract time interval where the advertisement placements may be presented to users having defined characteristics. The method and system includes reviewing forecasting information regarding user traffic, including forecasting information for predicting a volume of users having the defined characteristics. The method and system includes, in response to the forecasting information, procuring advertisement placements consistent with the contract during the contract time interval and distributing the advertisements in a network-based output.

Abstract: Methods and system for optimally allocating ad space to advertisers on a webpage viewed by a user in a single browsing session includes identifying a plurality of advertisement stories that match the content of the webpage. An advertisement pool is generated using the identified ad stories. Each ad story in the advertisement pool includes one or more advertisement pages and is associated with corresponding ad value. An ad story from the pool of ad stories is chosen by dynamically evaluating ad value associated with each ad story in the pool based on continued surfing by the user such that the identified ad story provides the maximum ad value when rendered on the webpage. The identified ad story is scheduled for rendering on the webpage while providing relevant ad content at the webpage.

Abstract: A social network is managed by applying connectivity and similarity measures to social network information to identify possible new relationships between social network users, and then automatically suggest those identified relationships to the social network users. The social network information can include user profile information and indicate existing social relationships between the users in the social network. Users can provide feedback regarding the suggestions, including indications whether the relationship was accepted, consummated, or declined. The social network information can be updated using the feedback. Similarity measures can be based on one or more of shared contacts, or common interests or activities, or content associated with social network users, or ratings within the social network of users and/or their content. Possible relationships having similarity measures that suggest the users likely to already know each other, can be omitted and not suggested.

Abstract: A sponsored search auction system is configured to receive bids for queries from advertisers. Each bid on a particular query relates to a particular context, such as an age, sex, or location of a user that may submit the query to a search engine. A valuation is provided for each available context of the query by each advertiser. The bids are processed to generate one or more context bundles. The context bundles are groupings of contexts. Not necessarily all contexts are bundled. The bundled and unbundled (if present) contexts may be sold to the advertisers as bundled. Selling of contexts in bundled form may enable increased revenue to be generated as compared to auction systems that sell each context separately or sell contexts bundled into a single group.

Abstract: The various embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods to incentivize online users to reveal their online purchasing interests so that advertisements matches their online purchasing interests can be displayed to the users. When users follow the displayed advertisements that match their online purchasing interests to make purchases, users are rewarded by sharing a portion of the advertising (or advertisement) revenue that are related to their online purchases and are collected by the web site(s) that displays the advertisements. The payout for the advertisements by the advertisers to the web site(s) is based on click-per-action (CPA) model, which generally pays more substantially per purchase action. Therefore, the users, who share a portion of the advertisement revenue directly related to their online purchases, can receive more substantial rewards. The reward is mainly monetary (or financial gain) and can come in various forms, such as discount, or credit.

Abstract: A system for resolving disputes in an online answers community is disclosed. The system improves the system's ability to resolve reports of abuse.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided for accessing taxonomic data associated with an item as classified into a taxonomy having a hierarchical structure, establishing dependency data associated with a distribution represented in the taxonomic data, and determining entropic data for the item based, at least in part, on the distribution and established dependency.