Abstract: One embodiment provides a system for using Augmented Reality (AR) to facilitate displaying business graphics. The system receives at a computer system a video stream including an image of a marker, the marker being a physical object that is manipulated by the user and is recognizable by the computer system. The system recognizes the marker and receives from the user a selection of a business graphic. Next, the system renders the business graphic over the image of the marker in the video stream such that the image of the marker is obscured by the business graphic. The system then recognizes a manipulation of the marker indicated by a change in the image of the marker in the video stream. Next, the system performs an action on the business graphic that corresponds to the manipulation of the marker. Finally, the system displays the video stream to the user.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a tax-information assembly technique, which extracts tax information and associated context information from income-tax documents, where these income-tax documents are associated with an income-tax agency, and some of the income-tax documents include the same tax information in different document formats. During this technique, semantic and structural heuristics are used to identify tax phrases in the extracted tax information. Moreover, additional tax phrases in the extracted tax information are identified using a statistical identification technique. Next, relationships between the tax phrases and the additional tax phrases are determined, and the context information is used to consolidate the tax phrases and the additional tax phrases into a tax-information data structure.

Abstract: A technique for generating a form is described. In the technique, a user provides information associated with a user-defined field, including a data type and/or semantic information for an entry associated with the user-defined field. Then, a computer system generates the form, which includes the user-defined field and additional fields based on the information associated with the user-defined field and the additional fields. This form includes a spatial reference pattern that, when printed on paper, facilitates data input using a writing instrument (such as a digital pen). Furthermore, generating the form may involve translating from a computer-input format of the form to a writing-instrument format based on specified layouts or sequential positions of the user-defined field and the additional fields. Next, the computer system provides the form to a user.

Abstract: Embodiments of a computer system, a method and a computer-program product (e.g., software) for use with the computer system are described. These embodiments allow a user to provide an image of a document for use with software, such as an image of a financial document for use with financial software. In particular, the user can provide the image of the document, for example, by taking a picture of the document using a cellular telephone. This image may be converted into an electronic format that is suitable for text and numerical processing using a character-recognition technique, such as optical character recognition or intelligent character recognition. Errors in the electronic version of the document, if present, may be identified and corrected by comparing the electronic version to information maintained by a third party. This information may be accessed based at least on one or more items in the electronic version of the document.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a system that recognizes a personal object in an image and facilitates providing a related financial service. During operation, the system receives an image of an object associated with a user, where the image includes environmental features associated with the user. Next, the system extracts content from the image by processing the image (and the included environmental features) using an image-processing technique. The system then associates the extracted content with information in a pre-existing data structure, where the pre-existing data structure includes financial information associated with the object. Next, the system facilitates a financial service associated with the object based on the information. For example, the system may generate an insurance appraisal for the object based on the information.

Abstract: Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system for managing software agents. This system enables a user to configure agents and to specify wiring relationships between the agents and other system components. This system also includes a hub component, which is configured to route communications to and from the agents in accordance with user-specified wiring relationships.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a software domain model that enables simultaneous independent development of software components. A system using this model includes a first component, a second component, and a core layer that defines an item that can be accessed by the first and second components. Both components are able to independently and separately extend the definition of the item. A high-level software layer uses a set of micro-orchestrations to perform a holistic task, with each micro-orchestration invoking a piece of functionality in a component, the core layer, and/or the software layer.

Abstract: The present embodiments provide a system that processes data. During operation, the system obtains, from a set of technical users, a set of concept definitions comprising filters against data in a data domain. Next, the system provides the concept definitions to a set of end users of the data. Finally, the system facilitates, for the end users, processing of the data by applying the concept definitions to the data.

Abstract: A software application displays user interfaces for functionality of the software application. A user interface element is displayed on a user interface for the software application. A configuration screen for user configuration of the software application is displayed in response to a user command indicating selection of said user interface element. The configuration screen includes content corresponding to a state of the software application when the user command is received. The configuration screen may include content based on entered data in the user interface or on a data entry point of the user at the time of selecting the user interface element. The user interface element is displayed in a location on a plurality of user interface screens that is substantially identical for each screen. The configuration screen may include user preferences.

Abstract: An Operations Manager subsystem decouples the generation of operational events from an associated behavior triggered by those events. The Operations Manager subsystem allows changing the associated behavior without requiring rebuilds or recompilations of the source code. In addition, changes to policies are possible even at runtime in order to enable more agile debugging and better application supportability. The Operations Manger subsystem includes separate reporting and subscription services. The reporting services provide an API defining operational code for the generation of operational events. The subscription services include a file system and an API that support multiple user subscriptions to the various code operational events defining the behavior associated with those events.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved general-purpose system and method for providing dynamically updateable, context-sensitive configuration information based on the state of the application, external configuration data and a set of rules associated with that data. An application definition repository stores application configuration data and rules for managing the application. An application context manager applies application context data to the rules and evaluates the rules to get a context-based result for the application. The application context manager parses the rules and applies retrieved context data and symbols to the rules to reach a result. In addition, an application configuration engine applies the context-based result of evaluating the rules to provide, to a client, information for configuring the application appropriately based on the application context.

Abstract: Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system for managing software agents. This system enables a user to configure agents and to specify wiring relationships between the agents and other system components. This system also includes a hub component, which is configured to route communications to and from the agents in accordance with user-specified wiring relationships.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates a location-based, distributed to-do list. During operation, the system receives a request at a task-management system to create a task, wherein the request specifies a location for the task and an assignee for the task. In response to the request, the system creates the task. Next, the system receives a status update at the task management system, wherein the status update indicates a location of the assignee. Finally, when the location of the assignee substantially matches the location for the task, the system sends the task to the assignee.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for recommending an application-feature to a user. During operation, the system receives application-usage information from a client at a recommendation-server, wherein the application-usage information specifies characteristics of a user's interaction with an application. Next, the system compares the application-usage information to additional application-usage information from other users to identify a usage-group, which contains users who use the application similarly to the user. The system then identifies an application-feature associated with the usage-group, but which is not associated with the user. Finally, the system sends to the client an application-feature identifier, which identifies the application-feature, to facilitate recommending the application-feature to the user.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a software domain model that enables simultaneous independent development of software components. A system using this model includes a first component, a second component, and a core layer that defines an item that can be accessed by the first and second components. Both components are able to independently and separately extend the definition of the item. A high-level software layer uses a set of micro-orchestrations to perform a holistic task, with each micro-orchestration invoking a piece of functionality in a component, the core layer, and/or the software layer.

Abstract: The present invention, a digital instant schedule computer or DISC, computes and displays symmetric schedules for assigning to stations the participants in an experiment or tournament. There is a master board and a plurality of slides, each of which can be inserted in said master board in several ways. Each insertion of a slide gives a juxtaposition of two scales: a scale on the slide which gives the indicia of the participants to be scheduled and a scale on the master board which gives indicia referring to the stations. Each admissible setting of a slide in the master board gives a subschedule which assigns each participant to the station opposite his indicium. The participant indicia and station indicia are displayed so that each participant can read off his station assignment.