Abstract: A method and system for conducting a chat session with multiple chat members. The chat system receives chat comments from the chat members. The chat system attempts to identify a topic or subject of the chat comment. The chat system may then retrieve product or product category advertisements relevant to the identified topic. The chat system then effects the display of the chat comment along with the retrieved advertisements to each chat member. The chat system thus dynamically recognizes the topic of chat comments and displays relevant additional information along with the chat comments.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for automatically creating printed works. A subset of electronic publications from a collection of electronic publications is periodically selected in at least one computing system. The selecting is directed at least in part by at least one rule predefined by a user. The subset of electronic publications includes at least two distinct electronic publications. A printed work that includes the subset of electronic publications is encoded for printing.

Abstract: Architectures and techniques are described to provide a personal webservice for item acquisitions. In particular implementations, the personal webservice of the individual indicates items that have been acquired by the individual and/or items that the individual has indicated an interest in acquiring. Information specifying items acquired by the individual may be obtained from computing devices of the individual, third-party data sources (e.g. financial entities, socials networking sites), or both. Additionally, a number of webservice applications and/or webservice agents may provide supplemental information about items included in the personal webservice of the individual, provide notifications derived from the supplemental information about the items, or both. The supplemental information may be obtained from manufacturers of the items, online content related to the items (e.g. news articles, blog posts, reviews), information from merchants offering the items for acquisition, and the like.

Abstract: A digital work may be annotated using an eBook reader device. Upon receiving an annotation relating to a specific portion of the digital work, an invariant location reference identifier corresponding to the specified portion of the digital work may be appended to the annotation. The annotation may then be stored in association with the digital work for later reference. In some instances, an annotation may be presented on an eBook reader device upon receipt of a valid authorization credential granting access to the annotation.

Abstract: A method and system for conducting a chat session with multiple chat members. The chat system receives chat comments from the chat members. The chat system attempts to identify a topic or subject of the chat comment. The chat system may then retrieve product or product category advertisements relevant to the identified topic. The chat system then effects the display of the chat comment along with the retrieved advertisements to each chat member. The chat system thus dynamically recognizes the topic of chat comments and displays relevant additional information along with the chat comments.

Abstract: A system and method for a librarian facilitates appraising the value of all or selected products in a collection of products. The collection of products may be part of a library that includes one or more photographic images of the library, and an inventory of the products revealed in those images. The librarian facilitates appraising the value of products in the collection with reference to the images. Appraisals may be automatically updated, and users notified in accordance with user notification preferences. An automated referral may be provided to the user to sell all or selected ones of the appraised inventory of products, individually or together. An extended appraisal may be provided to facilitate enhancing the value of a collection in the library.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method and system provides supplemental information to a user of media in which the supplemental information is relevant to selected content in the media. An embodiment of the method comprises obtaining an image of selected content, identifying a meaningful characteristic of the selected content in the image, obtaining supplemental information that is relevant to the selected content based on the meaningful characteristic, and providing the supplemental information to the user of the media. A meaningful characteristic may be a source or subject of the selected content. Identifying the source of selected content may include matching text from the content with content of known source or matching a digital signature obtained from the selected content with digital signatures obtained from known content. The method may further comprise ranking the supplemental information based on one or more criteria and providing the supplemental information to the user in accordance with the ranking.

Abstract: A system and method for a librarian facilitates appraising the value of all or selected products in a collection of products. The collection of products may be part of a library that includes one or more photographic images of the library, and an inventory of the products revealed in those images. The librarian facilitates appraising the value of products in the collection with reference to the images. Appraisals may be automatically updated, and users notified in accordance with user notification preferences. An automated referral may be provided to the user to sell all or selected ones of the appraised inventory of products, individually or together. An extended appraisal may be provided to facilitate enhancing the value of a collection in the library.

Abstract: A system and method for creating and maintaining a virtual library is provided. A virtual library includes one or more photographic images of the user's physical library, and an inventory of the products revealed in those images. The virtual librarian facilitates uploading the images, generating an inventory from those images, and locating products in the physical library with reference to the images. The virtual librarian optionally provides the user with an appraisal of the value of their physical library, and advice regarding how to organize the library and whether to make certain acquisitions to complement the existing library.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed that associate search keywords with relevant images from within sources, such as books, magazines, journals, etc., thereby making the images available for search using the associated keyword. Such associations enable a search engine to identify, in response to a search query, a relevant image within the source that would have not been provided otherwise. For example, an image of the Titanic that appears in a historical or cultural book may be associated with the search keyword “ship.” Accordingly, if a user submits the search query “ship and Infamous Ocean Voyages” (i.e., the keyword “ship” and the title of a book), an image of the Titanic from the book entitled “Infamous Ocean Voyages” may be returned among the search results.

Abstract: An electronic input device such as an electronic pen may be used to input an electronic instruction. In some implementations, the device may include a tip for contacting a physical document. A sensor may record movement of the tip relative to the physical document. A recognition component may recognize an electronically-executable instruction from the recorded movement of the tip, and a processing component may automatically cause execution of the electronically-executable instruction recognized from the recorded movement of the tip. In some examples, the electronic input device may locally execute the electronically-executable instruction, while in other examples, the electronic input device may communicate the electronically-executable instruction to a separate device for remote execution.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for fine level access control over message content in an electronic messaging system. Access criteria associated with the message content define requirements that a user must satisfy in order to perform specified actions on message content. The user's complete profile is examined at run time and compared to access criteria to make a real time decision about the level of access that a user should have to message content. Depending on the access criteria associated with content, stronger authentication or weaker authentication of the user profile information may be performed on the user profile to determine the level of access that should be granted to the user.

Abstract: Verification of an inventory of stored products may be achieved by obtaining an image of the stored products and using text, optical character, and other feature recognition techniques to determine product identification and storage location. A comparison between earlier and current images of the same storage location is used to identify which locations have changed, i.e., from which locations have products been moved, removed, or added. The earlier and current images of the changed locations may be displayed to a user to visually inspect the differences between the images and verify the changes in inventory represented by those differences.

Abstract: A system and method for electronically searching a personalized library of content includes, in at least one embodiment, receiving one or more search terms and electronically searching a text searchable database to produce search results. After receiving a search result selection, a page image in a page image database corresponding to the search result selection is identified. A substitute image of the identified page image is prepared, wherein a portion of the content in the identified page image is suppressed in the substitute image. The substitute image is then provided for computer display, wherein the one or more search terms in the substitute image are highlighted when the substitute image is displayed. The substitute image appears substantially the same as the identified page image except for the portion that is suppressed. Information identifying the location of the search terms in the substitute image may be provided for highlighting.

Abstract: A provider of content may provide access to portions of content from a source, but not the source content in its entirety. In some embodiments, one or more access rules or criteria may be implemented that enable users to access portions of the source content up to an allowed limit or threshold (e.g., number or percentage of pages), after which access is prevented to the remaining content that has not previously been accessed. In other embodiments, one or more access rules or criteria may be implemented that enable users to access portions of content of only a certain type (e.g., index, bibliography, introduction, certain chapters, etc.). Unauthorized portions are suppressed or access to them is denied. The content source may be a textual work, an audio work, or a video work of any form. For example, the content may be in electronic form, such as images of pages of content.

Abstract: Methods and systems for receiving and distributing annotations of a digital work include receiving an annotation of the digital work, storing the annotation, and providing the annotation to a user. The user may be required to submit a valid authorization credential for the annotation. Annotations may be textual or graphical, and may be associated with particular content in a digital work. Indicators may be displayed to identify content in the digital work for which annotations are available. A user may exchange compensation or perform a specified action for access to an annotation. Some or all of the compensation received for an annotation may be distributed to the author of the annotation. Multiple annotations may be listed in an order based a criterion, such as ranking, price, or date of receipt. Users that purchase a digital work may automatically receive an authorization credential to receive annotations of the digital work.

Abstract: An electronic input device such as an electronic pen is provided to annotate a document. The device may include a recording component that electronically records an annotation of the document, a recognition component that analyzes the annotation and determines whether the annotation includes an electronically-executable instruction, and a processing component that automatically causes an execution of the electronically-executable instruction when the annotation is determined to include an electronically-executable instruction. In another embodiment, a method for processing an annotation of a physical printed version of a document may include obtaining an electronic version of an annotation from a physical printed version of a document, determining if the annotation includes an electronically-executable instruction, and automatically causing an execution of the electronically-executable instruction if the annotation includes an electronically-executable instruction.

Abstract: A method and system for conducting a chat session with multiple chat members. The chat system receives chat comments from the chat members. The chat system attempts to identify a topic or subject of the chat comment. The chat system may then retrieve product or product category advertisements relevant to the identified topic. The chat system then effects the display of the chat comment along with the retrieved advertisements to each chat member. The chat system thus dynamically recognizes the topic of chat comments and displays relevant additional information along with the chat comments.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for automatically creating printed works. A subset of electronic publications from a collection of electronic publications is periodically selected in at least one computing system. The selecting is directed at least in part by at least one rule predefined by a user. The subset of electronic publications includes at least two distinct electronic publications. A printed work that includes the subset of electronic publications is encoded for printing.

Abstract: Methods and systems for receiving and distributing annotations of a digital work include receiving an annotation of the digital work, storing the annotation, and providing the annotation to a user. The user may be required to submit a valid authorization credential for the annotation. Annotations may be textual or graphical, and may be associated with particular content in a digital work. Indicators may be displayed to identify content in the digital work for which annotations are available. A user may exchange compensation or perform a specified action for access to an annotation. Some or all of the compensation received for an annotation may be distributed to the author of the annotation. Multiple annotations may be listed in an order based a criterion, such as ranking, price, or date of receipt. Users that purchase a digital work may automatically receive an authorization credential to receive annotations of the digital work.