Abstract: Automatically creating a series of intermediate states may include receiving a start state and an end state of a reactive system, identifying one or more components of the start state and the end state and determining one or more events associated with the one or more components. One or more intermediate states between the start state and the end state, and one or more transitions from and to the one or more intermediate states are created using the one or more components of the start state and the end state and the one or more events associated with the one or more components. The one or more intermediate states and the one or more transitions form one or more time-based paths from the start state to the end state occurring in response to applying the one or more events to the associated one or more components.

Abstract: Automatically adjusting rendered fidelity of an element in a composition may include detecting an element added to a composition and determining fidelity of an added element's rendering based on rendering of one or more other elements in the composition. Rendering of the added element may be automatically adjusted to the determined fidelity to match the rendering of said one or more other elements in the composition.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program produce for handling and minimizing miscommunication and transformation of tokens that are processed by humans, either verbally or in writing, during some part of a usage scenario. This is accomplished by filtering out confusing tokens, as determined by calculating a distance metric for each token. A distance metric may be calculated along a print modality, a visual modality or a verbal modality.

Abstract: Interruptibility awareness service enables a requestor to learn whether a requestee is interruptible, for instance, by obtaining current social interaction information of a requestee; determining whether the requestee is interruptible based on the requestee's current social interaction information; and returning a response that indicates requestee's interruptibility.

Abstract: Smart Mark-up or highlighting delimits a rule using ontology technology to identify words and fields as objects and/or possible values in the rule. These technologies support the user in formalizing parts of the rules in a manner consistent with the system's data.

Abstract: The system and method in one aspect allow understanding of Boolean expressions by representing them graphically as a flow of information. NOTs are represented as switches in the flow, capturing the original structure of the expression as written by the user. Verification of those expressions with live data is also enabled.

Abstract: The system and method in one aspect provide a set of extended Boolean operators and a tree visual paradigm that enable business users to modularize the construction of a rule and visualize it as the rules is being built.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program produce for handling and minimizing miscommunication and transformation of tokens that are processed by humans, either verbally or in writing, during some part of a usage scenario. This is accomplished by filtering out confusing tokens, as determined by calculating a distance metric for each token. A distance metric may be calculated along a print modality, a visual modality or a verbal modality.

Abstract: System, method and graphical user interface for a simulation base calculator provides one or more selectable distribution models. One or more input fields are provided for inputting rules with one or more random variables. A processing module inputs one or more of the selectable distribution models and the rules into a simulator running on the system. An output field is provided for displaying one or more aspects of a result determined by the model run on the simulator.

Abstract: A video retrieval system is presented that allows a user to quickly and easily select and receive stories of interest from a video stream. The video retrieval system classifies stories and delivers samples of selected stories that match each user's current preference. The user's preferences may include particular broadcast networks, persons, story topics, keywords, and the like. Key frames of each selected story are sequentially displayed; when the user views a frame of interest, the user selects the story that is associated with the key frame for more detailed viewing. This invention is particularly well suited for targeted news retrieval. In a preferred embodiment, news stories are stored, and the selection of a news story for detailed viewing based on the associated key frames effects a playback of the selected news story. The principles of this invention also allows a user to effect a directed search of other types of broadcasts as well.

Abstract: User ratings within an explicit profile for content attributes are collected in a contextual manner, by queries or other user interactions initiated in conjunction with presentation or execution of a selected content item. Upon detecting null or stale ratings associated with at least one attribute value for a selected content item, the user interaction requesting ratings is initiated during or sequentially following presentation or execution of the selected content item. The profile is thus populated over time, but with the user entering values in context with the content being rated and with the possibility of accommodating changes in the user's preferences over time.

Abstract: A user interface for querying and displaying records from a database allows explicit and implicit profiles to be stored and selectively, and independently, incorporated in a search. Implicit profiles are derived from the selections of resources by a user without requiring the user to specify any rules by which selections are made. A machine-learning algorithm is used to derive a model by which user-preferences can be predicted. Explicit profiles are rules entered by the user. For example, the user may select certain categories of resources that the user prefers to exclude from searches. Queries are defined by selecting predefined criteria, and one or both of the explicit and implicit profiles. In an embodiment, profiles are displayed and manipulated just as categories of other criteria to add and remove them from queries. The queries can be saved and edited.

Abstract: Multiple individual profiles may be concurrently selected and applied in combination to a search system, forming an ad hoc profile enabling quick identification of content of high recommendation to all whose profiles are selected. Such ad hoc combination profiles are especially advantageous for forming dynamic group profiles which automatically track changes to individual member profiles and which are easily adapted by addition or deletion of a member, and may be used in conjunction with portable profiles communicated between systems. A variety of combination techniques may be employed for merging the multiple profiles, from simple averaging of rating values to more complex models allowing variable weighting or selective applicability of user profiles or the search attribute values therein.

Abstract: Search results in a personalized system or a search system are graphically represented by elements having a graphical feature such as size or proximity to the viewer dependent upon a relevance of the represented item(s) to the search criteria. All available items searched are preferably displayed regardless of whether matching the search criteria (with matches distinguished from non-matches), providing the user with context for items determined to have some degree of relevance to the specified criteria. The graphical elements are updated with condition changes such as changes to search query elements or changes to the pool of items available to be searched. Similar or related results may be linked.

Abstract: A sorting mechanism sorts results utilizing one or more sort keys selected based upon the user task context, the content type relating to the items being sorted, and/or user-preferences. Intuitive or default sort keys such as program/song title are selected based on the user's objectives as inferred from task parameters or user selection of primary sort keys, but may be changed by the user, with the results are displayed in an ordered listing based on the sorting with the selected sort keys.

Abstract: During initialization of an explicit user profile for a recommender system, the user rates only one or more supersets of attributes and/or one or more consistently recurring attributes from the total set of attributes which may be employed by the recommender system to generate suggestions. While viewing lists of subject matter to which the recommender system relates at any time thereafter, the user may view and manipulate individual ratings for all attributes associated with a particular list item. The explicit profile is updated by addition of the item and associated rating value or replacement of the current rating value with the new value entered by the user. The profile may be supplemented with implicit ratings based on the user's viewing history.

Abstract: A user interface for querying and displaying records from a database employs a physical metaphor for the process of constructing queries and viewing results. In one embodiment, the search criteria are displayed as strings of beads in a three-dimensional scene, each bead representing a criterion and each string representing a different category. For example the criteria, drama, action, suspense, and horror may be included in a category of genre. Criteria are selected to form a query by moving corresponding beads to a query string. In general, a three-dimensional scene is constructed in which objects may be manipulated to change their physical relationships to other objects in the scene. These changes may indicate changes in a current query being defined or edited, a current profile being defined or edited, a goodness of fit of results to a given search, etc.

Abstract: A user interface for querying and displaying records from a database employs a physical metaphor for the process of constructing queries and viewing results. The criteria are represented in displays as symbols that can be included in a query. The display of the symbols are ranked in terms of their respective utility, where the utility is inferred from the commands received to generate the queries. In one embodiment, the ranking is based on frequency of use. The ranking may be indicated by various display effects. For example, in an embodiment, the search criteria are indicated as strings of beads in a three-dimensional scene, each bead representing a criterion and each string representing a different category. For example the criteria, drama, action, suspense, and horror may be included in a category of genre. Criteria are selected to form a query by moving corresponding beads to a query string which is then submitted to perform the search.

Abstract: Information nodes are dynamically organized and information related to each node is displayed in dependence upon a user's indicated reference node. The information related to the reference node is displayed prominently, and information items related to the other nodes are displayed with a prominence that reflects each node's degree of separation from the user selected reference node. Both size and position are used to indicate prominence. To present a consistent interface regardless of the user's point of reference, recursive techniques, such as fractal based algorithms, are used in a preferred embodiment.

Abstract: A user interface for querying and displaying records from a database employs a physical metaphor for the process of constructing queries and viewing results. User profiles are presented and manipulated to operate with queries in the same way as other criteria. For example, in one embodiment, the search criteria are shown as the beads on respective strings, the strings representing categories of criteria. One of the strings is a set of user profiles that can be added to a query in the same manner as the addition of criteria. Criteria are selected to form a query by moving corresponding beads to a query string. User preference profiles can be constructed in the same manner. Profiles are saved and represented as bead strings that can be used in further interactions in the same manner as criteria beads, Profiles can also be the result of automatic machine-analysis of user interaction.