Abstract: A tool allows a user to create new designs for apparel and preview these designs before manufacture. Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. Based on a laser input file with a pattern, a laser will burn the pattern onto apparel. With the tool, the user will be able to create, make changes, and view images of a design, in real time, before burning by a laser. Input to the tool includes fabric template images, laser input files, and damage input. The tool allows adding of tinting and adjusting of intensity and bright point. The user can also move, rotate, scale, and warp the image input.

Abstract: A tool allows a user to create new designs for apparel and preview these designs before manufacture. Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. Based on a laser input file with a pattern, a laser will burn the pattern onto apparel. With the tool, the user will be able to create, make changes, and view images of a design, in real time, before burning by a laser. Input to the tool includes fabric template images, laser input files, and damage input. The tool allows adding of tinting and adjusting of intensity and bright point. The user can also move, rotate, scale, and warp the image input.

Abstract: Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. A technique includes using machine learning to create or extract a laser input file for wear pattern from an existing garment. Machine learning can be by a generative adversarial network, having generative and discriminative neural nets. The generative adversarial network is trained and then used to create a model. This model is used generate the laser input file from an image of the existing garment with the finishing pattern. With this laser input file, a laser can re-create the wear pattern from the existing garment onto a new garment.

Abstract: A garment includes a finishing pattern created by a laser. The garment can be a pair of jeans or other denim garment. Software and lasers are used in finishing apparel to produce a desired wear pattern or other design. A technique includes determining a fabric's response to a laser, capturing an initial image of a wear pattern on a garment, and processing the initial image to obtain a working image in grayscale. The working image is further processed to obtain a difference image by comparing each pixel relative to a dark reference. The difference image is converted to a laser values image by using the previously determined fabric response to the laser.

Abstract: A merchant debit card program is described that includes a plurality of authorized issuers for debit card accounts. The merchant debit card program includes a merchant loyalty program that provides rewards to enrolled debit card accounts. The authorized issuers provide management of the debit card accounts including customer statements, payment authorizations and customer service. Application data for a new debit card account is transmitted from the merchant to the selected issuer by a card processing system. Enrollment data to the merchant loyalty program may also be transmitted from the merchant to an authorized issuer by the card processing system.

Abstract: A method and interactive advertisement selection system for enabling a television viewer to select between a plurality of advertisements scheduled for an advertising block of time. The viewer utilizes an advertisement selection mechanism such as a television remote control or other computing device to indicate the desire to skip an advertisement currently being shown. An advertisement selection server receives the skip indication, stops the current advertisement, selects a next advertisement from a list of advertisements scheduled for the advertising block, and starts the next advertisement. The server ensures selected advertisements will fit within the advertising block. Records are maintained of which advertisements were viewed in their entirety, partially viewed, or skipped.

Abstract: An advertising slot notification (ASN) system and method for automatically notifying an advertiser that a desired targeted advertising slot meeting an advertiser-defined preference is available. The advertiser-defined preference, such as programming content associated with the advertising slot, is input to a comparison unit together with information on available advertising slots and associated programming content. The comparison unit compares the preference with the available slots and associated information to identify a slot meeting the advertiser-defined preference. A notification server automatically notifies the advertiser that the desired advertising slot is available. The system may also include an advertising slot labeling (ASL) system for providing to the comparison unit, an advertisement slot label for each available advertising slot, wherein the label indicates an effectiveness level for each advertising slot when used to present different kinds of advertisements.

Abstract: A system and method for providing interactive television advertising. When a viewer with interactive capability is identified, the system invites the viewer to create an advertisement. When the viewer accepts, the system displays advertisement parameters on the viewer's television or other connected computing device such as a smartphone. The viewer uses a remote control mechanism to select parameters and send them to an interactive advertising unit in a television delivery system. The interactive advertising unit creates the interactive advertisement in accordance with the selected advertisement parameters. The system then shows the interactive advertisement to the viewer during the next commercial break.

Abstract: An integrated television delivery and social networking system for improving service to a user. A television delivery system delivers television programs and advertisements to the user, and a social network website enables the user to post social updates for the user's friends and to receive social updates from the friends. An interworking unit interworks between the television delivery system and the social network website. The interworking unit obtains information from the television delivery system or the social network website and automatically provides the information from one to the other. The system may automatically post to the website, an indication of what television program the user is watching; may display to the user how many of his friends liked the television program or advertisement the user is watching; and may use user interests in the user's social network profile to select targeted television advertisements to present to the user.

Abstract: Presently disclosed is a method and apparatus for selecting advertisement slot labels at a recommendation engine. Market research data is compared with multimedia content metadata. Advertisement slot labels are selected for advertisement slots of the multimedia content based on the comparison of the market research data and the multimedia content metadata. A method and apparatus for selecting multimedia content for pairing with advertisement content using a recommendation engine is disclosed. Market research data is compared with advertisement content metadata. Multimedia content is selected to pair with advertisement content based on the comparison of the market research data and the advertisement content metadata. A method and apparatus for selecting advertisement content is disclosed. Multimedia content metadata corresponding to multimedia content is sent. Advertisement slot label recommendation(s) for advertisement slots of the multimedia content are received.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a system stores video clips which a user can select and use to create an ad video. The user can download the video clip, edit it appropriate, and then upload the ad video to the system. The user can then place the ad with a cable service provider as part of an ad campaign. The system allows the user to view available advertising opportunities with one or more video service providers, such as a cable service provider, and then define attributes of an ad campaign defining how and when to stream the ad in various programs. The ad campaign can place the ad in on-demand programs or schedule (broadcast) programs. The user can also be provided with reports indicating in part when the ad was actually streamed, allowing the user evaluate the performance of the ad campaign.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a computer system hosts a web site allowing users via the Internet to post video clips, view video clips, or provide feedback regarding a viewed video clip, wherein the computer system selects the most popular video clips based on certain criteria to make available to a video service provider. In one embodiment, the computer system transcodes the video clip received at the web site into a format compatible with a VOD system associated with a cable service provider, and generates the appropriate metadata based on input from the user posting the video clip based in part on values determined by the computer system and based in part on default values determined by an administrator. Subscribers to a cable service provider can then select and view the video clips in the VOD system by invoking a VOD service offered by the cable service provider.

Abstract: The invention relates to the formation of antimicrobial solutions formed by ozonating a liquid containing organic precursor molecules. The preferred organic precursor molecules include carboxylic acids, most particularly octanoic acid with or without acetic acid, and alcohols, most particularly greater than 80 weight percent ethanol. The ozonating step is preferably performed with minimal or no water present in the liquid containing the organic precursors. After ozonation is complete, the ozonated liquid may be diluted with water or other solvent to form a use solution for contacting and cleaning a microbially contaminated surface or other medium.