Abstract: A platform that facilitates software application development, maintenance, and support includes a storage component that receives structured and unstructured data pertaining to at least one application subject to development, maintenance, or support and causes the structured and unstructured data to be stored in a distributed fashion over a plurality of accessible data repositories. The storage component causes the structured and unstructured data to be stored in the data repositories such that the structured and unstructured data is accessible through utilization of a common access format. An executor component executes an analytical process over the structured and unstructured data and generates a first dataset, wherein the storage component causes the first dataset to be stored in at least one of the plurality of accessible data repositories in a format that is accessible by front end analysis applications.

Abstract: “Experience Streams” (ESs) are used by a “rich interactive narrative” (RIN) data model as basic building blocks that are combined in a variety of ways to enable or construct a large number of RIN scenarios for presenting interactive narratives to the user. In general various ES types contain all the information required to define and populate a particular RIN, as well as the information (in the form of a series of navigable states) that charts an animated and interactive course through each RIN. In other words, combinations of various ES provide a scripted path through a RIN environment, as well as various UI controls and/or toolbars that enable user interaction with the interactive narrative provided by each RIN. Example ESs include, but are not limited, content browser experience streams, zoomable media experience streams, relationship graph experience streams, player-controls/toolbar experience streams, etc.

Abstract: An exemplary network gateway is capable of accepting a session-related message having a session identifier field; the network gateway is adapted to extract a host identifier from a value populating the session identifier field and to perform a routing operation for the session-related message using the host identifier. For an exemplary media implementation, processor-executable instructions direct a device to perform actions including: ascertaining a host identifier from a session identifier field of a session message; and routing the session message responsive to the ascertained host identifier. An exemplary apparatus includes: at least one processor; and one or more media including processor-executable instructions that are capable of being executed by the at least one processor to direct the apparatus to perform actions including: receiving a session message having a session identifier including a host identifier; and routing the session message responsive to the host identifier.

Abstract: Software debugging recommendation technique embodiments are presented that generally entails creating a database of characterized software bug descriptions and providing software debugging recommendations from the database in response to a query. This can employ a two-phased approach in the search for similar software bugs. The first is a search phase that takes a query as input and returns a ranked list of software bug descriptions that match the query. These bug descriptions can contain a mix of structured and unstructured data. The second phase is a related-information phase that uses the output of the first phase to retrieve a set of related recommendations such as for people, source files, functions and binaries.

Abstract: Techniques for manipulation of user experience state are described. A user experience can include various types of content that a user may consume, such as video content, images, audio content, text documents, and so on. Further, a “composition” can be created using various combinations of user experiences, such as still images inset to video content, a navigable map presented with images of geographical locations associated with the map, and so on. In implementations, techniques enable user experiences included as part of a composition to interact such that behaviors associated with one user experience can affect another user experience, and vice-versa.

Abstract: Techniques for propagating user experience state information are described. A user experience can include various types of content that a user may consume, such as video content, images, audio content, text documents, and so on. Further, a “composition” can be created using various combinations of user experiences, such as still images inset to video content, a navigable map presented with images of geographical locations associated with the map, and so on. In implementations, techniques enable user experiences included as part of a composition to interact such that behaviors associated with one user experience can affect another user experience, and vice-versa.

Abstract: Methods and systems for embedding content in rich media are described herein. The method includes populating embedded content from a data stream into an experience using an artifact embedding system. The method also includes binding the embedded content to a behavior from a framework of preselected behaviors using an embedded object manager.

Abstract: A spatial region, such as a geographic region, may be represented by a series of vectors in a binary tree or other binary representation. The binary tree may be generated by successively dividing a region into smaller rectangles or vectors, until either a vector is completely within the region or reaches a size limit. The vectors may be ordered, allowing a linear comparison between two binary trees to determine if one space overlaps the other. Because the comparison between two ordered binary trees results in an ordered binary tree, subsequent comparisons may also be performed linearly.

Abstract: Media collections (MC) service embodiments are presented which generally facilitate access to diverse forms of media by resolving an identifier tuple assigned to a content item into a set of one or more Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) which point to an instance of the content item. This scheme supports the upload and query of collections of media elements such as images, audio, video, deep zoom images, photosynth and so on. In addition, the foregoing scheme affords a standard way to bind to media that persists, and makes it easier to author and play content while being flexible about where the media is located.

Abstract: A cross-lingual location search uses a combination of translation and transliteration of query tokens to develop a set of candidate matches for further searching. A query is broken up into individual tokens (e.g. address parts) and a list of transliterations and/or translations for each token is developed. The translated and transliterated results are keyed against a spatial database using both literal database keys and transliterated database keys. Matches from the resulting searches are selected when a spatial overlap, or constraint, occurs among subsequences of the query tokens.

Abstract: A first exemplary media implementation includes processor-executable instructions that direct a device to perform actions including: creating a session identifier using a host identifier; and formulating a host session initiation message with the created session identifier. A first exemplary device implementation includes: at least one processor; and one or more media including processor-executable instructions that direct the device to perform actions including: formulating a host session message with a session identifier that is created responsive to a host identifier; and sending the formulated host session message that includes the session identifier from the device. A second exemplary media implementation includes a data structure that has a message including a session identifier field, at least part of the session identifier field including a host identifier.

Abstract: Media collections (MC) service embodiments are presented which generally facilitate access to diverse forms of media by resolving an identifier tuple assigned to a content item into a set of one or more Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) which point to an instance of the content item. This scheme supports the upload and query of collections of media elements such as images, audio, video, deep zoom images, photosynth and so on. In addition, the foregoing scheme affords a standard way to bind to media that persists, and makes it easier to author and play content while being flexible about where the media is located.

Abstract: A method and system for enhancing a network load balancing system's ability to distribute connection information and data amongst the plurality of nodes within the system is presented. A client connection request is redirected to a load balancing service residing on a receiving node by modifying the destination port information contained within the packet. The receiving node can be any node within the load balancing system, and is determined from amongst the plurality of nodes that comprise the system by a conventional means. A transparent connection is then established between the client and the load balancing service residing on the node by modifying subsequently transmitted connection setup packets sent by the receiving node and the client. A target node is determined according to resource specific information contained within initially received data packets from the client. The target node determined this way could be the local node or another node.

Abstract: This patent relates to techniques associated with rich interactive narratives (RINs) and other RIN-related content, including techniques for sharing and monetizing such content. For example, a RIN-related content item (e.g., a themed RIN book) might be obtained from a hosting platform, edited, and re-published on the hosting platform. In some circumstances, the edit might include or serve as one or more annotations. One or more sharing restrictions associated with the published content item can be enforced. This enforcement can then be utilized to monetize the published content item by virtue of one or more sharing arrangements.

Abstract: The invention builds a structure of software objects that captures the historically contingent development of an asynchronous program. The invention builds software objects that represent the resources and subtasks that make up the asynchronous program. The objects are connected into a hierarchy whose structure explicates interactions among the resources and subtasks. When a fault is detected, the structure tells the debugger everything the program was doing at the time of the fault and lays open the developmental history of the program that led to the fault. The debugger uses this information to trace the detected fault back through code and time to its origin. When a new feature is added, the structure tells maintenance personnel how the new feature affects existing functions. Within the structure, the invention provides mechanisms for handling reference counters and software locks. Groups of resources can be handled together, the structure taking care of coordination.

Abstract: Users can send short message service (SMS) communication with the purpose of the communication being implied therein. An SMS broker described herein can derive the implied purpose by parsing the communication at least in part according to defined set of rules of syntax and in light of a current context within which the communication was received. In one aspect, the communication is brokered via the SMS broker and it may be intended as a message to be sent to another user identified by a moniker, such as their e-mail alias, which has the advantage of avoiding the need to store phone numbers on memory-constrained devices. In another aspect, the communication is a request for user data of other users also identified in the request by a simple moniker such as their e-mail alias. Additionally, a user can also send a communication intended to update their own user information such as their current location, availability and so on.

Abstract: Software debugging recommendation technique embodiments are presented that generally entails creating a database of characterized software bug descriptions and providing software debugging recommendations from the database in response to a query. This can employ a two-phased approach in the search for similar software bugs. The first is a search phase that takes a query as input and returns a ranked list of software bug descriptions that match the query. These bug descriptions can contain a mix of structured and unstructured data. The second phase is a related-information phase that uses the output of the first phase to retrieve a set of related recommendations such as for people, source files, functions and binaries.

Abstract: A data model and player platform for playing rich interactive narratives (RINs) is presented. Together, they enable a very broad class of rich interactive applications in a device independent way that is also platform technology proof and can be extended to new kinds of interactive visualization technologies. The RIN data model includes a narrative having a prescribed sequence of scenes, where each scene is made up of one or more RIN segments. Each of the RIN segments includes one or more experience streams (or references thereto), and at least one screenplay. Each experience stream includes data that enables a user employing a RIN player to traverse a particular environment created by an arbitrary media type. In addition, each screenplay includes data to orchestrate when each experience stream starts and stops during the playing of the RIN and to specify how experience streams share display screen space or audio playback configuration.

Abstract: A rich interactive narrative (RIN) authoring system and method for creating and generating RIN documents in a graphical and visual manner. RIN documents are documents that contain multimedia content and combine narrative with interactive exploration. Embodiments of the RIN authoring system and method facilitate the creation of RIN documents without the need for the author to program or write code. Embodiments of the system and method provide a user interface for an author to select an experience stream, and place the experience stream on a timeline to indicate a desired location in time when the experience stream should appear in the RIN document. The author can define keyframes in the experience stream and edit those keyframes to define a trajectory between multiple keyframes in the RIN document. Embodiments of the system and method also allow the preview the RIN document in a preview window.

Abstract: The computer-assisted rich interactive narrative generation technique described herein employs a Rich Interactive Narratives (RIN) data model to provide for the computer-assisted creation of rich interactive experiences called RINs. A RIN is a narrative that runs like a movie with a sequence of scenes that follow one after another. A user can stop the narrative, explore the environment associated with the current scene (or other scenes if desired), and then resume the narrative where it left off. The technique allows for the automatic and dynamic generation of RINs using very little input from a user—say, for example, a search query—whereupon the technique automatically generates a RIN. An author/user can guide the process of narrative creation by having portions of the creation process automatically performed by the computer-implemented technique and portions guided and assisted by one or more authors/users.