Abstract: Systems and methods utilize a display to provide universal remote control functionality. A menu of options appears on a display of a display device. A user can navigate the various options to control devices that are separate from the display device. The menu may be dynamically configured according to the context in which the display device is being used. The menu may be activated using a remote control device or other device and the menu may include options for controlling one or more devices that are absent from the remote control device.

Abstract: A server set may provide a document service to one or more clients, and may be configured to do so in view of various considerations such as availability, fault tolerance, flexibility, and performance. Presented herein are document service architectures that involve partitioning the document set into at least two document ranges, and configuring respective servers of the server set to host one or more agents to which are respectively assigned one or more document ranges. A request for an operation involving at least one document may be routed to a server hosting an agent managing the document ranges of the documents involved in the operation. Moreover, respective servers may retain detailed information about neighboring servers (e.g., according to a logical or physical proximity) and scant information about distant servers, thereby avoiding both the extensive information exchange of highly informed network architectures and the inefficiency of uninformed routing algorithms.

Abstract: Systems and methods enhance content from one source with content obtained from another source. Information about content, such as content that is or will be experienced by a user, is used to identify the content from another source. The content from the other source may be content of a different type than the content being enhanced. The content from the two (or more) sources are combined and provided simultaneously. The combined content may be provided using a set of one or more electronic devices.

Abstract: A remote control method for adjusting the temporal length between first and second command codes for an activity includes transmitting the first command code and transmitting the second command code after a first temporal length to an appliance. The method includes determining whether the appliance executed the second command code including: i) if the remote control receives an input that the appliance executed the second command code, the first temporal length is stored in memory and used for subsequently requests for the activity, or if the remote control receives an input that the appliance did not execute the second command code, the first temporal length is lengthened to a second temporal length. Until the first temporal length is not lengthened to the second temporal length, the remote control repeats the transmitting steps, and the determining step where the first temporal length for the second transmitting step is substituted with the second temporal length.

Abstract: Systems and methods utilize a display to provide universal remote control functionality. A menu of options appears on a display of a display device. A user can navigate the various options to control devices that are separate from the display device. The menu may be dynamically configured according to the context in which the display device is being used. The menu may be activated using a remote control device or other device and the menu may include options for controlling one or more devices that are absent from the remote control device.

Abstract: Systems and methods enhance content from one source with content obtained from another source. Information about content, such as content that is or will be experienced by a user, is used to identify the content from another source. The content from the other source may be content of a different type than the content being enhanced. The content from the two (or more) sources are combined and provided simultaneously. The combined content may be provided using a set of one or more electronic devices.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system, method and computer program for creating, visualizing and manipulating a data structure using an intuitive and interactive graphical interface. It is operable to display a data structure and enable users to interact with the data structure by means of a user interface. The data structure includes data entities and relationships between the data entities. One or more user context properties are associable with the data entities. The user interface is populated with data entities from the data structure by enabling the users to associate visual properties of the user interface with the user context associable properties of the data structure. This enables the users to interact with the data structure by means of the user interface.

Abstract: A multi-application payment system and method operates in a hybrid closed/open manner. The multi-application payment system and method features a smart card wherein funds are added to the card at point of sale (POS) locations. The card keeps track of the available balance and is used to purchase goods/services at any POS location. During a transaction, the POS location verifies the amount of funds available and then debits the funds available on the card. Transactions between the card and the POS location are preformed in a substantially closed manner. The POS location then transfers data about the transaction (preferably in a batch manner) to a central processing system. The central processing system processes the data in a generally open manner to move funds to the appropriate account, preferably using the Federal ACH interface.