Abstract: A method of accessing situation related information includes collecting information related to at least one situation from a plurality of participants connected via a situational network, where the situational network formed in response to the situation. An electronic message board for accessing a portion of the information related to the situation is established. Requests for the information is received from a plurality of visitors using the electronic message board, where the visitors are not connected to the situational network. The information is provided to the visitors using the electronic message board.

Abstract: Systems and methods of providing a computing device application framework. The framework serves as a platform upon which the desktop applications share common data and logic. The framework may include an application component exposes application programming interfaces (APIs) that provides installed applications access to data and services, a download component that maintains versions of the applications installed on a computing device, and a license component that tracks data use and access.

Abstract: Systems and methods of providing a desktop framework. The desktop framework may include an application framework component that includes a set of core libraries that provide desktop applications access to data and services, a download component that maintains versions of the desktop applications and core libraries installed on a computer, and a license component that tracks data use and access. The application framework exposes APIs to provide the desktop applications with access to the data and services. The application framework serves as a platform upon which the desktop applications share common data and logic.

Abstract: A method of using climate data to determine activity index values for a given activity. One embodiment provides a method of more objectively determining the desirability of an activity based on climate data by determining an activity index value using a weighted-element type analysis. Multiple activity index values may be determined for different time periods and used to provide information useful in comparing the desirability of the different time periods for a given activity. The activity index values may be used to answer questions such as “what is the best month to visit Kingston, Jamaica” and “what is the worst season for allergies in Atlanta.