Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein include systems and methods that enable a relatively large number of users to connect to a collaborative communication application with a comparatively lower investment in service hardware (CPU, network) while still providing identification of contributing client devices. Techniques disclosed herein can also include systems and methods that enable an application developer to build higher-performing applications that reduce a computational load for client devices. A session manager, for a collaborative service session, provides selective transmission of user records on an as-needed basis, and thus avoids sending user records until those records are actually needed or requested, typically as a result of a user's active participation within the collaboration environment. The session manager thus reveals the presence of connected users on-demand, thereby saving CPU and network resources, and allowing collaborative applications to more easily scale into the tens of thousands of users.

Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein include systems and methods for indexing data events from a stream of data for seeking through recorded data streams. Techniques disclosed herein can enable a faster and more efficient process by which a processor can seek from one point of time in a data stream to another point of time in that data stream to bring a played-back application to a desired point in time. A playback manager analyzes data events within a series of data events, which are recorded in a linear data structure. The playback manager creates a hierarchical data structure for storing the data events to provide logically grouped storage of data events in addition to the linear data structure. The playback manager stores the data events in the hierarchical data structure based on type of data event and based on timestamps associated with each respective data event.

Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein include systems and methods that enable a relatively large number of users to connect to a collaborative communication application with a comparatively lower investment in service hardware (CPU, network) while still providing identification of contributing client devices. Techniques disclosed herein can also include systems and methods that enable an application developer to build higher-performing applications that reduce a computational load for client devices. A session manager, for a collaborative service session, provides selective transmission of user records on an as-needed basis, and thus avoids sending user records until those records are actually needed or requested, typically as a result of a user's active participation within the collaboration environment. The session manager thus reveals the presence of connected users on-demand, thereby saving CPU and network resources, and allowing collaborative applications to more easily scale into the tens of thousands of users.

Abstract: Approaches for progressively unlocking e-book content are provided wherein access is granted to a first set of e-books, wherein the first set is a subset of a second set of e-books to which access is restricted. Data is received indicating that one of the e-books in the first set has been read, and then it is determined whether access to an e-book in the second set should be granted. If so, access to an e-book in the second set is granted, wherein the e-book in the second set is chosen based upon an analysis of previously-read e-books in the first set.

Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein include systems and methods for indexing data events from a stream of data for seeking through recorded data streams. Techniques disclosed herein can enable a faster and more efficient process by which a processor can seek from one point of time in a data stream to another point of time in that data stream to bring a played-back application to a desired point in time. A playback manager analyzes data events within a series of data events, which are recorded in a linear data structure. The playback manager creates a hierarchical data structure for storing the data events to provide logically grouped storage of data events in addition to the linear data structure. The playback manager stores the data events in the hierarchical data structure based on type of data event and based on timestamps associated with each respective data event.

Abstract: A display application can be configured to provide a visual indication associating a dialog box (that was not invoked for display by a user) to a user selectable source on a display screen. In such circumstances, because the dialog box was not actually invoked based on actions of by the user, the user may be unaware of how to invoke redisplay of the dialog box. The visual indication (e.g., a highlighting of a path between the dialog box and a user selectable source such as an icon) produced by the display application teaches a user of a location of the selectable source so that the user can select the selectable source at a future point in time and redisplay the window.