Abstract: A scene manager, in response to detecting user input indicating an obscured window may initiate transparency assisted window focus and selection. The scene manager may cause the obscured window to be rendered fully opaque while causing any obscuring windows to be rendered highly, or at least partially, transparent allowing the contents of the obscured window to be at least partially visible through the transparent content of the obscuring windows. The scene manager may cause transparency-enabled applications to redraw obscuring windows to be highly transparent. Alternatively, the scene manager may utilize a graphics subsystem capable of rendering the obscuring windows highly transparent. The scene manager may be configured to cause obscuring windows to be rendered multiple times, each time with increasing levels of transparency so that the obscuring windows fade from opacity to transparency.

Abstract: Application boundary decomposition and dynamic grouping of application components may provide a user with a task-oriented, user-configurable, dynamic user interface. An operating system may include various individual application components and a user may be able to organize the application components to create custom task groupings for performing specific tasks. The components of a single task grouping may be displayed within a single task frame or border. Alternatively, the components may be displayed upon on the user's desktop without such a border along with other desktop icons. Application components may be dynamically rearranged, either by the user or automatically in response to user context changes or according to a priority relationship among the application components. Additionally, multiple application components may access a single shared copy of data and task groupings may be shared among different users using different computer systems.

Abstract: A method for recording media generated within a virtual world from user selectable locations that chosen by a participant of the virtual world without requiring a link with a location of their avatar. The media may be audio or video or still images generated or rendered within the virtual world. The method allows a user to insert independent movie recorders in a virtual world with the cameras associated with such recorders being independent from the avatar and each other. A virtual world generator may include a movie recorder module that allows a participant of the virtual world to insert a movie recorder into the world. The user may also change its position to selectively position a camera on the front portion of the movie recorder body and change the orientation of the movie recorder to allow the user to determine the scene within the world recorded by the camera.

Abstract: A system and method for communicating 3D branch graph data and updates to branch graph data between clients and a display server in a 3D window system. A client locally creates a branch graph. When the client ready to make the branch graph live remote, it sends the branch graph to the display server using at least one batch protocol request. The display server builds a copy of the branch graph and attaches it to a centralized scene graph that it manages. The client may subsequently induce detachment of the branch graph from the scene graph. The client may buffer up changes to the local branch graph when its remote counterpart (in the display server) is not attached to the scene graph. The buffered changes may be sent to the display server using at least one batch protocol request when the client is again ready to make the branch graph live remote.