Abstract: An application determines a colorization strategy for its graphical user interface according to colors of an input image. In particular, given one or more colors from the input image, and a plurality of elements of the graphical user interface, the colors for the elements of the graphical user interface are selected.

Abstract: Embodiments provide systems and methods for activating applications in a distributed asynchronous system based on detecting touches on a display.

Abstract: The manner of presenting a user interface of an application may be significant in many respects. A user interface may be suitable only for some devices (e.g., buttons may be selectable by a pointer, but not on a touch-sensitive display; textboxes may appear too large or too small on different displays), and may satisfy only some user interactions (e.g., a map interface may be usable on a laptop by a stationary user, but not usable in a vehicle while the user is driving). Presented herein are techniques for automatically generating a user interface that is adapted both for the interaction component properties of the device, and the interaction criteria of the user interaction with the user interface. A device may choose the presentation of each element of a user interface based on such information, and generate a user interface matching both the device and the user interaction with the application.

Abstract: In many computing scenarios, a computing environment of a device may present applications through various presentation components, such as displays, speakers, and headphones. However, navigating among the applications currently presented within the computing environment may be difficult for the user; e.g., for a device presenting many applications on many displays that share an application stack, the application that the user wishes to select may be buried deep within the shared application stack. In accordance with the techniques presented herein, the device may generate an application presentation history for each presentation component, indicating applications that have previously been presented through the presentation component.

Abstract: A user may interact with several devices of a device collection, and may utilize each device in a particular user context, such as driving a vehicle; relaxing at home; and attending meetings in a public location. The user may configure each device according to the user context of the user's interaction with the device. However, devices that are uninformed of the user context of the user's interaction with the device cannot adapt to the user context. Instead, a primary device of the device collection may detect various properties of each auxiliary device of the device collection and determine the user context of the user interaction with the auxiliary device. The primary device transmits to each auxiliary device, for presentation to the user, a user interface with elements of the computing environment adapted according to the user context of the user interaction of the user with the device.

Abstract: One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for providing interactive text preview. For example, a primary device (e.g., a smart phone) establishes a communication channel with a secondary device (e.g., a television). The primary device projects an application interface, of an application hosted on the primary device, to a secondary display of the secondary device. An interrogation connection is established with a text entry canvas of the application interface. The primary device listens through the interrogation connection to identify text input data directed towards the text entry canvas. An interactive text preview interface, populated with textual information derived from the text input data, is displayed on a primary display of the primary device. In this way, the user may naturally preview text entry through the primary device (e.g., and does not have to look up to the television to see what is being typed).

Abstract: Various models may enable a first device to share a device resource with a second device in various contexts, such as sharing computing sessions via terminal services; sharing displays via display mirroring; and sharing input components across devices. However, such techniques often utilize ad hoc sharing models that depend on configuration and/or administrative access of each device; limit the capabilities of such sharing; and/or exhibit security concerns. Instead, a target device may advertise an availability of a target device resource. A host device may request the target device to lend the target device resource to the computing environment of the host device. The target device may reserve the target device resource for the host device, which may then integrate the target device resource into the host computing environment. The model may enable the user to utilize resources even from target devices that the user is not otherwise permitted to use.

Abstract: Multi-display computing environments are often represented as a unified coordinate space, where each display presents application views within a coordinate region. Such arrangements may enable features such as application views that span multiple displays, but such features may not appeal to users. Additionally, such representations may complicate the application of layouts to particular displays while maintaining relationships among application views. Instead, a view management architecture may generate a user interface collection comprising, for respective displays, an arrangement of view entries for respective views presented on the display. Entries for new views may be added to the arrangement for a particular display, and may be contained within an application container encapsulating all views of an application on the display.

Abstract: In many computing scenarios, a user of a primary device may wish to incorporate an auxiliary device in the presentation of an application. Such incorporation may involve a terminal services session that projects the computing environment of the primary device onto the auxiliary device; mirroring the computing environment of the primary device through the auxiliary device; and/or utilizing applications that interoperate with client applications executing on the second device. However, such techniques may not fully reflect the properties of each device, and/or may only apply to particular applications and/or configurations.

Abstract: A user may interact with a collection of devices that each exhibit particular device properties. Where each device executes and presents an isolated computing environment, inconsistencies may arise in the user interaction by the user with different devices. Alternatively, a terminal server may present a computing environment to various auxiliary devices, but such presentation may fail to utilize some device properties of some devices, and/or may present a computing environment that is not suitable for some devices. Instead, a primary device of the device collection may adapt a primary computing environment to an auxiliary computing environment for each auxiliary device, based upon its device properties. Upon receiving a request to execute an application, the primary device may execute the application within the auxiliary computing environment, and may adapt the application based upon the device properties. The primary device may stream each auxiliary computing environment to the respective auxiliary device.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to providing an application model to deploy and manage composite applications and to providing model-driven software coding assistance. In an embodiment, a computer system instantiates an application design interface that is configured to display composite application components and relationships between the components. Each component includes information specifying how communication is to be conducted with the component. The computer system accesses an application manifest that includes the components and component relationships of the application. The computer system displays the composite application's components and component relationships in the instantiated visual application design interface according to the application manifest.

Abstract: Example apparatus and methods concern a first device (e.g., phone, tablet) controlling what is displayed on both the first device and on a second device (e.g., television, computer). The first device may detect the second device and establish a communication link and a context (e.g. control relationship) between the first and second device. The first device may provide an output (e.g., browser, movie) to be displayed on the second device. The first device may also provide a cursor to be displayed on the second device. In response to an action (e.g., touch, gesture) on the first device, an application running on the first device may be controlled, which may in turn determine what is displayed on the second display. The action on the first device may be related to positioning or responding to the cursor in relation to the output displayed on the second device.

Abstract: An application determines a colorization strategy for its graphical user interface according to colors of an input image. In particular, given one or more colors from the input image, and a plurality of elements of the graphical user interface, the colors for the elements of the graphical user interface are selected.

Abstract: The techniques and systems described herein present various examples of a settings analytics component which provides for different ways to create a customized control settings panel for a user to modify system or application control settings. For example, in an environment where a user of a computing device with an operating system allows user configuration of system control settings, the settings analytics component may track and store user behaviors in regard to the modification of system control settings. The settings analytics component may then base the creation of a customized control settings panel on the tracked and stored user behaviors in regard to the modification of system control settings.

Abstract: An application determines a colorization strategy for its graphical user interface according to colors of an input image. In particular, given one or more colors from the input image, and a plurality of elements of the graphical user interface, the colors for the elements of the graphical user interface are selected.

Abstract: The generation and/or use of a hierarchical structure of model elements such as those that might be portions of a computer program. If it is determined that if a particular one of the model elements should be changed from one model element type to another model element type, that change is automatically made. The determination of whether the change should be made may be based on monitoring of actual behavior of the software program. The determination might alternatively be made based on expressed gestures of an author using an authoring program that visualizes the hierarchical structure of model elements.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for assigning type parameters. Embodiments of the invention permit using a visual editor to edit arbitrary object instances in a graphical fashion. Instances of generic types can be manipulated to change the type parameters for that generic (to be able to change a List<Customer> to a List<Product>, for instance). Values are preserved and data can be patched to other dependent nodes in an object hierarchy.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to interpreting declarative program types at runtime without compiling and mapping between a declarative type and a dynamic runtime type. A computer system accesses a portion of a declarative program, where the declarative program includes fully modeled activity types. The computer system dynamically constructs a dynamic activity type based on one of the fully modeled activity types of the declarative program, where the dynamic activity type is configured for interpretive execution without compilation. The computer system also interpretively executes the dynamically constructed dynamic activity type such that the dynamic activity is executed without compilation.

Abstract: A graphical user interface is output for presentation by a graphical display device. The graphical user interface includes visual aspects of a time-based media content item having a playback axis, and a seek bar having a position along the playback axis. The position of the seek bar along the playback axis indicates a current playback position of the time-based media content item. The seek bar extends perpendicular to the playback axis over the visual aspects of the time-based media content item. A drag command representing a user input directed at the seek bar is received. The drag command is characterized by a drag path. The current playback position of the time-based media content item is moved based on the drag path.

Abstract: An application determines a colorization strategy for its graphical user interface according to colors of an input image. In particular, given one or more colors from the input image, and a plurality of elements of the graphical user interface, the colors for the elements of the graphical user interface are selected.