Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for maintaining a dynamic profile slice of a user profile of a user. In one embodiment, a real-time user-generated context of the user is monitored over time to accumulate keywords in the dynamic profile slice of the user that are representative of dynamic interests of the user. Weights are assigned to the keywords in the dynamic profile slice using a time and/or location weighting function.

Abstract: Systems and methods for presenting a content summary of a media item to a user based on a position within the media item are disclosed herein. According to an aspect, a method may include receiving identification of a position within a media item residing on an electronic device. For example, the identified position may be a bookmarked position within an e-book residing on an e-book reader. The method may also include generating a content summary for a portion of the media item based on the identified position. For example, an electronic device may dynamically generate a content summary based on content of the e-book that precedes a bookmarked position. The method may also include presenting the content summary to a user of the electronic device. For example, a display of an electronic device may be controlled to present a content summary to a reader of an e-book.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for processing a request for crowd data for a large geographic area. In one embodiment, a central system, which includes one or more servers, operates to obtain current locations for users of mobile devices and form crowds of three or more users based on the current locations of the users. In order to provide access to crowd data for crowds for a large geographic area, the central system receives a request for crowd data from a requesting device, establishes a bounding region for the request, and identifies one or more starting points within the bounding region for the request. Crowds are identified, crowd data for the crowds is generated, and the crowd data is returned to the requesting device in an iterative manner for a series of two or more outwardly radiating, concentric geographic regions centered at the one or more starting points.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for processing a request for crowd data for a large geographic area. In one embodiment, a central system, which includes one or more servers, operates to obtain current locations for users of mobile devices and form crowds of three or more users based on the current locations of the users. In order to provide access to crowd data for crowds for a large geographic area, the central system receives a request for crowd data from a requesting device, establishes a bounding region for the request, and identifies one or more starting points within the bounding region for the request. Crowds are identified, crowd data for the crowds is generated, and the crowd data is returned to the requesting device in an iterative manner for a series of two or more outwardly radiating, concentric geographic regions centered at the one or more starting points.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed to assist a caller and a callee in establishing successful telephonic communications. In embodiments of the systems and methods, a telephonic call set-up network node or a callee user device of the callee may receive a call set-up request to establish a telephonic call between the caller user device of the caller and the callee user device. If the call-set up request is determined to be unsuccessful, one or more proximate user devices nearby the callee user device may be identified. Another telephonic call may be induced, this time between the caller user device and one of the proximate user devices identified to be nearby the callee user device. In this manner, success telephonic communications may be established despite the callee not being able to answer the callee user device during the original telephonic call set-up request.

Abstract: Systems and methods for presenting a content summary of a media item to a user based on a position within the media item are disclosed herein. According to an aspect, a method may include receiving identification of a position within a media item residing on an electronic device. For example, the identified position may be a bookmarked position within an e-book residing on an e-book reader. The method may also include generating a content summary for a portion of the media item based on the identified position. For example, an electronic device may dynamically generate a content summary based on content of the e-book that precedes a bookmarked position. The method may also include presenting the content summary to a user of the electronic device. For example, a display of an electronic device may be controlled to present a content summary to a reader of an e-book.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems for associating contextual information with data identifying a geographic location. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication originating from the geographic location may be received at a computing device. In response to receiving the communication originating from the geographic location, the contextual information may be presented to the user.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems for initiating communications with contacts based on a communication specification. According to an aspect, a method may include receiving a communication specification. The communication specification may include identification of one or more contacts, a communication persistence parameter, a geographic location, an event, a date, and a communication channel. The method may also include determining one or more contacts based on the communication specification. Further, the method may include initiating multiple communications with the contacts via at least one communication channel. A communication channel may be a telephone call, an email, a text message, an instant message, and the like.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods for associating communication information with a geographic location-aware contact entry. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a method may include identifying a geographic location. The method may also include receiving a communication including identification information and originating from the geographic location. Further, the method may include associating the identification information with a contact entry.

Abstract: A media broker includes a communication interface communicatively coupling the media broker to one or more media storage devices and one or more renderers and a controller associated with the communication interface adapted to transmit a request for location information to one or more renderers, receive location information from each of the one or more renderers and determine, based upon the received location information, one or more viewing areas each comprising at least one of the one or more renderers. And then applying the media restrictions assigned to the renderers in those viewing areas, while still allowing media storage devices detected in any viewing area to record media of any rating.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for enabling an administrator to monitor and control usage of media content in a locale. In one embodiment, the locale includes one or more media devices that have access to media content from one or more local and/or remote content sources. Usage data defining usage of the media content by a user is obtained. A pattern including two or more media segments consumed by the user is detected based on the usage data and one or more predefined pattern detection rules. The administrator is then enabled to review the pattern and choose whether to block usage. Usage of at least one of the media segments included in the pattern is then blocked at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block usage of the at least one of the media segments included in the pattern.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for obtaining look-ahead segments for a streaming media item during playback such that the viewer can easily skip to the look-ahead segments without experiencing any substantial interruption or delay in playback. In general, a streaming media source begins streaming a media item to a streaming media client for playback. In one embodiment, the streaming media client selects one or more segments of the media item as one or more look-ahead segments to prefetch from the streaming media source. Then, while the media item is being streamed to the streaming media client for playback, the streaming media client prefetches the one or more look-ahead segments of the media item from the streaming media source. The look-ahead segments are thereafter utilized to enable the viewer to skip ahead in playback without experiencing a substantial interruption or delay in playback.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for maintaining a dynamic profile slice of a user profile of a user. In one embodiment, a real-time user-generated context of the user is monitored over time to accumulate keywords in the dynamic profile slice of the user that are representative of dynamic interests of the user. Weights are assigned to the keywords in the dynamic profile slice using a time and/or location weighting function.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a Wide Area Network (WAN) based home theater system. In one embodiment, a home theater at a subscriber premises includes multiple home theater components, which include multiple audio playback components and a video playback component. Each home theater component is enabled to receive data from and send data to a virtualized home theater service via a WAN. In operation, the virtualized home theater service processes multimedia content to provide a separate content stream for each home theater component. The virtualized home theater service also provides absolute playback timestamps for the media content streams. The absolute playback timestamps are preferably provided to substantially synchronize playback of the media content streams by the home theater components as well as to accommodate for network delays.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for providing a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for representing a reference item and a number of items of interest. In one embodiment, each item of interest is assigned to one of a number of concentric regions in a two-dimensional space based on one or more attributes of the item of interest. The concentric regions in the two-dimensional space are centered at a location in the two-dimensional space that corresponds to the reference item. A GUI is then generated such that the GUI includes concentric display regions that correspond to the concentric regions in the two-dimensional space, where a select concentric display region provides an expanded view of the items of interest located within the corresponding region in the two-dimensional space and the remaining concentric display region(s) provide collapsed view(s) of the items of interest in the corresponding region(s) of the two-dimensional space.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a Wide Area Network (WAN) based home theater system. In one embodiment, a home theater at a subscriber premises includes multiple home theater components, which include multiple audio playback components and a video playback component. Each home theater component is enabled to receive data from and send data to a virtualized home theater service via a WAN. In operation, each home theater component receives an appropriate media content stream for the home theater component from the virtualized home theater service via the WAN and provides playback of the media content stream according to the absolute playback timestamps for the media content stream.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for linking and playing media content from one or more media items. Linking items may be stored with a plurality of other linking items and associated with one or more media items. The linking items define media fragments within the media items and media segments linked to the media items. By selecting linking items associated with a particular media item, a user can dynamically select the media segments linked to the media item.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for augmenting a user profile of a subject user. In general, the user profile of the subject user is augmented based on aggregate profile data for a group of users relevant to a current location of the subject user. In one embodiment, the group of users is a crowd of users currently located at a location that is relevant to the current location of the subject user. In another embodiment, the group of users is a number of users historically, or previously, located at locations relevant to the current location of the subject user.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for automatically performing user actions at a device based on a context of the user device. In one embodiment, user actions taken by a user of a user device and corresponding contexts of the user device at times at which the user actions were taken are monitored to detect context-to-user-action correlations. Each context-to-user-action correlation defines a context of the user device and a user action historically taken by the user of the user device for when the device is in that context. Subsequently, a current context of the user device is obtained and compared to the stored context-to-user-action correlations to identify a matching context-to-user-action correlation. The user device then automatically performs the user action that is correlated to the current context as defined by the matching context-to-user-action correlation.

Abstract: A system and computer implemented method of distributed audience feedback of media content in real time or substantially real time, including: semantically analyzing, at a semantic speech analysis engine, media content from a media program and identifying relevant topic data; distributing, at a topic data publisher, the identified relevant topic data to an audience of the media program; collecting, at a server, audience opinions on the identified relevant topic data; and processing the collected audience opinions. Other embodiments are disclosed.