Abstract: Electronic reading devices provide readers with text on a display, and enhancements to their functionality and efficiency are discussed herein. Text is provided to the reader in an enhanced contrast mode that highlights the active word and line of the text as well as words of interest in the text so as to improve the functionality of the electronic reading device itself as a provider of textual content.

Abstract: An image of an eye is obtained via a camera. A multi-step filter is applied to the image for multiple iterations. Applying the multi-step filter includes, for each iteration, performing one or more pixel merge operations on the image. The pixel merge operations are controlled based on one or more input parameters to control whether or not the iteration classifies pixels of the image as corresponding to a feature of the eye. The one or more input parameters vary from at least one iteration to another. The iterations each output a provisional output, in which some pixels of the image are deemed as corresponding to the feature of the eye. The provisional outputs provide diverse definitions of the eye feature, and may be combined in various ways to yield a refined output, in which some pixels of the image are deemed as corresponding to the feature of the eye.

Abstract: Electronic reading devices provide readers with text on a display, and enhancements to their functionality and efficiency are discussed herein. Text is provided to the reader in an enhanced contrast mode that highlights the active word and line of the text as well as words of interest in the text so as to improve the functionality of the electronic reading device itself as a provider of textual content.

Abstract: Conditional determination of glyph substitution (GSUB) lookups or glyph positioning (GPOS) lookups in the process of rendering a string of text as a sequence of glyphs is described. A process can include receiving a string of text comprising a sequence of characters, obtaining a sequence of glyph identifiers (IDs) corresponding to the sequence of characters, and determining that a context of the string of text satisfies a condition. Based at least in part on the context satisfying the condition, an alternate lookup can be determined and executed in lieu of a default lookup. Execution of the alternate lookup causes a GSUB operation or a GPOS operation to be performed on the sequence of glyph IDs to ultimately cause the string of text to be rendered on a display as a sequence of glyphs with a typographical feature applied thereto.

Abstract: An image of an eye is obtained via a camera. A multi-step filter is applied to the image for multiple iterations. Applying the multi-step filter includes, for each iteration, performing one or more pixel merge operations on the image. The pixel merge operations are controlled based on one or more input parameters to control whether or not the iteration classifies pixels of the image as corresponding to a feature of the eye. The one or more input parameters vary from at least one iteration to another. The iterations each output a provisional output, in which some pixels of the image are deemed as corresponding to the feature of the eye. The provisional outputs provide diverse definitions of the eye feature, and may be combined in various ways to yield a refined output, in which some pixels of the image are deemed as corresponding to the feature of the eye.

Abstract: A display system comprises a display and a controller operatively coupled to the display. The controller is configured to receive text, parse the text to isolate a segment of the text, compute a time interval for display of the segment, present the segment on the display during the computed time interval, remove the segment from the display following the computed time interval, and repeat the parsing computing, presenting, and removing, for subsequent segments of the text.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for invoking a limited or "fail-safe" functionality from a computer system having a graphical user interface (GUI). In one aspect, a computer operating system having GUI functionality can be activated with two different sets of GUI features. Normally, the operating system provides a full complement of GUI features. Alternatively, the operating system provides a more limited set of GUI features. The operating system invokes the limited set of GUI features either in response to a user command, such as a keyboard function key pressed during the bootstrap loading sequence of the operating system, or automatically in response to a failure of an attempt by the computer system to load the normal complement of GUI functions. With the limited set of GUI features, the user of the computer can take advantage of the power of graphical user interfaces even when the computer system is not operating normally.