Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a method for securing a partner service. The method can include receiving a request, wherein the request comprises a unique value, to access the partner service, wherein the request is received from a browser client for a partner application and determining that a user is authorized to access the partner application, the partner application generating a token that associates the user with the partner application. The method can also include generating a signature for the token, the signature to enable the partner service to independently regenerate the signature, the token comprising an identifier for the partner application enabling the partner service to detect which partner application generates the token and sending the token with the signature to the browser client.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a method for securing a partner service. The method can include receiving a request, wherein the request comprises a unique value, to access the partner service, wherein the request is received from a browser client for a partner application and determining that a user is authorized to access the partner application, the partner application generating a token that associates the user with the partner application. The method can also include generating a signature for the token, the signature to enable the partner service to independently regenerate the signature, the token comprising an identifier for the partner application enabling the partner service to detect which partner application generates the token and sending the token with the signature to the browser client.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a method for securing a partner-enabled web service. The method includes receiving a request to access the partner-enabled web service. The request is received from a browser client for a partner application. The browser client is associated with a user. Additionally, the method includes determining that the user is authorized to access the partner application. The method further includes generating a token that associates the user with the partner application. Also, the method includes sending the token to the browser client.

Abstract: The present invention outlines a genuine entity following system that also addresses data source limitation. When reviewing entity-related objects in web content, a web user designates one or more entities to follow in real time. More particularly, the present invention is directed through strategic deployment of a dynamic crawler upon selection of a “follow” pointer over an object in a web browser such that a web user can automatically designate entities to be followed and receive alerts at predetermined temporal intervals when new information regarding such designated entities becomes available. A web entity engine of the present invention is designed to discover trending entities at any given time while generating output activity (i.e., signal) streams for this entity.

Abstract: Systems and methods for social weighting of content items from a plurality of content sources, such as the Internet, are described. Disclosed implementations include, but are not limited to, receiving a search request from a user, retrieving content items related to the search request to obtain a number of results, weighting the results according to at least one social factor, and providing the weighted results in response to the request.

Abstract: The present invention outlines a genuine entity following system that also addresses data source limitation. When reviewing entity-related objects in web content, a web user designates one or more entities to follow in real time. More particularly, the present invention is directed through strategic deployment of a dynamic crawler upon selection of a “follow” pointer over an object in a web browser such that a web user can automatically designate entities to be followed and receive alerts at predetermined temporal intervals when new information regarding such designated entities becomes available. A web entity engine of the present invention is designed to discover trending entities at any given time while generating output activity (i.e., signal) streams for this entity.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a method for securing a partner-enabled web service. The method includes receiving a request to access the partner-enabled web service. The request is received from a browser client for a partner application. The browser client is associated with a user. Additionally, the method includes determining that the user is authorized to access the partner application. The method further includes generating a token that associates the user with the partner application. Also, the method includes sending the token to the browser client.

Abstract: One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed herein for identifying potentially fraudulent use of user generated content (UGC) for an online activity by a user. Server-based information and browser-based information associated with the user is identified and used to create a user signature. The user signature is associated with the UGC for the online activity in a cache-key. The cache-key is compared to a desired threshold for identifying potentially fraudulent use of the UGC for the online activity, where potential fraud may be detected if the cache key meets the desired threshold.

Abstract: A peer-to-peer auction based strategy balances the storage of data in a data center. Each cluster of the data center has a cluster manager and associated data storage nodes on which data is stored. The data storage nodes can periodically announce their respective utilization levels to other data storage nodes. If the announcing nodes are over capacity, the other nodes in the cluster respond by checking their utilization level and placing a bid if they are able to accept new data. Data is then relocated to one or more selected bidding nodes. If data cannot be balanced at the data storage node level, the cluster manager can identify nodes in other clusters that are able to accept new data. Multiple auctions for the same or different categories of data can be conducted at the same time by the data storage nodes and/or cluster managers.

Abstract: Data is relocated among data storage nodes in a data center by using distributed agents. An agent at a first data storage node manages the relocation of associated data to a second data storage node, as well as the relocation of a mirror copy of the data at a third data storage node to a fourth data storage node, by receiving status information, such as via a publish-subscribe technique. The first agent may provide an identifier with a relocation request to the third data storage node which is relayed to the fourth data storage node, and used in status messages provided by the third and fourth data storage nodes. The received status information is then associated with the relocation request. Agents for each pair of sending and receiving data storage nodes can monitor their availability for servicing the relocation to negotiate an acceptable transmission rate.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods and apparatus that facilitate the introduction of filters, converters and effects into an active multimedia stream without interruption of the presentation. A control module or sequence permits such introduction only after verifying the presence of a sufficient supply of buffered presentation data. Responding to a user's request for introduction of a filter, the invention first determines whether its immediate implementation would cause interruption, and either introduces the filter, converter or effect into the data stream as backlogged data continues to be presented, or postpones its introduction until sufficient buffered data does exist.

Abstract: Digitized audio information is compressed by retrieving a first audio sample from a digitized audio signal and storing it in its entire, uncompressed, form. The next audio sample is then retrieved and a signed difference between the first audio sample value and the next audio sample value is computed. If this difference value can be represented in fewer data segments than would be required to represent the next audio sample, the difference value is stored, rather than the value of the next sample, otherwise the next sample is stored. The invention proceeds in this fashion until the entire PCM audio signal is compressed and stored. The compressed data stream is decompressed to generate an output data stream by retrieving a stored sample and examining it to ascertain whether it is a difference value or a flag which indicates that the following data represents a coded amplitude value.

Abstract: A software reverberator system produces a sequence of "reverberated" samples from an input digital word sequence where each word in the input sequence comprises a digitized sample of an original analog audio signal. The invention generates the reverberated samples by adding together several scaled and delayed input words to produce a corresponding reverberated output word. The resulting reverberated output word stream can be converted to analog form in sequence to produce a reverberated version of the original audio signal. The delays are produced by clocking the input words through multi-stage first-in, first-out buffers with a number of stages selected to give the desired delay.