Abstract: Techniques for assessing the cost of allocation of execution and affecting the allocation of execution are disclosed. The cost of allocation of execution to or between a first computing device (e.g., a mobile device) and one or more computing resource providers (e.g., one or more Clouds) can be determined during runtime of the executable code. It will be appreciated that a computing system can operate independently of the first computing device and one or more computing resource providers and provide execution allocation cost assessment as a service to the first computing device and/or one or more computing resource providers. Execution allocation cost can be assessed (or determined) based on execution allocation data pertaining to the first computing device and/or one or more computing resource providers. By way of example, power consumption of a mobile device can be used as a factor in determining how to allocate individual components of an application program (e.g.

Abstract: Techniques for extending the capabilities of computing environments and/or systems are disclosed. A scalable and dynamic external computing resource can be used in order to effectively extend the internal computing capabilities of a computing environment or system. The scalable and dynamic external computing resource can provide computing resources that far exceed the internal computing resources, and provide the services as needed, and in a dynamic manner at execution time. As a result, a computing device may function with relatively limited and/or reduced computing resources (e.g., processing power, memory) but have the ability to effectively provide as much computing services as may be needed, and provide the services when needed, on demand, and dynamically during the execution time.

Abstract: System and method for performing Collaborative Filtering while preserving complete user anonymity are provided. Each of a group of client devices sends a rating vector anonymously to a server. The cells in each rating vector correspond to a set of items, and selected cells have ratings provided by the user associated with the corresponding client device for the corresponding items. The server aggregates all the rating vectors into a rating matrix, and factorizes the rating matrix into a user feature matrix and an item feature matrix through approximation, such that the rating matrix equals the product of the user feature matrix and the item feature matrix. The item feature matrix is sent to the client devices. Each of the client devices calculates its own user feature vector based on its rating vector and the item feature matrix, and provides personalized recommendations on selected items based on the client's user feature vector and the item feature matrix.

Abstract: A computing system creates and stores semantic metadata on content, such as videos, that enables efficient searching of the content. The existing metadata of a video file, for example, is examined and a keyword list is created. The processes used to derive the keyword list may depend on the type and format of the existing metadata. The keywords from the list are compared against external structured knowledge data sources that are topic oriented. Based on these comparisons and the matches found, semantic data, including topic, topic type, and attribute data are inserted into a topic table. This uniform and structured table is stored on the computing system and is efficiently searchable for finding relevant videos and for finding relationships between videos.

Abstract: A method and system for providing information related to content accessed by a user of an electronic device is provided. An implementation involves determining content of interest to the user for access via an electronic device; obtaining metadata for said content; prefetching information related to said metadata; upon detecting availability of further metadata for said content, pre-fetching additional information related to said further metadata; and upon access to the content by the user via the electronic device, selectively providing the prefetched information to the user.

Abstract: A method and system for facilitating access to content on an electronic device is provided. Facilitating access involves maintaining a temporal log of metadata for content accessed by one or more users, segregated based on time slots; searching the log to detect a pattern related to the metadata for one or more times slots; and constructing a temporal usage profile based on the pattern. The temporal usage profile may be used for recommending appropriate content to a user at an appropriate time.

Abstract: In a first embodiment, first information regarding an object in a virtual world is received from a virtual world client. The first information is stored in a database. Second information regarding the object is received from a second virtual world client. The second information is then also stored in the database. In a second embodiment, a request is received from a virtual world client. Then a database is searched based on the request and based on tags corresponding to virtual world objects, wherein the tags are stored in the database, wherein the searching returns one or more tagged virtual world objects. Then the one or more tagged virtual world objects are sent to the virtual world client.

Abstract: Various methods for combining ClipRank and Collaborative Filtering are provided. According to one embodiment, the ClipRank weights associated with a plurality of pieces of media content are calculated based on the relationships among the plurality of pieces of media content and a plurality of users. Those pieces having ClipRank weights greater than or equal to a predefined weight threshold are selected from the plurality of pieces of media content to obtain a plurality of selected pieces of media content. Collaborative Filtering is then performed on the plurality of selected pieces of media content and the plurality of users. According to another embodiment, Collaborative Filtering on a plurality of pieces of media content and a plurality of users is performed for one of the plurality of users.

Abstract: A media device suitable for playing video content including television programming is provided. The media device comprises a device usage monitor configured to substantially automatically monitor selected usage information related to video content that is played on the media device; a rating engine configured to substantially automatically generate content ratings for specific video content that has been played by the media device, wherein the content ratings are based at least in part of the usage information; and a user interface suitable for presenting a plurality of content channels to the user, wherein at least some of the presented channels are personalized channels that include video content that is selected based at least in part on the content ratings generated by the rating engine.

Abstract: System and method for automatically rating the content of video media based on video operations performed on a media device and in reference to a plurality of rating rules are provided. Usage of the media device is continuously monitored and user actions with respect to operating the video media on the media device are automatically logged. Each rating rule includes a device usage pattern with respect to operating videos on the media device and a rating action indicating adjustments to content ratings of the videos based upon characteristics described by the device usage pattern that are inferred from the recorded user inputted video control operations. When the device usage pattern of a rating rule is inferred from one or more user actions operating a piece of video media directly on the media device, the content rating of the piece of video media is adjusted based on the rating rule.

Abstract: A method of ranking a plurality pieces of media content is provided. Each of the plurality pieces of media content has at least one relationship with at least one of a plurality of users. Each of the plurality of users has at least one relationship with at least one of the plurality pieces of media content. Each of the plurality pieces of media content is associated with a weight, each of the plurality of users is associated with a weight, and each relationship is associated with a weight. For each of the plurality pieces of media content and each of the plurality of users, recursively calculating and updating the weight associated with the piece of media content or the user until a difference between the weights associated with the plurality pieces of media content and the plurality of users calculated during a current iteration and the weights associated with the plurality pieces of media content and the plurality of users calculated during a previous iteration is less than a predefined threshold.

Abstract: A method and system for accessing audio/visual content is provided. Such access involves initiating a download of selected content over a communication link, for display on a display device, and monitoring the download status to detect download conditions that may lead to a delay in the display of the selected content. Then, upon detecting download conditions that may lead to delay in display of the selected content, displaying alternate available content on the display device.

Abstract: A method and system for access to content is provided. Providing access to content involves constructing a smart channel that facilitates adaptive content selection, identifying known content matching the smart channel content selection, performing a smart channel query to discover new content that is related to the known content, and prefetching newly discovered relevant content from a content space. The content includes video content for display on a display such as a TV.

Abstract: A method and system for providing access to information via a supplementary device is provided. User access to primary information via a primary device is monitored. Key information related to the primary content is obtained by extracting and analyzing metadata sources for the primary information. Then, supplementary information related to the primary information is obtained based on the key information. The supplementary information is provided for user access via the supplementary device.

Abstract: A method and a system for facilitating information searching for a user of an electronic device, is provided. Search facilitation involves forming a query to search for information related to the user activity on the electronic device; resolving the query by searching available sources including one or more external sources for the related information; receiving an event indicating availability of related information; and providing the related information to the user.

Abstract: A method and system for facilitating information searching for a user of an electronic device is provided. Facilitating searches involves obtaining information about the user interests, identifying potential data of interest to the user, extracting data related to said data of interest to the user, and collecting the extracted related data for presentation to the user on the device.

Abstract: A broadcast system architecture implementing a method for distributing data for a multi-user application (e.g., a shared virtual world) between client systems. Included are a plurality of server systems communicatively coupled in a network and a digital broadcast source. A first group, a second group and a third group of client systems are communicatively coupled to the server systems, wherein a client system is coupled to a single server system. The first group and second group of client systems execute a partition of the multi-user application. Data are forwarded from a client system in the first group of the client systems to a first server system, wherein the data represent a change to the partition executed by the client system. The data are forwarded from the first server system to other server systems, wherein the other server systems each comprise at least one client system that interfaces with the partition.

Abstract: A method and system for automatically allocating bandwidth on a network bus in an audio/visual network. The present invention implements an intelligent process to automatically make adequate bus bandwidth available when a request for a connection (e.g., a communication channel used to transfer data) between a source device and a sink device is received. First, the present invention determines whether a communication channel is already allocated to the source device, and if so, the connection between the source device and the sink device is made using an overlay of the existing communication channel. Otherwise, the present invention compares the required bus bandwidth capacity for the source device with the available bus bandwidth capacity. Using voluntary and forced load shedding techniques, the present invention deallocates bus bandwidth capacity allocated to one or more of the devices on the audio/visual network if the available bus bandwidth capacity is less than the required bus bandwidth capacity.

Abstract: A method and system for modifying the look and feel of a user interface of a broadcast application program without altering the broadcast application program. In one embodiment, user interfaces are represented as a hierarchical scene including a background and several components. Within an electronic network, broadcast applications can become resident, e.g., land, on a vendor's device within the network where the device has the ability to display a user interface. The present invention provides a set of mattes that can be used to modify the visual presentation of the user interface of a broadcast application without altering the broadcast application. In this way, the vendor of the device can have some level of control regarding the way in which user interfaces are displayed on the device. Each matte controls the way in which an associated component of the user interface is displayed and how the component is combined with other components.

Abstract: A method and system for communicating state information for a target consumer electronic device in a home network to multiple controller devices, where the controller devices are each implementing a controller software element that conforms to a different protocol than the other. The target consumer electronic device is represented within the home network by a target software element. A first controller software element conforming to a data driven interaction (DDI) protocol accesses the target software element. A second controller software element conforming to a protocol different from the DDI protocol concurrently accesses the target software element. The first controller software element and the second controller software element cause a change in state of the consumer electronic device. The target software element notifies the first controller software element and the second controller software element of the state information for the target consumer electronic device.