Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product discover relationships among items and recommend items based on the discovered relationships. The recommendations provided by the present invention are based on user profiles that take into account actual preferences of users, without requiring users to complete questionnaires. An improved binomial log likelihood ratio analysis technique is applied, to reduce adverse effects of overstatement of coincidence and predominance of best sellers. The invention may be used, for example, to generate track lists for a personalized radio station.

Abstract: A password authentication mechanism is capable of determining whether a password has expired without referring to a database or other information repository. Additional information can be encoded in the password without unduly lengthening the password, so that the additional information can be extracted from the password when the user provides the password for authentication purposes. Thus, the password serves as an information-carrying data item as well as acting as an authentication mechanism. Such a password can be used, for example, to provide time-limited access to a vehicle in response to receipt of timely payment, and to disable the vehicle if payment is not made.

Abstract: A password authentication mechanism is capable of determining whether a password has expired without referring to a database or other information repository. Additional information can be encoded in the password without unduly lengthening the password, so that the additional information can be extracted from the password when the user provides the password for authentication purposes. Thus, the password serves as an information-carrying data item as well as acting as an authentication mechanism. Such a password can be used, for example, to provide time-limited access to a vehicle in response to receipt of timely payment, and to disable the vehicle if payment is not made.

Abstract: A password authentication mechanism is capable of determining whether a password has expired without referring to a database or other information repository. Additional information can be encoded in the password without unduly lengthening the password, so that the additional information can be extracted from the password when the user provides the password for authentication purposes. Thus, the password serves as an information-carrying data item as well as acting as an authentication mechanism. Such a password can be used, for example, to provide time-limited access to a vehicle in response to receipt of timely payment, and to disable the vehicle if payment is not made.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product discover relationships among items and recommend items based on the discovered relationships. The recommendations provided by the present invention are based on user profiles that take into account actual preferences of users, without requiring users to complete questionnaires. An improved binomial log likelihood ratio analysis technique is applied, to reduce adverse effects of overstatement of coincidence and predominance of best sellers. The invention may be used, for example, to generate track lists for a personalized radio station.

Abstract: A recommendation system and method uses data structured according to an indicator-based recommendation paradigm. Items to be considered for recommendation are stored in a text retrieval system, along with associated meta-data such as title and description. To these conventional characteristics are added additional characteristics known as indicators which are derived from an analysis of the usage of the system by users. This indicator-based system provides a more robust recommendation system that is able to capture a greater depth and variety of real-world relationships among items, and is able to handle p-adic systems and systems with ternary or higher relations.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product allow users to skip and/or to fast-forward through media items such as songs, while limiting the extent to which skipping is allowed in order to maintain conformance with sound performance complement restrictions such as those specified by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If the user requests a skip that may result in a DMCA violation, the skip is disallowed and the request is denied. Playlists are constructed so that the sound recording performance complement limitations are applied to a longer time period than the period specified in the DMCA, the longer time period being defined by adding an “excess time” to the normal DMCA period. If the user attempts to skip a song or song portion that would cause the aggregated skipped amount to exceed the excess time, the skip is disallowed.

Abstract: Improved techniques for enhancing, associating, and linking various sources of metadata for music files, to allow integration of commercially generated metadata with user-entered metadata, and to ensure that metadata provided to the user is of the highest quality and accuracy available, even when the metadata comes from disparate sources having different levels of credibility. The invention further provides improved techniques for identifying approximate matches when querying metadata databases, and also provides improved techniques for accepting user submissions of metadata, for categorizing user submissions according to relative credibility, and for integrating user submissions with existing metadata.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product discover relationships among items and recommend items based on the discovered relationships. The recommendations provided by the present invention are based on user profiles that take into account actual preferences of users, without requiring users to complete questionnaires. An improved binomial log likelihood ratio analysis technique is applied, to reduce adverse effects of overstatement of coincidence and predominance of best sellers. The invention may be used, for example, to generate track lists for a personalized radio station.

Abstract: Improved techniques for enhancing, associating, and linking various sources of metadata for music files, to allow integration of commercially generated metadata with user-entered metadata, and to ensure that metadata provided to the user is of the highest quality and accuracy available, even when the metadata comes from disparate sources having different levels of credibility. The invention further provides improved techniques for identifying approximate matches when querying metadata databases, and also provides improved techniques for accepting user submissions of metadata, for categorizing user submissions according to relative credibility, and for integrating user submissions with existing metadata.

Abstract: Files are divided into parts and at least some of the parts are transmitted to a client using a communication channel. At least some of the transmitted parts are cached locally. This allows subsequent streaming playback of the file while using less bandwidth by transmitting the part of the file that hasn't been cached, and combining the cached parts with the transmitted parts. In some embodiments, files may be represented at a low quality level by a first data set, and at higher quality levels with additional data sets. Data sets are cached locally, so that during subsequent streaming playback of the file, the quality level of the playback may be improved by sending additional data sets using bandwidth that would otherwise be dedicated to transmitting the cached data sets.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product retrieve information associated with the signals. The information retrieval can be performed on a signal by quantizing the signal, forming words, and indexing based on weights of the words. The words are formed by grouping letters together to form a number of words within predetermined threshold values. The weights of the words are determined using a binomial log likelihood ratio analysis. The present invention may be applied to identification of an unknown song.

Abstract: Improved techniques for enhancing, associating, and linking various sources of metadata for music files, to allow integration of commercially generated metadata with user-entered metadata, and to ensure that metadata provided to the user is of the highest quality and accuracy available, even when the metadata comes from disparate sources having different levels of credibility. The invention further provides improved techniques for identifying approximate matches when querying metadata databases, and also provides improved techniques for accepting user submissions of metadata, for categorizing user submissions according to relative credibility, and for integrating user submissions with existing metadata.

Abstract: A password authentication mechanism is capable of determining whether a password has expired without referring to a database or other information repository. Additional information can be encoded in the password without unduly lengthening the password, so that the additional information can be extracted from the password when the user provides the password for authentication purposes. Thus, the password serves as an information-carrying data item as well as acting as an authentication mechanism. Such a password can be used, for example, to provide time-limited access to a vehicle in response to receipt of timely payment, and to disable the vehicle if payment is not made.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product allow users to skip and/or to fast-forward through media items such as songs, while limiting the extent to which skipping is allowed in order to maintain conformance with sound performance complement restrictions such as those specified by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If the user requests a skip that may result in a DMCA violation, the skip is disallowed and the request is denied. Playlists are constructed so that the sound recording performance complement limitations are applied to a longer time period than the period specified in the DMCA, the longer time period being defined by adding an “excess time” to the normal DMCA period. If the user attempts to skip a song or song portion that would cause the aggregated skipped amount to exceed the excess time, the skip is disallowed.

Abstract: Improved techniques for enhancing, associating, and linking various sources of metadata for music files, to allow integration of commercially generated metadata with user-entered metadata, and to ensure that metadata provided to the user is of the highest quality and accuracy available, even when the metadata comes from disparate sources having different levels of credibility. The invention further provides improved techniques for identifying approximate matches when querying metadata databases, and also provides improved techniques for accepting user submissions of metadata, for categorizing user submissions according to relative credibility, and for integrating user submissions with existing metadata.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product allow users to skip and/or to fast-forward through media items such as songs, while limiting the extent to which skipping is allowed in order to maintain conformance with sound performance complement restrictions such as those specified by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If the user requests a skip that may result in a DMCA violation, the skip is disallowed and the request is denied. Playlists are constructed so that the sound recording performance complement limitations are applied to a longer time period than the period specified in the DMCA, the longer time period being defined by adding an “excess time” to the normal DMCA period. If the user attempts to skip a song or song portion that would cause the aggregated skipped amount to exceed the excess time, the skip is disallowed.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product perform text equivalencing. The text equivalencing is performed by modifying a string of characters by applying a set of heuristics, comparing the modified strings of characters to known strings of characters. If a match is found, the text equivalencing engine performs database update and exits. If no match is found, sub-strings are formed by grouping together frequently occurring sets of characters. An information retrieval technique is performed on the sub-strings to determine equivalent text.

Abstract: Predictive modeling of consumer financial behavior, including determination of likely responses to particular marketing efforts, is provided by application of consumer transaction data to predictive models associated with merchant segments. The merchant segments are derived from the consumer transaction data based on co-occurrences of merchants in sequences of transactions. Merchant vectors represent specific merchants, and are aligned in a vector space as a function of the degree to which the merchants co-occur more or less frequently than expected. Supervised segmentation is applied to merchant vectors to form the merchant segments. Merchant segment predictive models provide predictions of spending in each merchant segment for any particular consumer, based on previous spending by the consumer. Consumer profiles describe summary statistics of each consumer's spending in the merchant segments, and across merchant segments.

Abstract: Predictive modeling of consumer financial behavior, including determination of likely responses to particular marketing efforts, is provided by application of consumer transaction data to predictive models associated with merchant segments, which are derived from the consumer transaction data based on co-occurrences of merchants in sequences of transactions. Merchant vectors represent specific merchants, and are aligned in a vector space as a function of the degree to which the merchants co-occur. Supervised segmentation is applied to merchant vectors to form merchant segments. Merchant segment predictive models provide predictions of spending in each merchant segment for any particular consumer, based on previous spending by the consumer. Consumer profiles describe summary statistics of each consumer's spending in the merchant segments, and across merchant segments. Consumer profiles include consumer vectors derived as summary vectors of selected merchants patronized by the consumer.