Patents by Inventor Thomas Marcus McBride

Thomas Marcus McBride has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8667035
    Abstract: A filesystem conversion process converts a filesystem from one implementation type to another type while the filesystem remains active and fully accessible. The conversion process builds a list of directories in the filesystem that are of the old filesystem type and then converts each directory until the entire filesystem is converted. Instead of the filesystem being shutdown to perform the conversion, the conversion process may run as a background thread that does not interfere with normal filesystem operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis Steven DeLorme, Margaret Rose Fenlon, Robert Thaddeus Gintowt, Alan Leon Levering, Thomas Marcus McBride, Michael John Oberholtzer, Jeffrey John Parker, Richard Michael Theis, Jerry Leroy Von Berge
  • Patent number: 7840764
    Abstract: A logically-partitioned computer system provides support for multiple logical partitions to access a single file system, thereby allowing the logical partitions to share a file without the overhead of communicating over a VLAN. An area of shared memory is defined that multiple logical partitions may access. One or more file control blocks that control access to the files in the file system are then created in the shared memory. Existing mechanisms for locking a file system between processes may then be used across logical partitions to serialize access to the file system by all processes in all logical partitions that share the file system. In this manner the sharing of files in a file system is enabled by leveraging existing technology that is used within a single logical partition to extend across multiple logical partitions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Joseph Gimpl, Thomas Marcus McBride, Tammy Lynn Van Hove
  • Publication number: 20080126950
    Abstract: Method and computer program product for interacting with a website to obtain an electronic message (“e-mail”) address associated with the website's web address. A “smart reply” function is provided, optionally as part of a conventional web browser to provide a consistent user interface. The method includes identifying and obtaining an electronic message address that is associated with the web address, such as the URL in the browser address bar. Having identified a web address, steps are taken toward obtaining an associated e-mail address, preferably including searching a prioritized listing of sources from which an associated e-mail address may be found. These sources may include, without limitation, a database previously populated by the user, the website identified by the URL, the DNS, and a search engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2006
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Inventors: Patrick Leo Glenski, Thomas Marcus McBride, Michael Francis Moriarty
  • Patent number: 7337171
    Abstract: A logically-partitioned computer system provides support for multiple logical partitions to access a single file system, thereby allowing the logical partitions to share a file without the overhead of communicating over a VLAN. An area of shared memory is defined that multiple logical partitions may access. One or more file control blocks that control access to the files in the file system are then created in the shared memory. Existing mechanisms for locking a file system between processes may then be used across logical partitions to serialize access to the file system by all processes in all logical partitions that share the file system. In this manner the sharing of files in a file system is enabled by leveraging existing technology that is used within a single logical partition to extend across multiple logical partitions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Joseph Gimpl, Thomas Marcus McBride, Tammy Lynn Van Hove
  • Patent number: 5745766
    Abstract: A method for application registration and tracking for DOS and OS/2 software, independent of the mechanism in which the application is distributed and installed. The invention allows other application registration and tracking techniques to co-exist without affecting/impacting each other. This truly is an "open" packaging, registration and tracking invention which allows PC-software to be better managed in a network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Arnold H. Bramnick, Nathaniel Calvert, Thomas Marcus McBride, Arthur Frank Snyder, III, John Robert Ure