Abstract: An electronic commerce system provides various features for assisting customers in locating items and generating orders from a merchant's electronic catalog, and for assisting customers and merchants in communicating about such orders. A user-definable categories feature allows customers and/or merchants to define search queries for searching the electronic catalog, and to store these search queries under user-defined category names for subsequent use.

Abstract: Electronic devices may locate and test wireless networks that are available, and may establish connections with no or minimal user intervention. The electronic device may periodically transmit a datagram to a connection server, providing updated information as to the network address of the electronic device as well as maintaining a pathway through intervening network devices. The connection server may then initiate a connection via this pathway with the information provided in the datagram.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for utilizing a validity map to indicate whether an overwriting data portion of user data is received. In the method and apparatus, a plurality of data portions of user data are received, whereby each data portion of the plurality of data portion may overwrite another data portion. A validity map may be utilized to indicate whether a data portion is an overwriting data portion. The validity map may be utilized for retrieving the data portion instead of the data portion being replaced.

Abstract: Techniques are described for just-in-time variable adaptive encoding and delivery of media content. Fragments of media content are encoded at bitrates corresponding to available bandwidth of client devices. If the available bandwidth changes, the bitrate at which fragments are being encoded is adjusted to correspond with the changed bandwidth.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments that facilitate execution of applications through remotely emulated computing devices. An application is executed in a hosted environment. A video signal of the application is encoded into a media stream, which is sent to a client computing device. In various embodiments, access to data that is locally available to the client computing device is facilitated. In various embodiments, data related to the operation of the application is recorded.

Abstract: A system, method and computer-readable medium for client-side processing of resource identifiers. A client request for content is returned that includes information for generating a request for translation information and a number of embedded resource identifiers. Based on the information for generating a request for translation information, the client generates and obtains translation information and processes the embedded resource identifiers to obtain resources from a service provider.

Abstract: A hosted mobile management service is provided for enabling a user to access a centralized account through a user interface on a terminal in order to manage the user's media information, such as digital music and photos. Any modifications made by user through the user interface are transparently sent to the user's mobile device where a module receives such modification information and interacts with the mobile device to reconcile such modifications.

Abstract: Techniques for transferring printable content from a remote device to an eBook reader include exposing a network printer interface that represents the eBook reader as a physical network printer. The remote device can be configured with a printer driver corresponding to the network printer interface, and a user may print documents from the remote device in order to transfer them to the eBook reader.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are described for providing thinned manifests during a live event. As network usage of a regional internet service provider (ISP) or content delivery network (CDN) becomes unsustainable, new streaming sessions for a live event are provided a thinned manifest that does not have playback options for bitrates above a bitrate limit.

Abstract: Requests are pre-generated to include a cryptographic key to be used in fulfilling the requests. The requests may be encoded in uniform resource locators and may include authentication information to enable a service provider to whom the requests are submitted to determine whether the requests are authorized. The requests may be passed to various entities who can then submit the requests to the service provider. The service provider, upon receipt of a request, can verify the authentication information and fulfill the request using a cryptographic key encoded in the request.

Abstract: A storage controller is implemented for controlling a storage system. The storage controller may be implemented using a distributed computer system and may include components for servicing client data requests based on the characteristics of the distributed computer system, the client, or the data requests. The storage controller is scalable independently of the storage system it controls. All components of the storage controller, as well as the client, may be virtual or hardware-based instances of a distributed computer system.

Abstract: Objects in a content delivery network are modified at delivery to users. Individual content servers include copies of the content objects and receive requests from users for a copy of the object. The request includes a program from the content provider on how the content object is to be modified at delivery to the user. The program is executed on delivery of the object to provide the user with a modified content object. Modification can occur as the content is delivered from the content server to the user.

Abstract: Adding interactive objects to content having a timeline at user-identified positions in the timeline. During subsequent rendering of the content, the interactive objects are presented to a user at the identified positions. The interactive objects represent an opportunity for the user to render additional content or perform a transaction. In an embodiment, compensation is generated as a result of performance of the transaction.

Abstract: Methods and systems for optimization of task execution are disclosed. A definition of a task is received. A plurality of parameter values for execution of the task are selected based on an execution history for a plurality of prior tasks performed for a plurality of clients. The plurality of parameter values are selected to optimize one or more execution constraints for the execution of the task. The execution of the task is initiated using one or more computing resources configured with the selected parameter values.

Abstract: Direct storage loading may be used to add data to a database. New data may be added to a database, using nodes different than a database engine to access a database. The addition of the new data may be assigned to different nodes. The nodes may obtain the data and store the data to storage locations according allocated space in the database by the database engine. The new data can then be made available for access at the database engine.

Abstract: Objects in a content delivery network are modified at delivery to users. Individual content servers include copies of the content objects and receive requests from users for a copy of the object. The request includes a program from the content provider on how the content object is to be modified at delivery to the user. The program is executed on delivery of the object to provide the user with a modified content object. Modification can occur as the content is delivered from the content server to the user.

Abstract: An architecture and techniques for implementing a unified and extensible meta-testing framework within a distributed environment. This framework allows entities within the distributed environment to run tests written in different testing frameworks in a unified way. In addition, this disclosure describes techniques for allowing an entity within the distributed environment to test itself, both from its own perspective as well as from the perspective of other entities within the distributed environment.

Abstract: A system and method includes a first device (e.g., a primary wireless earbud) connected to a second device (e.g., a secondary wireless earbud) using a first wireless connection. The first device is also connected to a third device (e.g., a smartphone or smart watch) using a second wireless connection. The second device receives data, such as packets, sent from the third device to the first device by monitoring the second wireless connection. If the second device does not receive a packet, it informs the first device, which sends the packet to the second device.

Abstract: A technology is provided for proxying network traffic. A computer system activates a proxy function in response to a network communication identified in a compute service of a service provider environment. The system receives parameters from the network communication originating from a client at the proxy function and the parameters identify a destination function and a network packet. The proxy function is applied to the network packet. The system launches the destination function with the network packet and parameters from the proxy function, wherein the destination function is configured to launch on a computing instance of the compute service.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for pre-fetching data from a service in advance of obtaining an asynchronous callback for the data from a client. It is determined whether a network page requested by a client is configured to prompt the client to initiate an asynchronous callback for data that may be pre-fetched. The data is pre-fetched from a service before obtaining the asynchronous callback for the data from the client. The data that has been pre-fetched from the service is sent to the client in response to obtaining the asynchronous callback for the data from the client.