| AOL INC. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
|---|
| 20120131671 | Securing An Access Provider - To secure an access provider, communications to/from the access provider are monitored for a partially-completed connection transaction. Detected partially-completed connection transactions are terminated when they remain in existence for a period of time that exceeds a threshold period of time. The monitoring may include detecting partially-completed connection transactions initiated by an access requestor, measuring the period of time that a partially-completed connection transaction remains in existence, comparing the period of time with the threshold period of time, and resetting a communication port located on the access provider. | 05-24-2012 |
| 20120110104 | MESSAGE SCREENING SYSTEM - A message screening system includes routing to a supervisory recipient an electronic message directed to an intended recipient. The supervisory recipient then is allowed to screen the electronic message by approving or rejecting the electronic message. The electronic message then is forwarded to the intended recipient if the electronic message is approved by the supervisory recipient. | 05-03-2012 |
| 20120106870 | Registration of Separations - Separations or images relating to film or other fields may be registered using a variety of features, such as, for example: (1) correcting one or more film distortions; (2) automatically determining a transformation to reduce a film distortion; (3) applying multiple criteria of merit to a set of features to determine a set of features to use in determining a transformation; (4) determining transformations for areas in an image or a separation in a radial order; (5) comparing areas in images or separations by weighting feature pixels differently than non-feature pixels; (6) determining distortion values for transformations by applying a partial distortion measure and/or using a spiral search configuration; (7) determining transformations by using different sets of features to determine corresponding transformation parameters in an iterative manner; and (8) applying a feathering technique to neighboring areas within an image or separation. | 05-03-2012 |
| 20120020467 | RECIPIENT CONTROL OF SOURCE AUDIO IDENTIFIERS FOR DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS - Enabling a recipient to control presentation of an audio identifier informing the recipient of an arrival of a digital communication from a sender in a communication session includes receiving a digital communication from a sender directed to a recipient. A sender-designated first audio identifier or sender-related information that identifies the sender to the recipient is accessed upon arrival of the digital communication. The first audio identifier or sender-related information is presented to the recipient contemporaneous with receipt of the digital communication. The recipient is able to specify, upon presentation of the first audio identifier or sender-related information, whether to enable subsequent presentation of the first audio identifier prior to or concurrent with receipt of a future digital communication from the sender. | 01-26-2012 |
| 20110292160 | CONFIGURING OUTPUT ON A COMMUNICATION DEVICE - In one general sense, display of content communicated by a sender communication device to a destination communication device may be enabled by receiving, at a destination communication device, content to be displayed by the destination communication device. Characteristics of a display of the received content by the destination communication device may be algorithmically identified in accordance with display configuration settings for the destination communication device. Based on the identified characteristics, at least one change to be made to capture configuration settings at a capturing communication device used to capture the received content may be identified. At least one alternative capture configuration setting may be communicated to the capturing communication device. Content that is captured by the capturing communication device is received at the destination communications device based on the alternative capture configuration setting communicated. | 12-01-2011 |
| 20110225041 | System and Method for Using Voice Over a Telephone to Access, Process, and Carry Out Transactions Over the Internet - A method for executing a transaction related to an item or a service using a telephone includes providing information identifying the item or the service, providing a query as to a transaction to be performed in which the transaction is related to the identified item or service, and sending to a server system a request to execute the transaction related to the identified item or service in response to a user answer. The transaction is executed without the user performing a single action on a computer interface. | 09-15-2011 |
| 20110184979 | PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR LOCATING A MEDIA ASSET BASED ON AUDIT TRAIL INFORMATION INCORPORATED INTO THE ASSET ITSELF - An enhanced metadata structure and associated process is provided which captures and stores metadata gathered about the source and usage of a media asset or file. The source and usage metadata is integrated, such as by encoding within the enhanced media file, as the media asset is transferred and used. The integrated metadata accumulates, as a trail of source information and usage information in the enhanced media asset, and can be extracted upon arrival at a target computer system. | 07-28-2011 |
| 20110129145 | DETECTING FACIAL SIMILARITY BASED ON HUMAN PERCEPTION OF FACIAL SIMILARITY - Similar faces may be determined within images based on human perception of facial similarity. The user may provide an image including a query face to which the user wishes to find faces that are similar. Similar faces may be determined based on similarity information. Similarity information may be generated from information related to a human perception of facial similarity. Images that include faces determined to be similar, based on the similarity information, may be provided to the user as search result images. The user then may provide feedback to indicate the user's perception of similarity between the query face and the search result images. | 06-02-2011 |
| 20110106900 | MESSAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS - A third-party can subscribe to one or more electronic message group lists without joining the group lists by creating a trust relationship between the subscriber and a group list member. In particular, the subscriber can send a trust indicator to the group member, who can then determine whether to accept the trust indicator for all or specific groups that are associated with the group member, as appropriate. In at least one embodiment, the group member can send a trust indicator acceptance message to the subscriber that identifies the group member, and any or all group lists associated with the group member. The subscriber can then receive messages directed to the trusted group member or group lists, and can send group messages to the group lists subject to a receive setting associated with the group lists or group members of the group lists. | 05-05-2011 |
| 20110016131 | METHOD AND APPARATUS PROVIDING OMNIBUS VIEW OF ONLINE AND OFFLINE CONTENT OF VARIOUS FILE TYPES AND SOURCES - An online service provider (OSP) operates online data centers to store members' data objects relating to various online member services of the OSP. An aggregated catalog lists members' data objects residing in the online data centers and also those residing in member computers' local storage. An aggregator monitors contents of the online storage facilities to detect new storage of prescribed types of data objects owned by the members, and also communicates with member computers to identify prescribed types of data objects newly stored in the respective local storage. The aggregator updates the aggregated catalog to list the newly stored data objects. Responsive to a request by a member, a finder searches the aggregated catalog and utilizes results of the search to provide, for display at the requesting member's computer, a consolidated listing of online data objects and locally stored data objects owned by the requesting member. | 01-20-2011 |
| 20110002313 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MESSAGING ACROSS CELLULAR NETWORKS AND A PUBLIC DATA NETWORK - A computer program product for instant message communication in a wireless and non-wireless environment. A message is sent from a mobile unit device over a wireless communication network. The message includes a destination address, information associated with the mobile unit device's user, message content and message address. If, according to information previously stored for the mobile unit device's user at the instant message system, the destination address is associated with an instant message function, the associated instant message function is executed at the instant message system using the information contained in the message content, if required as determined by the associated instant message function. If, according to information previously stored for the mobile unit device's user, the destination address is associated with an instant message name, an instant message is created according to the message content and is sent to the user with the associated instant message name. | 01-06-2011 |
| 20100315966 | DYNAMICALLY MANAGING AND RECONFIGURING WIRELESS MESH NETWORKS - A wireless network with multiple subscriber systems in a lobe pool may operate by determining a state of the wireless network, identifying a new condition, the new condition including a new demand condition or a new network health condition, determining whether the new condition has a threshold impact on operations of the wireless network or component subscriber systems of the wireless network, and if the threshold impact exists, reconfiguring the wireless network to accommodate the new condition. | 12-16-2010 |
| 20100306660 | METHOD FOR DISPLAYING WEB USER'S AUTHENTICATION STATUS IN A DISTRIBUTED SINGLE LOGIN NETWORK - The invention provides a system and method for automatically displaying a user's logged-in status across an Internet based network of affiliated Web sites via a visual indicator such as a toolbar to help the user to be certain about his logged-in status when he stays with one or switches from one to another affiliated Web site. | 12-02-2010 |
| 20100306050 | Distributing Personalized Content - The invention provides a method and system for distributing personalized content to potentially large numbers of recipients. A pool is selected, from among all content available for distribution, of those content elements that will be made available for simultaneous distribution, and personalized content is selected for distribution from that pool. The content of the pool can change with new selections over time. For each individual recipient, content elements in the pool are examined to determine if they are predicted to be of sufficient interest to that recipient for distribution, and if so, those content elements are distributed. If not, successive content elements in the pool are examined, relaxing the standard for sufficient interest, until at least one content element is found and distributed to the individual recipient. | 12-02-2010 |
| 20100299611 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNITY CENTRIC RESOURCE SHARING BASED ON A PUBLISHING SUBSCRIPTION MODEL - The invention provides a Web service which enables a publisher to share his digital resources such as an address card or a calendar with a number of subscribers based on different sharing relationships. The Web service includes a host-based interface called “My Community”, for example, with which the publisher manages the share-relationships with his community members. The community members are organized into different groups. Each group includes a number of community members who have a common sharing relationship with the publisher with respect to one or more views of the shared resources. A resource may have multiple views. Each of the views has Metadata describing sharing-styles, as well as version, creation date, size, and the like. Each sharing style corresponds to a specific sharing relationship between a community member and the publisher. | 11-25-2010 |
| 20100251347 | SIMPLE, SECURE LOGIN WITH MULTIPLE AUTHENTICATION PROVIDERS - A secure distributed single-login authentication system comprises a client and a server. The client collects authentication credentials from a user and tests credentials at a variety of potential authentication servers to check where the login is valid. It combines a password with a time-varying salt and a service-specific seed in a message digesting hash, generating a first hash value. The client sends the hash value with a user name and the time-varying salt to a selected server. The server extracts the user name and looks up the user name in the server's database. If an entry is found, it retrieves the password, performing the same hash function on the combination of user name, service-specific seed, and password to generate a second hash value, comparing the values. If the values match, the user is authenticated. Thus, the system never reveals the password to authentication agents that might abuse the information. | 09-30-2010 |
| 20100250452 | HELP CENTER AND PRINT CENTER APPLICATIONS - Various disclosed help center features provide help to a user without a staffed help center, provide help to a user before the user recognizes the need, or create targeted commerce opportunities for a provider of goods or services. One help center feature provides a user with help that is specifically related to a component in the user's computer system and that is supplied to the help center feature by the component manufacturer. Another help center feature detects a condition that degrades performance, and hence user satisfaction, and alerts the user. Another help center feature detects an attempt by a computer system to inform the user of degraded performance and offers the user a solution. Another help center feature provides a user with a commerce opportunity specifically related to a component in the user's computer system and/or to the user's geographic location. | 09-30-2010 |
| 20100241351 | IDENTIFYING A RESULT RESPONSIVE TO A CURRENT LOCATION OF A CLIENT DEVICE - A method for identifying a result responsive to a current location of a client device includes receiving, form a client device and at a host, a search query that includes a point of interest and a current location of the client device. The method also includes automatically updating the search query as the current location of the client device changes and instructing the host to identify a potential location associated with the point of interest and located within a user-defined proximity from the current location of the client device. | 09-23-2010 |
| 20100235508 | LOCATION-BASED REGULATION OF ACCESS - Generally, access to content may be regulated by receiving a content request initiated at a jukebox for access to a content selection, identifying a jukebox location corresponding to a location of the jukebox, determining a permissible location for rendering the content selection, relating the jukebox location to the permissible location, and enabling the content request when the permissible location supports access to the content selection from the jukebox location. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100235506 | SECURING AN ACCESSIBLE COMPUTER SYSTEM - To secure an accessible computer system, the computer system is monitored for connection transactions. An access requestor is denied access to the computer system when the access requestor initiates a number of connection transactions that exceed a configurable threshold number during a first configurable period of time. The monitoring may include detecting connection transactions initiated by the access requestor, counting the number of connection transactions initiated by the access requestor during the first configurable period of time, and comparing the number of connection transactions initiated by the access requestor during the first configurable period of time to the configurable threshold number. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100235375 | TEMPORAL SEARCH QUERY PERSONALIZATION - A user is made able to configure a search query to be responsive to temporal factors in order to adjust the search query to more accurately reflect the user's true information need. By adjusting the search query in this way, the user is more likely to receive satisfactory search results. | 09-16-2010 |
| 20100228965 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING A STREAMING PROTOCOL - An initialization vector (IV) is employed to decrypt a block of a stream that has been encrypted with Cypher Block Chaining (CBC) encryption, without requiring decryption of previous blocks within the stream. For example, a listener who accesses a distribution point to retrieve encrypted content authenticates himself to an application server that regulates access to encrypted content on the distribution point, and responsively receives a key. The listener then requests access to a reference point within the encrypted content stream somewhere after its beginning (e.g., using preview clips). The distribution point relates the reference point to a corresponding block of the encrypted stream, and identifies an IV previously used for encryption of that block. The distribution point provides the associated encrypted block of content and the IV to the listener to enable mid-stream rendering of the encrypted content, without requiring the listener to decrypt previous blocks within the encrypted stream. | 09-09-2010 |
| 20100228719 | PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR INCORPORATING AUDIT TRAIL INFORMATION OF A MEDIA ASSET INTO THE ASSET ITSELF - An enhanced metadata structure and associated process is provided which captures and stores metadata gathered about the source and usage of a media asset or file. The source and usage metadata is integrated, such as by encoding within the enhanced media file, as the media asset is transferred and used. The integrated metadata accumulates, as a trail of source information and usage information in the enhanced media asset, and can be extracted upon arrival at a target computer system. | 09-09-2010 |
| 20100226284 | WIRELESS SOCIAL NETWORKING - A first device may communicate by joining a wireless mesh network that includes at least one wireless device configured to operate a wireless routing protocol, discovering a group of other wireless devices configured to participate in the wireless mesh network, and accessing an interest metric for a second wireless device in the group of other wireless devices. The interest metric is based in part on a network topology from the wireless mesh network. The interest metric is related to an interest threshold and it is determined whether relating the interest metric to the interest threshold supports enabling messaging communications. If so, messaging communications may be enabled. | 09-09-2010 |
| 20100223470 | SECURE INSTANT MESSAGING SYSTEM - A secure instant messaging (IM) system integrates secure instant messaging into existing instant messaging systems. A certificate authority (CA) issues security certificates to users binding the user's IM screen name to a public key, used by sending users to encrypt messages and files for the user. The CA uses a subscriber database to keep track of valid users and associated information, e.g. user screen names, user subscription expiration dates, and enrollment agent information. A user sends his certificate to an instant messaging server which publishes the user's certificate to other users. Users encrypt instant messages and files using an encryption algorithm and the recipient's certificate. A sending user can sign instant messages using his private signing key. The security status of received messages is displayed to recipients. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100220660 | WIRELESS DATAGRAM TRANSACTION PROTOCOL SYSTEM - Systems are provided for sequencing, delivery acknowledgement, and throttling of data packets over a network layer, such as UDP and SMS. To support devices with limited battery resources, the invention incorporates asymmetric retry logic and/or acknowledgements with overlapping ranges, to minimize the transmissions required for the device. The sender of a data-bearing frame does not need to wait for a frame to be acknowledged before sending the next, such that many frames can be “in flight” at once. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100219971 | Concatenated Audio Messages - Audibly identifying an event includes enabling selection of a first sound based upon an identifier. The identifier enables identification of an entity related to the event. A notification of an occurrence of the event is received. The notification includes the identifier. An intended recipient is alerted of the event by playing, in response to the notification, at least a portion of the first sound and at least a portion of a second sound that is related to the event. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100219937 | Instant Messaging Sound Control - Controlling the volume of an audible alert associated with an instant messaging communications session includes rendering, on a first instant messaging user system, an instant messaging application user interface for an instant messaging communications session involving at least a first instant messaging user and a second instant messaging user, receiving notification of an event related to the instant messaging communications session, determining a characteristic of the event, accessing an audible alert to be rendered to signal existence of the event, adjusting based upon the determined characteristic of the event a volume of the audible alert corresponding to the event, and rendering the audible alert to signal existence of the event. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100217863 | Securing An Access Provider - To secure an access provider, communications to/from the access provider are monitored for a partially-completed connection transaction. Detected partially-completed connection transactions are terminated when they remain in existence for a period of time that exceeds a threshold period of time. The monitoring may include detecting partially-completed connection transactions initiated by an access requestor, measuring the period of time that a partially-completed connection transaction remains in existence, comparing the period of time with the threshold period of time, and resetting a communication port located on the access provider. | 08-26-2010 |
| 20100205546 | ORGANIZING ENTRIES IN PARTICIPANT LISTS BASED ON COMMUNICATIONS STRENGTHS - Organizing a participant list includes maintaining a participant list of users of an electronic communications system to be used by a first user of the electronic communications system. Communications strengths between the first user and each of the users included in the participant list are determined. The users included in the participant list are organized based on the corresponding communications strengths. Communications strengths may be determined for users included in a group within a participant list, and the users within the group may be organized within the group based on communications strength. An additional group in the participant list in which some or all of the users included in the participant list are organized based on communications strength may be provided. | 08-12-2010 |
| 20100191819 | Group Based Spam Classification - An e-mail filter is used to classify received e-mails so that some of the classes may be filtered, blocked, or marked. The e-mail filter may include a classifier that can classify an e-mail as belonging to a particular class and an e-mail grouper that can detect substantially similar, but possibly not identical, e-mails. The e-mail grouper determines groups of substantially similar e-mails in an incoming e-mail stream. For each group, the classifier determines whether one or more test e-mails from the group belongs to the particular class. The classifier then designates the class to which the other e-mails in the group belong based on the results for the test e-mails. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100185778 | DUPLICATING SWITCH FOR STREAMING DATA UNITS TO A TERMINAL - Streaming to a terminal by using a duplicating switch to receive a stream of data units, using the duplicating switch to store content from the stream, using the duplicating switch to generate a second stream that incorporates the content that was stored and address information corresponding to more than one terminal whose addressing information was not part of the first stream, and using the duplicating switch to make the second stream of data units available to two or more terminals. | 07-22-2010 |
| 20100174996 | Rendering Destination Instant Messaging Personalization Items Before Communicating With Destination - Perception of a personalization item in an instant messaging communications session may be enabled by perceiving an identifier corresponding to an intended instant message recipient designated by an instant message sender system, accessing personalization items corresponding to the perceived identifier, and making perceivable the personalization items corresponding to the received identifier to the instant messaging sender system for rendering in an instant messaging application running on the instant messaging sender system, where the personalization items are made perceivable prior to communication with the intended instant message recipient. | 07-08-2010 |
| 20100174799 | MANAGING AND COLLABORATING WITH DIGITAL CONTENT - A universal digital content system provides a dynamic user interface having a viewing area, an action menu area, and an organizing area. A user can create, organize, send, receive, access, collaborate with and otherwise manage digital content through a single user interface. The universal digital content system provides multiple ways of viewing and organizing all of the digital content accessible through the dynamic user interface. In addition, a user can create a collaboration session with one or more contacts using one or more digital content files. | 07-08-2010 |
| 20100169448 | Recipient Control of Source Audio Identifiers for Digital Communications - Enabling a recipient to control presentation of an audio identifier informing the recipient of an arrival of a digital communication from a sender in a communication session includes receiving a digital communication from a sender directed to a recipient. A sender-designated first audio identifier or sender-related information that identifies the sender to the recipient is accessed upon arrival of the digital communication. The first audio identifier or sender-related information is presented to the recipient contemporaneous with receipt of the digital communication. The recipient is able to specify, upon presentation of the first audio identifier or sender-related information, whether to enable subsequent presentation of the first audio identifier prior to or concurrent with receipt of a future digital communication from the sender. | 07-01-2010 |
| 20100146612 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRUST-BASED, FINE-GRAINED RATE LIMITING OF NETWORK REQUESTS - A method and apparatus for fine-grained, trust-based rate limiting of network requests distinguishes trusted network traffic from untrusted network traffic at the granularity of an individual user/machine combination, so that network traffic policing measures are readily implemented against untrusted and potentially hostile traffic without compromising service to trusted users. A server establishes a user/client pair as trusted by issuing a trust token to the client when successfully authenticating to the server for the first time. Subsequently, the client provides the trust token at login. At the server, rate policies apportion bandwidth according to type of traffic: network requests that include a valid trust token are granted highest priority. Rate policies further specify bandwidth restrictions imposed for untrusted network traffic. This scheme enables the server to throttle untrusted password-guessing requests from crackers without penalizing most friendly logins and only slightly penalizing the relatively few untrusted friendly logins. | 06-10-2010 |
| 20100146054 | Indicating Recent Content Publication Activity by a User - Collecting and distributing information related to recent content publication activity of an instant messaging (IM) user provides other users in a network with timely, relevant information about people known to the user or within the same social network. A user participating in a social network can quickly and efficiently perceive new information related to other users (referred to as co-users) in a social network by reviewing the co-users' recent content publication activity. A user may be made able to do so without requiring the co-user to send a communication directly to the user regarding the new facts or new content, and also without requiring the user to actively browse or request information about the co-user. | 06-10-2010 |
| 20100124322 | NEGOTIATING CONTENT CONTROLS - Access to an electronic conference may be administered by receiving an electronic instruction configured to establish the electronic conference, enabling more than one user to generate content restrictions that limit content rendered during the electronic conference, analyzing one or more participant devices to ensure compliance with the content restrictions, establishing the electronic conference in accordance with the content restrictions, and enabling user access to the electronic conference consistent with the content restrictions. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100122190 | CALENDAR OVERLAYS - Implementing an electronic calendar can include accessing a first electronic calendar owned by a first party, accessing a second electronic calendar owned by a second party, and presenting a view that combines at least one existing entry from within each of the first and second electronic calendars. Source information for each of the first and second electronic calendars may be electronically maintained. The combined view may be updated electronically to reflect a change to at least one of the existing entries from within at least one of the first and second electronic calendars. Electronic calendars may be accessed and overlaid without importing events, thus enabling simple updating. Event information may be imported and source or other attributes may be associated with imported information to enable updating and other sorting functions. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100121562 | AUTOMATED ROUTE DETERMINATION - A preferred route may be determined from an origin location to a destination location. The determination is made by processing directed links (e.g., one-way edges) in a graph that includes one or more links and two or more nodes. The determination of a preferred route may include an estimate of the time required at one or more intersections along alternative. Individual routing preferences, such as a preference of a rural over an urban route, also may be considered. Techniques are described that may help reduce the time required to identify a preferred route, including the identification and removal of no outlet routes before processing the directed links and techniques using particular data formats. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100114904 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY ORGANIZING AND CLASSIFYING BUSINESSES ON THE WORLD-WIDE WEB - A method and search engine for classifying a source publishing a document on a portion of a network, includes steps of electronically receiving a document, based on the document, determining a source which published the document, and assigning a code to the document based on whether data associated with the document published by the source matches with data contained in a database. An intelligent geographic- and business topic-specific resource discovery system facilitates local commerce on the World-Wide Web and also reduces search time by accurately isolating information for end-users. Distinguishing and classifying business pages on the Web by business categories using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes is achieved through an automatic iterative process. | 05-06-2010 |
