Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090037393 | System and Method of Accessing a Document Efficiently Through Multi-Tier Web Caching - Upon receipt of a document request, a client assistant examines its cache for the document. If not successful, a server searches for the requested document in its cache. If the server copy is still not fresh or not found, the server seeks the document from its host. If the host cannot provide the copy, the server seeks it from a document repository. Certain documents are identified from the document repository as being fresh or stable. Information about each these identified documents is transmitted to the server which inserts entries into an index if the index does not already contain an entry for the document. If and when this particular document is requested, the document will not be present in the server, however the server will contain an entry directing the server to obtain the document from the document repository rather than the document's web host. | 02-05-2009 |
20100114965 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROMPTU SHARED COMMUNICATION SPACES - Communications between entities who may share common interests. For entities determined to be sharing common interests (e.g., searching using the same terms or topics, browsing a page, a site or a groups of topically related sites), options for communication among the entities are provided. For example, a chat room may be dynamically created for persons who are currently searching or browsing the same or related information. As another example, a “homepage” may be created for each query and contain various types of information related to the query. A permission module controls which entities may participate, what types of information (and from what sources) an entity can (or desires to) receive, what types of information the entity may (or desires to) share. | 05-06-2010 |
20100174800 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DEVELOPING AN INSTANT MESSAGING NETWORK - An instant messaging (IM) system has an IM server connected to a communication network, and logic operable on the IM server enabling a first user to browse contacts associated with a second user. In some cases the first user can add and list contacts accessed by browsing the contacts associated with the second user. | 07-08-2010 |
20110179118 | Shared Communication Space Invitations - A computer-implemented method of providing invitations to a shared communication space, performed by a server system, includes providing the shared communication space, which includes content associated with a set of characteristics, and identifying a user, in accordance with a set of characteristics associated with the user and the set of characteristics associated with the content in the shared communication space. The method further includes sending to the identified user a invitation to participate in the shared communication space, and upon acceptance of the invitation by the user, enabling access by the user to the shared communication space by the user and enabling the user to exchange information with other participants in the shared communication space via the shared communication space. | 07-21-2011 |
20110307351 | MICRO-PAYMENT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE - A micro-payment system has buyers, sellers, and a broker. The buyers establish accounts with the broker and provide payment information allowing the broker to invoice the buyers. The sellers establish accounts with the brokers and specify terms for accessing items, including electronic content, available from the sellers. The sellers also provide payment information that allows the broker to credit the sellers for sales of the items. The broker aggregates the buyers' micro-payment purchases and invoices the buyers. The broker also aggregates the sellers' micro-payment sales and credits the sellers. | 12-15-2011 |
20120130855 | MICRO-PAYMENT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE - A micro-payment system has buyers, sellers, and a broker. The buyers establish accounts with the broker and provide payment information allowing the broker to invoice the buyers. The sellers establish accounts with the brokers and specify terms for accessing items, including electronic content, available from the sellers. The sellers also provide payment information that allows the broker to credit the sellers for sales of the items. The broker aggregates the buyers' micro-payment purchases and invoices the buyers. The broker also aggregates the sellers' micro-payment sales and credits the sellers. | 05-24-2012 |
20120226705 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR EMPLOYING USAGE STATISTICS IN DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL - Methods and apparatus consistent with the invention provide improved organization of documents responsive to a search query. In one embodiment, a search query is received and a list of responsive documents is identified. The responsive documents are organized based in whole or in part on usage statistics. | 09-06-2012 |
20120271852 | System and Method of Accessing a Document Efficiently Through Multi-Tier Web Caching - Upon receipt of a document request, a client assistant examines its cache for the document. If not successful, a server searches for the requested document in its cache. If the server copy is still not fresh or not found, the server seeks the document from its host. If the host cannot provide the copy, the server seeks it from a document repository. Certain documents are identified from the document repository as being fresh or stable. Information about each of these identified documents is transmitted to the server which inserts entries into an index if the index does not already contain an entry for the document. If and when this particular document is requested, the document will not be present in the server, however the server will contain an entry directing the server to obtain the document from the document repository rather than the document's web host. | 10-25-2012 |
20120317187 | Prioritized Preloading of Documents to Client - The present invention is directed to a client-server network system implementing a multi-tier caching strategy for a user to access a document efficiently. When serving a document to client, the document is examined for embedded references to other documents. The embedded references are extracted and then assigned a priority. the referenced documents are preloaded to the client prior to receiving a request for them. The referenced documents are obtained locally from the server cache or obtained from their respective web hosts and transmitted according to the assigned priority. | 12-13-2012 |
20120317188 | Refreshing Cached Documents and Storing Differential Document Content - The present invention is directed to a method for updating a cache. A server identifies whether certain preconditions have been met for a document in a cache from freshness parameters associated with a document identifier for the document. Then when the preconditions have been met, a first document content is retrieved from a remote host. A first content fingerprint for the first document content is calculated. The first document content is stored in the cache. Then a content difference is calculated between the first document content and a second document content, both associated with the document identifier. The content difference is stored. Then the document identifier is associated with the content difference. | 12-13-2012 |
20130006812 | MICRO-PAYMENT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE - A micro-payment system has buyers, sellers, and a broker. The buyers establish accounts with the broker and provide payment information allowing the broker to invoice the buyers. The sellers establish accounts with the brokers and specify terms for accessing items, including electronic content, available from the sellers. The sellers also provide payment information that allows the broker to credit the sellers for sales of the items. The broker aggregates the buyers' micro-payment purchases and invoices the buyers. The broker also aggregates the sellers' micro-payment sales and credits the sellers. | 01-03-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090030932 | METHODS FOR DETECTING AND REMEDYING MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN A SOCIAL NETWORK - A method for identifying friend relationship in one or more on-line social networks includes creating a graph representing friend relationships among multiple participants of the social networks, in which the nodes of the graph represent the participants and each edge of the graph represents an existing friend relationship in the social networks between two of the participants. The resulting graph is then analyzed using, for example, a graph-theoretical technique to identify pairs of nodes that are unconnected in the graph. A score is then assigned between each identified pair of nodes. The score represents the likelihood that the participants corresponding to the identified pair of nodes are real life friends. The score for each identified pair may be computed based on the connectedness of a subgraph of the graph that includes the identified pair of nodes. One example of such a subgraph is a 4-node subgraph. The score may be computed based on the number of nodes connected to each node in the identified pair, or a variety of factors (e.g., profile information of the participants), in which each factor is provided a weight reflecting the contribution of the factor relative to the other factors. The weights may be adaptive. In one implementation, the graph is built based on collecting subgraphs of friend relationships for each participant, one participant at a time. | 01-29-2009 |
20110252152 | RELIABLE MESSAGING SYSTEM AND METHOD - A reliable messaging channel is created using multiple independent HTTP requests. In one embodiment, a method (a) establishes a session identifier by exchanging messages with a recipient using an application layer communication protocol (e.g., HTTP); and (b) uses the application layer communication protocol to send ordered data to the recipient by assigning one or more sequence numbers according to the predetermined order in the data. The session identifier may be generated, for example, using a random number of generator. In one implementation, the session identifier is not less than 96 bits long. The sender may receive from the recipient acknowledgements each acknowledging receipt of the data bearing a corresponding sequence number. Data to be sent in the opposite direction may piggy-back on an acknowledgement by including the data in a non-zero length payload. Data received out of order are queued. The sender may limit the rate at which data is transmitted to a “window size” (i.e., no more than a predetermined amount of data is sent within a predetermined time period). The window size is adjusted according to a channel condition (e.g., an amount of data retransmitted or lost during the predetermined time period). In one implementation, the window size is adjusted by doubling or halving, consistent with the channel condition. | 10-13-2011 |
20110314103 | SYNCHRONIZED PROCESSES COMMUNICATING OVER A WIDE AREA NETWORK AND METHOD - Communicating peer processes on a wide area network may be synchronized in real time using a client-side library in conjunction with a centralized communication service. Such an approach provides a considerably easier way to develop applications as diverse as multiplayer games, synchronized video watching, document collaboration systems, and a range of web applications that require communication between multiple web clients. | 12-22-2011 |
20120009898 | Abuse-Resistant Method of Providing Invitation Codes for Registering User Accounts with an Online Service - A server system having one or more processors and memory receives, from a client, an invitation-code request from a user of the client for an invitation code enabling a new user account to be registered, where the invitation-code request includes identifying information and determines whether the invitation-code request exceeds registration limit criteria based on the identifying information. In accordance with a determination that the invitation-code request exceeds the registration limit criteria, the invitation-code request is rejected. In accordance with a determination that the invitation-code request does not exceed the registration limit criteria, an invitation code is provided to the user, enabling a new user account to be registered. | 01-12-2012 |
20130085836 | METHOD FOR UNRESTRICTED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN USERS IN A SOCIAL MEDIUM OR NETWORK - A method allows participants of a social medium or network to unrestricted communication with each other (i.e., without first requiring a pre-established connection or relationship between the communicating participants), without an unacceptable risk of unwanted or unwelcomed communications. The method includes (a) allocating to each member an allocation of community currency units; (b) representing all members of the community in a graph in which each member is represented as a node and established relationships among the members are represented as edges; and (c) when a first member initiates an electronic communication with a second member, (i) evaluating a cost of the electronic communication by a measure that takes into consideration available paths in the graph that exist between the first member and the second member, (ii) modifying the cost of the electronic communication according to a set of pre-determined factors; (iii) deducting from the first member's allocation of community currency units the modified cost of the electronic communication; and (iv) effectuating the electronic communication. | 04-04-2013 |
20130290451 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LIMITING UNWANTED ON-LINE COMMUNICATION - A method for controlling unwelcome communication among a network of users (a) maintains for each user an account to which communication units are credited by the network according to a schedule; and (b) for each user that initiates communication with a respondent user, the network (i) determines whether or not the account of the initiator user holds greater than a predetermined number of communication units; and (ii) when the account is determined to hold greater than the predetermined number of communicating units, deducts from the account of the initiator user the predetermined number of communication units, and allows the initiated communication to proceed. | 10-31-2013 |
20140006321 | METHOD FOR IMPROVING AN AUTOCORRECTOR USING AUTO-DIFFERENTIATION | 01-02-2014 |
20140033284 | METHOD FOR USER AUTHENTICATION - A method for verifying an identity of a user includes (a) receiving a request for an identification phrase from a user associated with a user account; (b) selecting the phrase from a pool of phrases and associating the phrase with the user account; (c) sending the phrase to the user; (d) receiving a video recording showing a person reading one or more phrases aloud, and (e) verifying that a phrase read by the person in the video recording corresponds to the selected phrase. A third party may desire verification of the user's identity. The method confirms to the third party the user's identity based on whether or not the phrase read aloud in the video recording matches the randomly selected phrase associated with the user account. | 01-30-2014 |
20140058991 | METHOD FOR IMPROVING EFFICIENCY IN AN OPTIMIZING PREDICTIVE MODEL USING STOCHASTIC GRADIENT DESCENT - A method optimizes a predictive computation model efficiently. The method includes (i) selecting model parameters that are expected to take real values within a one-sided predetermined range; and (ii) iteratively: (a) receiving a set of input values; (b) executing the computation model based on the input values; (c) updating the values of the model parameters to minimize a loss function; and (d) examining each of the model parameters, such that, when the examined model parameter attains or moves past a value that is idempotent to the computation model, removing the model parameter from the computation model. In one embodiment, the predetermined range is either the range between a predetermined positive real value and positive infinity or the range between a predetermined negative real value and negative infinity. The predetermined positive real value or the predetermined negative real value may be an idempotent value to the model computation. | 02-27-2014 |
20140129494 | SEARCHING TEXT VIA FUNCTION LEARNING - A method which does not rely on explicit inverted indices is provided to search for documents in a corpus of documents responsive to a textual search query. The method includes (a) selecting a program that is customized by setting values for a plurality of parameters, the program structured to receive the textual search query as input and to provide as output values indicating the relevance of the documents in the corpus to the search query; (b) training the program using a machine learning technique; and (c) applying the trained program to the textual search query. The program may be based on a structure that is developed based on a genetic programming technique. | 05-08-2014 |
20140156569 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING RESILIENCE IN CUSTOMIZED PROGRAM LEARNING NETWORK COMPUTATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS - An apparatus and a method are provided for learning a program with a large number of parameters. In one embodiment, a method not only distorts the input values, but also distorts some of the parameters in the program model. Such an approach not only forces the learned program to acquire parameter values to predict missing or desired data, but also to correct errors in the input data and the program parameters themselves, thereby rendering the learned program more resilient to overfitting and falling into local optima. | 06-05-2014 |
20140214735 | METHOD FOR AN OPTIMIZING PREDICTIVE MODEL USING GRADIENT DESCENT AND CONJUGATE RESIDUALS - An optimization in machine learning is achieved using Newton's algorithm together with an efficient technique for solving linear equations, such as the method of conjugate residuals. The techniques of the present invention are applicable to learning language models, predicting classes of objects from images and videos, and classifying financial transactions for prevention of fraud. Other uses include determining a function from a sequence of words to a relevant web page for a search engine, or to inverting arbitrary output values of an analyzed system into an internally running simulation. | 07-31-2014 |
20140250034 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING RESILIENCE IN CUSTOMIZED PROGRAM LEARNING NETWORK COMPUTATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS - An apparatus and a method are provided for learning a program with a large number of parameters. In one embodiment, a method not only distorts the input values, but also distorts some of the parameters in the program model. Such an approach not only forces the learned program to acquire parameter values to predict missing or desired data, but also to correct errors in the input data and the program parameters themselves, thereby rendering the learned program more resilient to overfitting and falling into local optima. | 09-04-2014 |
20140258206 | METHOD AND PROGRAM STRUCTURE FOR MACHINE LEARNING - A method provides program structures for constructing a program that is learned over training data. In one example, two specific program structures are provided in which the first program structure transforms each vector in an input tuple of vectors to provide an output tuple of vectors, and the second program structure operates on an input tuple of vectors to provide an output tuple of vectors by applying one or more transformations that each involves two or more vectors in the input tuple. The transformations of the first and second program structures may be linear transformations. The program may alternatively execute the first program structure and the second program structure in any suitable order a number of times, beginning with operating one of the program structures on an initial tuple of vectors. The vectors may each consist of an ordered set of real numbers. | 09-11-2014 |
20140279748 | METHOD AND PROGRAM STRUCTURE FOR MACHINE LEARNING - A method using a recognizer program structure is used in a program that is learned over training data. The method includes (a) for each vector in an input tuple of vectors, (i) mapping the vector to one of a domain index; (ii) using the domain index to select one or more corresponding linear transformations; (iii) applying one or more of the selected linear transformations on the vector to obtain a resulting vector in a first intermediate space; and (iv) applying a predetermined function on each element of the resulting vector to obtain an output vector in a second intermediate space; and (b) mapping the resulting vectors of the second intermediate space by linear transformation to obtain an output tuple of vectors in R | 09-18-2014 |
20140351029 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SERVING RELEVANT ADVERTISEMENTS - The relevance of advertisements to a user's interests is improved. In one implementation, the content of a web page is analyzed to determine a list of one or more topics associated with that web page. An advertisement is considered to be relevant to that web page if it is associated with keywords belonging to the list of one or more topics. One or more of these relevant advertisements may be provided for rendering in conjunction with the web page or related web pages. | 11-27-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100100437 | Suggesting and/or providing ad serving constraint information - Targeting information (also referred to as ad “serving constraints”) or candidate targeting information for an advertisement is identified. Targeting information may be identified by extracting topics or concepts from, and/or generating topics or concepts based on, ad information, such as information from a Web page to which an ad is linked (or some other Web page of interest to the ad or advertiser). The topics or concepts may be relevant queries associated with the Web page of interest, clusters, etc. | 04-22-2010 |
20100174605 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SERVING RELEVANT ADVERTISEMENTS - The relevance of advertisements to a user's interests is improved. In one implementation, the content of a web page is analyzed to determine a list of one or more topics associated with that web page. An advertisement is considered to be relevant to that web page if it is associated with keywords belonging to the list of one or more topics. One or more of these relevant advertisements may be provided for rendering in conjunction with the web page or related web pages. | 07-08-2010 |
20100185513 | SERVING ADVERTISEMENTS BASED ON CONTENT - Advertisers are permitted to put targeted ads on page on the web (or some other document of any media type). The present invention may do so by (i) obtaining content that includes available spots for ads, (ii) determining ads relevant to content, and/or (iii) combining content with ads determined to be relevant to the content. | 07-22-2010 |
20100287056 | USING CONCEPTS FOR AD TARGETING - Concept similarity may be used to help resolve ambiguities with respect to ads served using, at least, keyword targeting. More specifically, concept similarity may be used to help determine ad relevancy and/or ad scores. | 11-11-2010 |
20110145731 | SERVING CONTENT-RELEVANT ADVERTISEMENTS WITH CLIENT-SIDE DEVICE SUPPORT - A client-side application (such as a browser, a browser plug-in, a browser toolbar plug-in, etc. on an end user's computer) is used to support the serving of content-relevant ads to the client device. The client-side application may provide such support by sending document information (such as a document identifier, document content, content relevance information, etc.) to a content ad server. The client-side application may also be used to combine content of the document and the content-relevant ads. For example, the client-side application may combine content of the document and the ads in a window (e.g., in a browser window), may provide the ads in a window above, below, adjacent to a document window, may provide the ads in “chrome” of the browser, etc. | 06-16-2011 |
20110191309 | SERVING ADVERTISEMENTS BASED ON CONTENT - Advertisers are permitted to put targeted ads on page on the web (or some other document of any media type). The present invention may do so by (i) obtaining content that includes available spots for ads, (ii) determining ads relevant to content, and/or (iii) combining content with ads determined to be relevant to the content. | 08-04-2011 |
20120173334 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SERVING RELEVANT ADVERTISEMENTS - The relevance of advertisements to a user's interests is improved. In one implementation, the content of a web page is analyzed to determine a list of one or more topics associated with that web page. An advertisement is considered to be relevant to that web page if it is associated with keywords belonging to the list of one or more topics. One or more of these relevant advertisements may be provided for rendering in conjunction with the web page or related web pages. | 07-05-2012 |
20140040027 | SERVING ADVERTISEMENTS BASED ON CONTENT - Advertisers are permitted to put targeted ads on page on the web (or some other document of any media type). The present invention may do so by (i) obtaining content that includes available spots for ads, (ii) determining ads relevant to content, and/or (iii) combining content with ads determined to be relevant to the content. | 02-06-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090030932 | METHODS FOR DETECTING AND REMEDYING MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN A SOCIAL NETWORK - A method for identifying friend relationship in one or more on-line social networks includes creating a graph representing friend relationships among multiple participants of the social networks, in which the nodes of the graph represent the participants and each edge of the graph represents an existing friend relationship in the social networks between two of the participants. The resulting graph is then analyzed using, for example, a graph-theoretical technique to identify pairs of nodes that are unconnected in the graph. A score is then assigned between each identified pair of nodes. The score represents the likelihood that the participants corresponding to the identified pair of nodes are real life friends. The score for each identified pair may be computed based on the connectedness of a subgraph of the graph that includes the identified pair of nodes. One example of such a subgraph is a 4-node subgraph. The score may be computed based on the number of nodes connected to each node in the identified pair, or a variety of factors (e.g., profile information of the participants), in which each factor is provided a weight reflecting the contribution of the factor relative to the other factors. The weights may be adaptive. In one implementation, the graph is built based on collecting subgraphs of friend relationships for each participant, one participant at a time. | 01-29-2009 |
20110252152 | RELIABLE MESSAGING SYSTEM AND METHOD - A reliable messaging channel is created using multiple independent HTTP requests. In one embodiment, a method (a) establishes a session identifier by exchanging messages with a recipient using an application layer communication protocol (e.g., HTTP); and (b) uses the application layer communication protocol to send ordered data to the recipient by assigning one or more sequence numbers according to the predetermined order in the data. The session identifier may be generated, for example, using a random number of generator. In one implementation, the session identifier is not less than 96 bits long. The sender may receive from the recipient acknowledgements each acknowledging receipt of the data bearing a corresponding sequence number. Data to be sent in the opposite direction may piggy-back on an acknowledgement by including the data in a non-zero length payload. Data received out of order are queued. The sender may limit the rate at which data is transmitted to a “window size” (i.e., no more than a predetermined amount of data is sent within a predetermined time period). The window size is adjusted according to a channel condition (e.g., an amount of data retransmitted or lost during the predetermined time period). In one implementation, the window size is adjusted by doubling or halving, consistent with the channel condition. | 10-13-2011 |
20130085836 | METHOD FOR UNRESTRICTED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN USERS IN A SOCIAL MEDIUM OR NETWORK - A method allows participants of a social medium or network to unrestricted communication with each other (i.e., without first requiring a pre-established connection or relationship between the communicating participants), without an unacceptable risk of unwanted or unwelcomed communications. The method includes (a) allocating to each member an allocation of community currency units; (b) representing all members of the community in a graph in which each member is represented as a node and established relationships among the members are represented as edges; and (c) when a first member initiates an electronic communication with a second member, (i) evaluating a cost of the electronic communication by a measure that takes into consideration available paths in the graph that exist between the first member and the second member, (ii) modifying the cost of the electronic communication according to a set of pre-determined factors; (iii) deducting from the first member's allocation of community currency units the modified cost of the electronic communication; and (iv) effectuating the electronic communication. | 04-04-2013 |
20130290451 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LIMITING UNWANTED ON-LINE COMMUNICATION - A method for controlling unwelcome communication among a network of users (a) maintains for each user an account to which communication units are credited by the network according to a schedule; and (b) for each user that initiates communication with a respondent user, the network (i) determines whether or not the account of the initiator user holds greater than a predetermined number of communication units; and (ii) when the account is determined to hold greater than the predetermined number of communicating units, deducts from the account of the initiator user the predetermined number of communication units, and allows the initiated communication to proceed. | 10-31-2013 |
20140033284 | METHOD FOR USER AUTHENTICATION - A method for verifying an identity of a user includes (a) receiving a request for an identification phrase from a user associated with a user account; (b) selecting the phrase from a pool of phrases and associating the phrase with the user account; (c) sending the phrase to the user; (d) receiving a video recording showing a person reading one or more phrases aloud, and (e) verifying that a phrase read by the person in the video recording corresponds to the selected phrase. A third party may desire verification of the user's identity. The method confirms to the third party the user's identity based on whether or not the phrase read aloud in the video recording matches the randomly selected phrase associated with the user account. | 01-30-2014 |