| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080222715 | Enhanced Personal Firewall for Dynamic Computing Environments - An enhanced personal firewall system having an inter-firewall connection listener which binds to a specified communications port and listens for inbound and/or outbound connection requests; and an inter-firewall controller which establishes a trusted communications through a local firewall and a remote firewall by exchanging public keys, a signed trusted computer firewall request, and using the keys to determine if a local key storage indicates previous authorization to trusted communications. If not, then a user of the targeted resource is notified and prompted to authorize the access. If so, then the firewall rules protecting the targeted resource are modified, even if temporarily, to allow the requesting firewall to have trusted access. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20090307620 | SYSTEM FOR CONCURRENTLY MANAGING MULTIPLE AVATARS - An approach for cloning and merging avatars that are online in a virtual universe is described. In one embodiment, there is an avatar identification component which is configured to create an identification number associated with a second avatar, a GUI partitioning component configured to partition the graphic user interface of a virtual universe, an avatar rendering component configured to render a second avatar, a communication channel component configured to manage the second avatar's communication channel, and an inventory management component configured to manage the second avatar's inventory. | 12-10-2009 |
| 20100254670 | Content Recorder Multi-Angle Viewing and Playback - A method, system, and computer program product for selecting, in real time, a leading view of a multi-angle television program. A video recorder receives a program view selection. The video recorder then transmits a viewer data request for the currently selected program view to a service provider. The video recorder may then receive requested viewer data of the selected program view and one or more alternate views of the selected program. The video recorder may then determine if the selected program view is the leading view of the selected program. When the selected view is not the leading view and the video recorder is configured for automatic view switching, the video recorder may autonomously switch to the leading view of the selected program. Alternatively, the video recorder may present vote totals of all views of the selected program and enable a selection of a desired alternate view. | 10-07-2010 |
| 20110055267 | Virtual Universe Rendering Based on Prioritized Metadata Terms - After a change of location of an avatar in a virtual universe, an avatar is encouraged to remain at that location and avoid an immediate further or return change of location (e.g. by teleportation) by prioritizing rendering of objects such that objects most likely to be of interest to the avatar is performed prior to rendering of objects less likely to be of interest. Prioritization is performed by comparing metadata concerning objective(s) of the avatar and metadata of preferences of the avatar and objects in the avatar's inventory and/or implied from the avatar's activity history with metadata corresponding to objects at the location to which the avatar moves. Preferably, the metadata corresponding to the avatar is ranked in order of the number of occurrences of metadata terms and synonyms in metadata of the avatar. | 03-03-2011 |
| 20110055733 | System and Method for Locating Missing Items in a Virtual Universe - The present invention provides a system and method for tagging Virtual Universe items as owned by a particular user and to use such tags to enable users and/or system administrators to locate lost or stolen items in a Virtual Universe. When items identified are located, the user/owners may be notified of the location or missing items; alternatively, the items may be automatically returned to the user/owners' inventories. By enabling differentiation between items that may be lost, stolen, or left intentionally in a Virtual Universe, the present invention addresses difficulties that may arise in managing the various items that populate a Virtual Universe, especially as a Virtual Universe expands or as Multiple Virtual Universes expand and partner with additional Virtual Universes. | 03-03-2011 |
