Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090106090 | Method, Apparatus, and System for Presenting Three-Dimensional Shopping Destinations through an Electronic Information Distribution System - Some embodiments provide a method of electronic shopping through a computer network. The method presents, on a display of a computer system, a three-dimensional scene that represents a shopping destination. The three-dimensional scene includes multiple selectable objects and multiple non-selectable objects. The method also allows a user of the computer system to browse the three-dimensional shopping scene. Allowing includes receiving a selection of a particular selectable object. | 04-23-2009 |
20090186703 | Method, Apparatus, and System for Entertaining Users of an Electronic Information Distribution System - Some embodiments provide a method of presenting a game show through a computer network. The method presents an item to a number of contestants through the computer network. The method asks the contestants to answer through the computer network a question about an attribute of the item. The method also rewards a contestant that provides an acceptable answer to the question. Some embodiments provide a method for presenting a game show over a computer network including receiving, through the computer network, a request from a contestant to register for a game show. The method determines whether the contestant can register for the game show. The method also provides the contestant with a time interval for registering for the game show upon determining that the contestant cannot register for the game show. | 07-23-2009 |
20120184345 | Method, Apparatus, and System for Entertaining Users of an Electronic Information Distribution System - Some embodiments provide a method of determining whether a lottery player or the player's computer is within a particular location. The player's computer is connected to a computer network. The method transmits, through the computer network, a pass code and a telephone number to the lottery player's computer. The method requests the lottery player or the player's computer to call the number and provide the pass code within a pre-determined amount of time. The method determines whether the pass code is provided within a predetermined amount of time after the transmission of the pass code from a telephone specified to be within the particular location. The method verifies whether the lottery player or player's computer is within the particular location, based on the determination. | 07-19-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110096739 | CHANNEL SCANNING AND CHANNEL SELECTION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK - A method and apparatus to select the best channel of a wireless network for data communication at any given time, during normal operation of the network, is described. The network may be an IEEE standard 802.11 compliant network. Channel scanning may be performed in any station on the wireless network, such as an access point (AP) or a mobile station, or both. Channel scanning may be performed during data communication idle time, or simultaneously with data communication on the network. The technique can be implemented in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, where the antenna or antennas used for channel scanning can be selected dynamically during operation, to optimize one or more performance characteristics. | 04-28-2011 |
20110268060 | ACCESS POINT RANGE EXTENSION - A technique for expanding the range of coverage for a wireless local area network (WLAN) involves locating a wireless access point (WAP) away from an interworking unit (IWU) at the edges of the WLAN and a (typically) wired network. The WAP, when located away from the IWU, can be referred to as an untethered access point (UAP) because it communicates with the IWU on a wireless channel. Stations on the WLAN will be capable of communicating with the WAP, whether or not it is a UAP, via a known or convenient wireless protocol, such as Wi-Fi, and may or may not be capable of communicating with one another via a direct station-to-station protocol. | 11-03-2011 |
20130124206 | VIDEO GENERATION BASED ON TEXT - Techniques for generating a video sequence of a person based on a text sequence, are disclosed herein. Based on the received text sequence, a processing device generates the video sequence of a person to simulate visual and audible emotional expressions of the person, including using an audio model of the person's voice to generate an audio portion of the video sequence. The emotional expressions in the visual portion of the video sequence are simulated based a priori knowledge about the person. For instance, the a priori knowledge can include photos or videos of the person captured in real life. | 05-16-2013 |