Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Bojana Ostojic

Mark R Gibson

William Hong Vong

Christopher Alan Glein

Mark S Newell

March Rogers

Gail Giacobbe

Kort Danner Sands

Nathaniel Eric Breskin Auer

Benjamin N Alton

Jane T Kim

Ruth Kikin-Gil

Peter Eberhardy

Alice Jane Brush

Stefanie J Danhope

Rubaiyat Khan

Denis Possing

Daniel Larsen

Abigail Welborn

Jeffrey C Fong

Jeffrey Neil Margolis

William T Flora

Marc S Oshiro

Frederic Azera

Christen E Coomer

Xuelei Sun

Bradley Stevenson

Kristina M Voros

Ellen Steele

Will Vong

Bill Flora

Vaidyanathan Raghavan

The description relates to opportunity events. One example can filter events based upon at least one parameter from a profile of a user. The filtering can produce potential opportunity events for the user. The example can compare the potential opportunity events to the user profile utilizing a similarity threshold such that the potential opportunity events that satisfy the similarity threshold are considered opportunity events. The example can rank the opportunity events by confidence level of matching the user profile. The example can also automatically populate high ranking individual opportunity events onto a calendar of the user. The example can further notify the user about the automatically populating.

Opportunity events

A user sends a location request to a user of a group that requests the user's current location. For example, one family member may send a location request to another family member that is part of their family group for their current location. The user receiving the request may accept the location request or reject the location request. When the location request is reject, the requesting user is not provided with the current location information of the user. When the location request is accepted, the requesting user is provided with the current location information of the user. In addition to providing the location information to the requesting user, the location may also be shared with other members of the group. For example, a message may be sent to each of the family members that are part of the group that informs them that a member has updated their location.

Requesting a location of a user

Notifications are delivered to a user based in part on a user's current context. The notifications may be based on personal information (e.g. calendar events, tasks, alerts, and the like) as well as a context of a user. The notifications may be delivered using different types of notifications. The type of notification selected may be based on the current context of the user. Notifications may also be sent to other users (e.g. that are part of a trusted group) in response to a change in state of the event (e.g. the task completed). Instead of a user receiving notifications at preset times, notifications are delivered to the user using their current context. A group member may also create a message to another member requesting an action. When a response is made, the requesting group member receives a notification and the other group members may also receive notifications.

Smart notifications using a calendar

A method of overlaying layers of a user interface on a display of a computing device is presented herein. In a preferred embodiment, while a media item is displayed within the user interface, an overlay having features associated with the media item being displayed on the user interface is layered on top of the user interface such that the media item beneath the overlay layer is at least partially viewable through the overlay layer.

Media user interface layers and overlays

Described herein is technology for, among other things, performing navigation in a media environment. The technology involves the presenting a user with only a portion of the previously visited pages or areas as he or she moves to previously visited pages or areas. As the user moves around the media environment, the movements are recorded for use when requests are received for previously visited areas or pages. As the user moves to previously visited areas redundant pages or areas are skipped. Thus, the user's forward and backward navigation are different and the user moves backward more easily, quickly and efficiently.

Enhanced user navigation to previously visited areas in a media environment

Embodiments of a media user interface are presented herein. In one embodiment, a plurality of representations of media items is arranged into a plurality of groups such that the plurality of groups of representations are horizontally navigated like a carousel. In another embodiment, the plurality of representations of media items is presented based on user selection of data associated with features of the media items. Yet in another embodiment where a plurality of representations is vertically aligned, navigating a representation causes vertical space between the representation and another representation next to it to be increased and causes representations of a sub-category of the representation to be displayed within the increased space.

Media user interface left/right navigation

Outputting a user interface having a list of a plurality of representations of media items on a display of a computing device is presented. In one embodiment, a center locking region (CLR) is defined in the user interface and covers a portion of the plurality of representations, wherein navigation from a first representation within the CLR to a second representation outside the CLR causes a scrolling of the second representation into the CLR on one horizontal side and a scrolling of a third representation within the CLR out of the CLR on the other horizontal side while navigation through a portion of the plurality of representations within the CLR causes no scrolling. In another embodiment, a gap indicating a beginning and an end of the list is displayed and a scrolling occurs when the gap is within the CLR and a horizontal navigation within the CLR is performed.

Media user interface gallery control

User interface for a portion of a display screen

A 10-Foot media user interface is herein described. A computer user interface may be designed for primary use as a 10-Foot user interface, where a user controls the computer using a remote control device, instead of as a traditional 2-Foot user interface where the user controls the computer using keyboard and mouse from directly in from of the computer. The 10-Foot user interface uses 3D space and animations to more clearly indicate navigation and selection of items in the user interface to the controlling user. Use of three-dimensional space also increases the display screen real estate that is available for content items, and allows the media user interface to move unselected items out of primary view of the user. The user interface may animate movement in three-dimensions to allow the user to more easily conceptually follow navigation of the user interface.

Multi-planar three-dimensional user interface

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Bojana Ostojic