Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Brian Ostergren

Trisha Eileen Stouffer

Raman Kumar Sarin

Eric David Heutchy

Jonathan Todd David

Gregory Joseph Canessa

Arnab Choudhury

Rodger William Benson

Jordan Dale Andersen

Eric Boller Fleegal

Bo Rohlfsen

Richard Thames Rowan

Michael Anthony Harlich

A cursor in a viewable portion of a webpage, or pan region, visually encounters a friction field when the cursor enters a margin of the viewable portion. As a user moves the cursor into the margin of the viewable portion, the movement of the displayed position of the cursor is limited as if the cursor is being restricted by a friction field in the margin. Also, as the cursor enters the margin of the viewable portion of the webpage, the webpage scrolls in the opposite direction of movement of the cursor. The amount of scroll of the webpage is proportional to a distance the cursor is away from an inner edge of the margin. When a user no longer attempts to move the cursor in the margin, the cursor fluidly drifts back toward a center of the viewable portion and so that scrolling of the webpage pauses.

Friction field for fluid margin panning in a webpage

Multi-stage cursor control techniques are described herein in which a control algorithm having multiple stages is applied to facilitate fine grained control over cursor movement and positioning. In one or more implementations, monitoring is performed to detect input provided via a controller for a computing device to manipulate a cursor within a user interface for an application. When input is detected, a multi-stage damping algorithm is applied to the detected input. The multi-stage damping algorithm may include both spatial and temporal dampening factors. Movement of the cursor is rendered in accordance with the damped input determined via application of the algorithm. Then, when input to manipulate the cursor is concluded, an attraction sequence is initiated to move the cursor to a target element contained in the user interface.

Multi-stage cursor control

A method is disclosed for providing comprehensive information of all game achievements on a single GUI of a gaming and media system. The achievements GUI lists all game achievements, whether locked or unlocked, and may visually differentiate between locked and unlocked achievements. Upon a user selecting a listed achievement, information relating to that achievement may be displayed on the same GUI, in an achievement descriptor area beside the area listing the achievements.

Comprehensive single page view of user's gaming achievements

A method is disclosed in a gaming and media system for quickly and efficiently showing all friends gaming at a given time, what they are playing, and for providing the ability to download and/or join their friend's game. Information relating to which friends are gaming online, what games they are playing and whether their games are joinable are consolidated onto a single GUI. That same GUI, referred to as a Friends Playing Now GUI, also provides the user with the ability to join games which are indicated to be joinable.

Method of providing player status and ability to join games

Described is a technology by which machines such as gaming (including media) systems are configured to synchronize streaming video between peers over a network, including participants communicating via voice or video chat. The video synchronization may include 'full' synchronization that operates to synchronize streaming video that is currently unsynchronized video, by causing participants to stop and buffer, and resume playing from a specified position in the stream. Video synchronization also may include 'fast' synchronization that operates to re-synchronize video that has begun to drift out of synchronization, such as by briefly pausing any stream that has gotten ahead of others. Also described is replicating the activation of a video transport control (e.g., pause, fast forward, rewind, skip, and the like) that occurs on one machine to other machines, such that video players behave as if there is a common remote control among the peer systems.

Synchronizing streaming video between viewers over a network

A method is disclosed in a gaming and media system for quickly and easily creating and sending mail communications including pre-populated, or preformed, messages. Upon receipt of a communication, a recipient may also quickly and easily download a game discussed in the message.

User to user game referrals

A user interface screen is displayed on a gaming device that provides both a first selectable item that indicates the ability to download games to the gaming device and a second selectable item that indicates the ability to view games that are stored on at least one storage device in the gaming device. The user interface is associated with the gaming device instead of with an individual application.

Console integrated downloadable game service

A progressive stall timer is disclosed. For example, in one disclosed embodiment, a participant in an online turn-based social experience is provided with a time interval in which to take an action in a current turn. If the participant does not take an action in the current turn during the time interval, then the participant is provided a shortened time interval during which to take an action in a later turn. In this manner, the negative impact a stalling participant has on the experience is reduced each time the participant stalls.

Progressive stall timer

Automatic downloading of game content to a game console is provided. A user enables automatic downloading, and thereafter, game content available from a game server is periodically checked to determine if any content matches criteria specified for downloading. If a match is found, and the user has not previously downloaded the content, or a previous version of the content, then the game content is added to a download queue. The content specified in the download queue is transferred to the game console.

Automatic delivery of game content to a game console

Key-limited use applications are maintained at a central service where the central service can receive requests from a remote computing device for access to the key-limited use applications. The key-limited use applications include publicly available portions and a locked portions accessible with a key. The central service can provide a key to the remote computing device associated with a key-limited use application for complete access. The key can be stored in a memory device associated with the remote computing device. A digital signature can be assigned to the key to prevent operation of the key in a second computing device. Unauthorized or unlicensed computing devices are prevented from using the applications.

Growing community of inventors

Redmond, WA, United States of America

Brian Ostergren