Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Carmen Zlateff

Chunkit Jacky Chan

Dahey Yoo

Daniel Rosenstein

Bradley G Weed

Ramona Canan

Omkar Anand Mehendale

Ivan D Romashka

Ian N Peth

Adam K Avery

Christian Klein

Chaitanya Dev Sareen

Ravi Rao

David G Thaler

Tsz Yan Wong

Cesare John Saretto

Miron Vranjes

Christopher Doan

Jeremy Monroe Bowen

David Michael Miller

John S Holmes

Richard Fang

John R Selbie

Adam Christopher Czeisler

Scott A Senkeresty

Lavanya Vasudevan

Ojiakonobi Udezue

Tatjana Fournier

Christopher E Swan

Abhishek Malani

Yuval Gross

Keith Arthur Fournier, Ii

Anthony G Thane

Techniques are described herein that are capable of providing universal back navigation for multiple windows. Universal back navigation allows universal back functionality to transition between operating in an in-application context and a cross-application context. In the in-application context, operation of the universal back functionality is restricted to functionality of an application (e.g., a single application) to which user instructions are to be currently directed by default. In the cross-application context, operation of the universal back functionality is not restricted to functionality of the application to which user instructions are to be currently directed by default.

Universal back navigation for multiple windows

Image curation techniques are described. In one or more implementations, one or more modules are launched for execution on a computing device. Responsive to the launch, criteria are generated automatically and without user intervention through execution of the one or more modules by a computing device. Images are curated using the generated criteria automatically and without user intervention through execution of the one or more modules, the curated images identified from a plurality of different image sources that are associated with a user. The curated images are caused to be displayed by a display device of the computing device automatically and without user intervention through execution of the one or more modules.

Image curation

Context-sensitive content may be created that may be recognized by a particular program but ignored by other programs. For example, in an e-mail message or other type of message, content could be created that advises the user to download a particular client for an enhanced content-viewing experience, along with a link pointing to a site where the client may be downloaded. This content and link could be surrounded by tags that would not be recognized by most clients, but that would be recognized by the client that provides the enhanced experience. Thus, most clients would render the advice and link, but the client that provides the enhanced experience could be configured to omit the link when it recognizes the surrounding tags, since a recipient who is viewing the e-mail with that client already has access to the enhanced experience.

Program-sensitive link in content

Functionality is described for collecting and presenting action information. The action information describes actions that take place on items at specified times. Among other applications, the functionality assists a user in identifying and accessing relevant items. In one illustrative case, the functionality can display action information in a timeline presentation.

Collecting and presenting temporal-based action information

Communication functionality is described for conducting communication among a plurality of participants in peer-to-peer fashion. The communication functionality comprises peer-to-peer overlay functionality configured to establish a peer-to-peer overlay network that includes a plurality of participants. The peer-to-peer overlay functionality relies on endpoint provider functionality for physically exchanging information among the plurality of participants in the peer-to-peer overlay network. The endpoint provider functionality exchanges information using a transport mechanism. The transport mechanism accommodates multiple different transport protocols for exchanging information among the plurality of participants, allowing different pairs of participants to communicate with each other using different respective transport protocols. Address translation functionality is employed for translating address information between a first address space used by the peer-to-peer overlay functionality and a second address space used by the endpoint provider functionality.

Peer-to-peer multicasting using multiple transport protocols

Strategies are described for establishing a peer-to-peer (P2P) direct coupling channel between two user devices at the commencement of an Instant Messaging (IM) conversation. Provisions are described for gracefully switching to a switchboard coupling channel when the conversation includes more than two participants, and switching back to the P2P coupling channel if the conversation again is restored to two participants (providing that the P2P coupling channel is still active when the conversation is restored to two participants).

Strategies for peer-to-peer instant messaging

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Carmen Zlateff