Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Emmanuel John Athans

Monty Hammontree

Tyler Edward Gibson

Vikram Padmakar Bapat

Chad Michael Roberts

Xiaoji Chen

Stuart John Mayhew

Jean Pierre Duplessis

Graham Bury

Jean-Pierre Duplessis

Daniel R Dole

Tarek Madkour

Scott E Seiber

Scott Robert Marison

Jeffrey Thomas Chrisope

Sushanth Rajasankar

Jeannette Anne Gatlin

Jeffrey Stylos

James Kristian Johansen

Justin Toshiyuki Goshi

Stephen Giff

Monty Lee Hammontree

Various technologies described herein pertain to controlling functionality of a display based on visual focus of a user in a multiple display or multiple computational device environment. A particular display from a set of displays on which a user is visually focused is identified. The set of displays includes at least a first display and a second display. Moreover, a type of input receivable from the user via the first display and/or content rendered on the first display is controlled based on the visual focus of the user.

Visual focus-based control of couples displays

Various technologies described herein pertain to controlling a game with a mobile touch-enabled device. A thumbstick and a mode selection button can be rendered on a display of the mobile touch-enabled device. The thumbstick can be rendered on a reassignable area of the display and the mode selection button can be rendered on a mode selection area of the display. A touch (e.g., drag) from the mode selection area to the reassignable area can be detected, and an operation in the game can be controlled with the thumbstick represented as being at a depressed height in response to the touch in the reassignable area while the touch is detected without discontinuity of contact from starting the drag. Further, upon detecting discontinuation of the touch, a different operation in the game can be controlled with the thumbstick represented as being at a default height in response to a subsequent touch.

Game controller on mobile touch-enabled devices

A direct manipulation user interface provides a user with a means to interact with control points associated with smart objects to create and modify complex 3D graphic objects. The direct manipulation user interface includes a precision control mechanism that enables a user to specify precise measurements for a transformation through the user's interaction with a control point. The direct manipulation user interface also includes a history bar that enables a user to scroll back to a previous stage in the design process and to undo a sequence of transformations through the user's interaction with the history bar.

Direct manipulation user interface for smart objects

Visual inspection of alpha channel values is aided by displaying a partially transparent image rendered over an animated background pattern. The background pattern is user-specified or chosen automatically. The background pattern has colors, shapes, position, orientation, magnification, and distortion. The visual appearance of the background pattern is automatically altered, and the partially transparent image is redisplayed, this time rendered over the altered background pattern. The background pattern may scroll, rotate, change shape, pulse, morph shape, and/or change colors during animation. The background includes a checkerboard or another tessellation, a color gradient, a transparency heat map, a procedurally generated texture, and/or other patterns. A color identified in the partially transparent image may provoke use of a complementary color in the background. The image whose transparency is being visually inspected zooms independently of the background pattern. Animation of the background helps reveal unwanted transparency values, which the user edits as desired.

Animated visualization of alpha channel transparency

Visual focus-based control of coupled displays

Display screen with animated graphical user interface

Display screen with graphical user interface

A smart object represents a 3D graphics object whose control points are disclosed to a user. The control points are displayed for a user to use in performing simple and complex transformations on the 3D graphics object. The control points are positioned in areas where transformations are more likely to be made by a user. A transformation may be an action along one or more axes of the object, such as, rotation, scaling, and translation. The user may utilize the control points to perform a series of transformations that create a particular 3D graphics object without requiring expertise in the 3D graphics modeling application.

Self-disclosing control points

Various technologies described herein pertain to voice directed context sensitive visual searching. Visual content can be rendered on a display, and a voice directed query related to the visual content can be received. Contextual information related to the visual content can also be identified. Moreover, a search word recognized from the voice directed query and/or the contextual information can be used to detect an object from the visual content, where the object can be a part of the visual content. Further, a search can be performed using the object detected from the visual content, and a result of the search can be rendered on the display.

Voice directed context sensitive visual search

Hierarchical structures are visualized and navigated using an orbital model. Sibling nodes are orbitally displayed in a generally circular arrangement along an orbital path. Choosing one of the orbitally displayed nodes opens it, moving down in the hierarchy. Nodes which were not chosen are undisplayed, and child node(s) of the chosen node are orbitally displayed. Node movements may be animated. A history displays recently chosen nodes. Choosing a parent node of the orbiting nodes undisplays the child nodes, and the parent node and its siblings are orbitally displayed, thereby moving up in the hierarchy. A user may select nodes from different parts of the hierarchy by moving them into a selection tray. Selected nodes can then be subjected to a specified batch operation. Controls are available for sorting nodes and/or for altering node appearance in the display.

Orbital representation of hierarchical navigation

Growing community of inventors

Lake Forest Park, WA, United States of America

Emmanuel John Athans