Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Xandr Inc.

Appnexus Inc.

Eric Steven Anderson

Matthew Bret MacLaurin

Lili Cheng

Christian James Colando

Catherine S O'Kelley

Wendy W Johansson

David Raskino

Steve Ickman

Blaise Aguera Y Arcas

Eric Paul Bennett

Scott Vernon Fynn

Stephen B Coy

Mark Finch

Systems and methods for providing an impression inventory trading platform are described. A specification of impression inventory for sale is received from a seller, the impression inventory having associated therewith a plurality of attributes. Each attribute is specified as either visible or hidden to a potential impression inventory buyer. The impression inventory specification and visible attributes associated therewith are provided to one or more potential impression inventory buyers via a user interface, and negotiation for purchase of the impression inventory is facilitated between the seller and one or more of the potential impression inventory buyers via the user interface.

Methods and systems for impression inventory trading

Described is a virtual environment built by drawing stacks of three-dimensional objects (e.g., discrete blocks) as manipulated by a user. A user manipulates one or more objects, resulting in stack heights being changed, e.g., by adding, removing or moving objects to/from stacks. The stack heights are maintained as sample points, e.g., each point indexed by its associated horizontal location. A graphics processor expands height-related information into visible objects or stacks of objects by computing the vertices for each stack to draw that stack's top surface, front surface and/or side surface based upon the height-related information for that stack. Height information for neighboring stacks may be associated with the sample point, whereby a stack is only drawn to where it is occluded by a neighboring stack, that is, by computing the lower vertices for a surface according to the height of a neighboring stack where appropriate.

Discrete objects for building virtual environments

Generating and updating event presentation user interfaces. Embodiments include identifying a first geographical location of a first computing device corresponding to a first invitee to an event, and a second geographical location of a second computing device corresponding to a second invitee. An event presentation user interface is generated, to include a first invitee presence indicator indicating that the first invitee is within a predetermined distance from a geographical location of the event, and a second invitee presence indicator indicating the second invitee is outside of the predetermined distance from the geographical location of the event. Based at least on the second computing device having moved to a third geographical location that is within the predetermined distance from the geographical location of the event, the second invitee presence indicator is updated to indicate that the second invitee is within the predetermined distance from the geographical location of the event.

Event planning within social networks

Social networks often permit users to create events, and to invite one or more contacts of the user to as guests. However, conventional social networks may not sufficiently facilitate users in planning an event for which one or more event details are to be determined. According to the techniques presented herein, a social network may permit users to create an event plan, and may permit guests to submit event plan suggestions for various event plan details of the event plan. The social network may also assist the guests in selecting among the event plan suggestions, e.g., by accepting and tallying votes by the guests among alternative event plan suggestions, by providing event plan suggestions based on search engine results, and by presenting maps of event plan suggestions involving locations. The social network may also accept RSVPs, and may notify guests once a guest arrives at a location of the event.

An authoring system on a mobile device (or other type of device) may help a user to author a message based on context available on the device. Context data comes to exist on the device in some manner. For example, the context may contain the results of a search that a user has performed on the device. A message may be proposed based on the search query and/or the result&#x2014;e.g., if a user searches for 'Edinburgh,' the authoring system may propose the message 'Username likes Edinburgh' or &#x201c;Username is learning about Edinburgh.&#x201d; The authoring system may allow the user to change the message and/or to add additional content and/or links to the message. The user may then to send the message over some channel such as e-mail, a social network, a microblogging site, etc.

Assisted content authoring

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Eric Steven Anderson