International Business Machines Corporation

Frederick Yung-Fung Wu

Gregory Peter Fitzpatrick

Seshashayee Sankarshana Murthy

James T Yeh

John Nathan Rachlin

Maja Vukovic

Yaoping Ruan

Shang Qing Guo

Anup Kalia

Sai Zeng

Constantin Mircea Adam

John Joseph Rofrano

Jin Xiao

Rong Liu

Nikolaos Anerousis

Chengjun Julian Chen

Brenda Lynn Dietrich

Santhosh Babu Kumaran

Pieter J Kerstens

Paul Bao-Luo Chou

Rama K Akkiraju

Danny C Wong

Martin Clarence Sturzenbecker

Rama Kalyani Tirumala Akkiraju

Jon R Mandeville

Robin Lougee-Heimer

Raymond T Henry

Pinar Keskinocak

Robert Mack Fuhrer

Techniques facilitating causing a information technology change service action in response to a received instructive command are provided. In one example, a computer-implemented method can comprise receiving a command from a device, wherein an intent of the command relates to performing an information technology change service action. The computer-implemented method can also comprise determining the intent of the command and selecting a service from a federation of services based on the information indicative of the intent of the command. The computer-implemented method can further comprise ordering the service relative to another service of the federation of services based on a determined level of confidence that the service will facilitate performing the information technology change service action. Moreover, the computer-implemented method can comprise activating the service based on an order of the service relative to the other service and the information indicative of the intent of the command.

Contextual automation of information technology change services

Methods, systems, and computer program products for a protected graphical user interface for role-based application and data access are provided herein. A method for controlling access on an endpoint device to at least a portion of an application includes obtaining a default configuration indicating whether one or more widget functions associated with the application are enabled in a graphical user interface; modifying one or more of the widget functions in the default configuration to a disabled status in the graphical user interface based on a privilege configuration; determining if one or more user click events generated using the graphical user interface are associated with a widget function having the disabled status; and preventing the user click events having the disabled status from being provided to an operating system for further processing, wherein at least one of the steps is carried out by a computing device.

Protected graphical user interface for role-based application and data access

Exemplary embodiments provide a computer implemented method, system and computer usable program code for automatically generating executable components from a process model. An input is received, wherein the input comprises a model that describes activities that needs to be performed as part of a business operation, a sequencing of the activities, and input and output data of the activities, forming a process model. A model of a set of connected business artifacts based on the process model, forming a business operation model, is generated. The business operation model is saved. The business operation model is displayed to a user. Executable components definitions based on the business operation model are generated.

Automatic generation of executable components from business process models

A method and system for providing contact management to participants engaged in a communication session permits chat session participants to a communication session to determine common contacts that exist between the chat session participants. Dependent on the accessibility of the particular chat session participants' contact list, other chat session participants to the communication session can view the information located in the contact list. Moreover, a particular chat session participant to the communication session can give either a particular chat session participant or all the chat session participants to the communication session permission to modify their contact list. Permission to access or modify contact lists for chat session participants can be defined prior to establishment of the communication session and/or changed during the communication session.

Method and system for providing contact management to chat session participants

The present invention relates to a process for discovering contacts common to a sender and a recipient of an electronic message (e-mail). The method can include identifying an attachment to the e-mail wherein the attachment includes a list of contacts personal to the sender. A list of contacts personal to the recipient can be retrieved. Each of the lists of contacts can be parsed and compared to identify common contacts. A common contact list can be populated with the identified common contacts.

Providing common contact discovery and management to electronic mail users

A method of connecting businesses through common interests can include storing business profiles comprising business attributes in an online business registry. Responsive to a query from an inquiring business, the online business registry can be searched to locate at least one business having a business profile including at least one business attribute corresponding to the query. At least one communications link between the inquiring business and the located business can be established according to at least one business attribute of the business profile of the located business.

Method and system for connecting businesses through common interests

The present invention provides a method and system for providing contact management to participants engaged in a communication session. The invention permits chat session participants to a communication session to determine common contacts that exists between the chat session participants. Dependent on the accessibility of the particular chat session participants' contact list, other chat session participants to the communication session can view the information located in the contact list. Moreover, a particular chat session participant to the communication session can give either a particular chat session participant or all the chat session participants to the communication session permission to modify their contact list. Permission to access or modify contact lists for chat session participants can be defined prior to establishment of the communication session and/or changed during the communication session. Changes relating to whether a particular contact list is accessible and/or modifiable can be initiated by the chat session participant associated with the contact list. Additionally, such changes can be initiated by a request from a chat session participants to modify the contact records in a particular contact list. The invention can be applicable to systems which can include, but is not limited to, chat rooms, instant messaging, and call conferencing.

A way to conduct complex transactions by auction efficiently and with a high degree of automation is provided by a methodology for conducting auctions in which bids contain multiple attributes, as opposed to a single attribute (price). Bidders are requested to specify values for each of a set of attributes, which can include transaction terms as well as product and/or service specifications. The bids are evaluated according to criteria that are functions of these attributes in order to reject losing bids and assist the auctioneer in selecting the winning bid(s).

Multi-attribute auction methodology and system

Prediction methods that anticipate the outcome of a detailed optimization step are used in lieu of or in conjunction with actual optimization to improve response time and reduce required computational resources for optimization problems having a hierarchical structure. Decomposition of the optimization problem into sub-problems and sub-sub-problems is, itself, an optimization process which is iteratively performed while preferably guided by prediction of the quality of solutions to the problems into which the &ldquo;master&rdquo; optimization problem may be decomposed. Prediction also reduces the requirements for computational resources and allows more decompositions to be examined within the available time in order to arrive at a more nearly optimal decomposition as well as a more nearly optimal solution. Prediction is selectively used when it is determined that such a benefit is probable.

Optimization prediction for industrial processes

An apparatus and a method for imaging the mouth area laterally to produce reliable measurements of mouth and lip shapes for use in assisting the speech recognition task. A video camera is arranged with a headset and a microphone to capture a lateral profile image of a speaker. The lateral profile image is then used to compute features such as lip separation, lip shape and intrusion depth parameters. The parameters are used in real time, during speech recognition process to characterize and discriminate spoken phonemes to produce a high degree of accuracy in automatic speech recognition processing, especially in a noisy environment.

Speech recognition aided by lateral profile image

A plurality of near-optimum solutions to allocations of resources to demand information are provided by consideration of different combinations of sources of resource information such as inventory and performance/production capacity of a provider and/or other providers by the use of one or more algorithm/agents and a problem formulator which selects algorithms to be applied and provides selected information from selected sources of resource information thereto. The effects of actions or allocations specified in the solutions are presented to a user for comparison, modification and selection for implementation. Effects of modified solutions are also projected for comparison with other solutions or modified solutions.

Assistant for resource and demand trading

A method for effecting computer implemented decision support. The method can improve on a candidate solution by allowing problem solving methods to cooperate towards the creation of a more desirable solution. The method can realize an enhanced understanding of tradeoffs inherent in competing objectives, and can incorporate factors or special considerations not easily specified, by enabling the decision maker to actively participate in the creation of a more desirable solution.

Multi-objective decision-support methodology

A hand-held pointing device for positioning a cursor on a display having a plurality of illuminating devices at a periphery thereof, includes a housing, an interference filter coupled to the housing, a device for detecting light having been emitted from the plurality of illuminating devices and filtered by the interference filter, a device, coupled to the detecting device, for distinguishing a region of the periphery of the display from which the light having been detected originates, and a device for translating the detected light into values for positioning the cursor on the display.

Cursor pointing device based on thin-film interference filters

A system for verifying an object of interest, includes a grayscale one-dimensional bar pattern coupled to the object, an illumination and imaging system using a one-dimensional imaging device for reading the pattern coupled to the object and for producing a pattern image, a device for translating the pattern image into a sequence of bar widths and transition directions representing a detected code, a device for comparing the detected code with a predetermined code, and a device for indicating one of the detected code and acceptance or rejection of the detected code based on comparison of the detected code with the predetermined code.

Grayscale barcode reading apparatus system including translating device

A confocal imaging system utilizes an opaque mask with a slit and a row of pinpoint sensors or utilizes an opaque mask with a skewed pattern of pinholes and an array of isolated pinpoint sensors in a matching pattern in order to obtain sufficient data to provide a complete image for imaging and/or inspecting an object such as electronics in a single one-dimensional scan. The system also simultaneously produces multiple images at different heights in the single one-dimensional scan of the viewed object, and also simultaneously produces images taken in different spectral bands in the same one-dimensional scan of the object to be imaged and/or inspected. The relative height or depth of the different images can be modified by simply adjusting the inclination between the confocal imaging system and a path followed by the object that is to be imaged and/or inspected during the one-dimensional scan. The optical confocal imaging system requires no moving parts and the only moving parts of the system are for motorized conveying of the object to be imaged and/or inspected along the path. In one arrangement of the confocal imaging system, color imaging and/or inspecting of the object can be performed. In another arrangement of the confocal imaging system, simultaneous brightfield and darkfield imaging and/or inspecting of an object can be performed.

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Greenwich, CT, United States of America

Frederick Yung-Fung Wu