Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Google Inc.

John E Knapp

Serge Lachapelle

Todd Haugen

Doreen Nelson Grieb

Rian Liebenberg

John A Solaro

Zubin Alexander

Suzan Andrew

Melinda Nascimbeni

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing communication initiation controls. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a term that a user has entered into a text field, selecting one or more contacts that match the term, providing a communication initiation control for each of multiple communication modes, determining, for each of the multiple communication modes, whether any of the selected contacts are available or are capable of communicating through the communication mode, and enabling or disabling, for each of the multiple communication modes, the communication initiation control for the communication mode based on determining whether any of the selected contacts are available or are capable of communicating through the communication mode.

Communication initiation control

A shared electronic calendar modification notice provides calendar users accessing the calendar with notification that a calendar modification has been made by another calendar user. A shared electronic calendar user accessing the shared calendar is identified. Upon identifying a shared electronic calendar user, calendar modifications that are new to the shared electronic calendar user are identified. Modification notices are then output to communicate the new calendar modifications to the calendar user.

Communicating shared electronic calendar modifications

Methods and systems for prioritizing items and displaying those items in a single view of a personal information management (PIM) application are disclosed. PIM software can prioritize items for display in the single view based on a comparison of the date of creation of the item versus the amount of time remaining to complete the item. PIM software may also take into account a priority level of the item. As an item has less time remaining as compared to the date of creation, the likelihood the item will be included in the single display increases. Any item whose due date is 'today' may be included in the single view. Items without due dates might not ever appear in the single view. Users can thus get a quick overview of items that need to be taken care of that day, without being inundated with items that can wait until another day.

Selection of items based on relative importance

Search results are classified and presented by groups based on the type of each search result. Within the groups, the search results are ranked according to a rating, such as the relevancy of the result to the search request. The groups are also ordered, e.g., based upon the highest rated search result included in each group. The relative number of search results presented in the groups can vary, based upon the relative values of the highest rated search results in successive groups. When additional search results associated with a group are not initially presented for display, the group is selectively expandable to display additional search results. The expanded group, if not already first in the list, is moved to the first position, while other groups are displayed below the expanded group.

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John E Knapp