Mips Technologies, Inc.

Square, Inc.

Apple Inc.

Block, Inc.

Sonic Ip, Inc.

John L Kelley

Ying-wai Ho

Max Joseph Guise

Todor Ristov

XingYu Jiang

Imran Sana Khan

Eric Monti

David Donovan

Jason A Braness

Kourosh Soroushian

Ryan C Kinter

Matthew H Maibach

Roland Osborne

Shaiwal Priyadarshi

Cory Douthat

Michael C Lamfalusi

Andrew D Myrick

Soumya Banerjee

Rodion Steshenko

Nicholas Hebner

Zachary Crosby

Michael J Schulte

Davis Gallinghouse

Techniques are described for securely updating a point-of-sale (POS) system that includes a merchant-facing device and a buyer-facing device. For instance, the merchant-facing device may execute first software that provides first POS functionality and the buyer-facing device may execute second software that provides second POS functionality. To update both devices, the merchant-facing device may receive a software update from a payment service via a network connection, and update the first software using the software update. The merchant-facing device can then cause, via a physical connection, the buyer-facing device to reboot in an update mode and send the software update to the buyer-facing device. In response, the buyer-facing device can update the second software using the software update and then reboot in a payments mode. In some instances, the buyer-facing device can then update a secure enclave on the buyer-facing device using the software update.

Securely updating software on connected electronic devices

Techniques for securely updating a point-of-sale (POS) system that includes a merchant-facing device and a buyer-facing device are described. For instance, the merchant-facing device may execute first software that provides first POS functionality and the buyer-facing device may execute second software that provides second POS functionality. To update both devices, the merchant-facing device may receive a software update from a payment service via a network connection, and update the first software using the software update. The merchant-facing device can then cause, via a physical connection, the buyer-facing device to reboot in an update mode and send the software update to the buyer-facing device. In response, the buyer-facing device can update the second software using the software update and then reboot in a payments mode. In some instances, the buyer-facing device can then update a secure enclave on the buyer-facing device using the software update.

Techniques for implementing policy-based anti-rollback techniques on a computing device are described herein. As an example, a remote service may provide the computing device with a boot policy which indicates, for each boot stage of a software bootloader process, what software versions are permitted to execute. Prior to providing the computing device with the boot policy, the remote service may sign the boot policy with a private key, and include of an identifier corresponding to the computing device. At each boot stage of the bootloader process, components of the computing device may verify, using a public key, that the boot policy was signed with the private key, and that the boot policy corresponds to the computing device. After verification, the components may analyze the boot policy to determine whether each boot stage is permitted to execute a software version and boot to the next boot stage.

Update policy-based anti-rollback techniques

A point-of-sale (POS) device includes a processor, a universal serial bus (USB) hub, two switches, and an external connector that connects the POS device to a secondary device with its own second processor. In a primary mode, the processor is connected to a host connector of the USB hub and the secondary device is connected to a first peripheral connector of the USB hub via the external connector. In a secondary mode, the processor is connected to the first peripheral connector of the USB hub and the secondary device is connected to the host connector of the USB hub via the external connector. The processor controls the switch from the primary mode to the secondary mode, and vice versa, by transmitting control signals to control pins of the two switches, and optionally by transmitting a reset signal to a reset pin of the USB hub.

Point of sale device with switchable internal connection roles

A payment terminal can have a secured test mode. Interfaces of the payment terminal may be secured via various techniques. Self-test input touch inputs may be provided at a user interface to initiate device self-tests. The payment terminal may perform the self-tests, and generate a machine-readable output including device information and results from the self-tests. The payment terminal may display the machine-readable output for scanning by test equipment.

Secured device manufacturing self-test

In one or more embodiments, methods and apparatus are provided for simulating device communications such as those of the Universal Serial Bus ('USB') or the like. The methods and apparatus involve receiving host requests that represent commands in a communication protocol and are associated with communication endpoints, distributing the host requests across the communication endpoints in the order that they are received, to their associated endpoints to generate a distribution of requests, generating a reordered plurality of host requests by selecting the host requests from the communication endpoints in an order based upon the order in which the requests are received and one or more simulation factors, receiving device requests from a simulated device in accordance with the communication protocol, merging the reordered host requests and the plurality of device requests to form a merged sequence of requests, and performing commands from the merged sequence of requests in the order.

Simulated input/output devices

Systems and methods of providing enhanced digital media playback through application enhancement tracks are described. Application enhancement tracks are derived from the main content that they are associated with and are encoded to aid the performance of one or more functions related to the content, such as visual-search using a video application enhancement track, or trick-play track. In several embodiments, a method of decoding a media file for play back includes obtaining a media file containing compressed content and an accompanying application enhancement track which is a subset of the compressed content, playing back the compressed content, and decoding frames of the application enhancement track at a rate proportional to a visual-search speed and from a location determined by the portion of the compressed content most recently played back.

Application enhancement tracks

Floating-point processors capable of performing multiply-add (Madd) operations and incorporating improved intermediate result handling capability. The floating-point processor includes a multiplier unit coupled to an adder unit. In a specific operating mode, the intermediate result from the multiplier unit is processed (i.e., rounded but not normalized or denormalized) into representations that are more accurate and easily managed in the adder unit. By processing the intermediate result in such manner, accuracy is improved, circuit complexity is reduced, operating speed may be increased.

Processor with improved accuracy for multiply-add operations

A method and apparatus for recoding one or more instruction sets. An expand instruction and an expandable instruction are read from an instruction cache. A tag compare and way selection unit checks to verify each instruction is a desired instruction. An instruction staging unit dispatches the expand instruction to a first recoder and the expandable instruction to a second recoder of a recoding unit. At least one information bit based on the expand instruction is generated at the first recoder. The second recoder uses the at least one information bit generated at the first recoder to recode the expandable instruction, and the recoded expandable instruction is placed in an instruction buffer.

Multi-ISA instruction fetch unit for a processor, and applications thereof

The accuracy of approximating the reciprocal and the reciprocal square root of a number (N) is improved. Approximating the reciprocal of N includes: (a) estimating the reciprocal of N to produce an estimate (X); (b) determining a first intermediate result (IR1) according to the equation: IR1=1&#x2212;N*X; (c) multiplying IR1 by Xto produce a second intermediate result (IR2); and (d) adding Xto IR2 to produce an approximation of the reciprocal of N. Approximating the reciprocal square root includes: (a) estimating the reciprocal square root of N to produce X; (b) multiplying Xby N to produce IR1; (c) determining IR2 according to the equation: IR2=(1&#x2212;X*IR1)/2; (d) multiplying IR2 by Xto produce a third intermediate result (IR3); and (e) adding IR3 to Xto produce an approximation of the reciprocal square root of the number.

System and method for improving the accuracy of reciprocal square root operations performed by a floating-point unit

Floating-point processors capable of performing multiply-add (Madd) operations and incorporating improved intermediate result handling capability. The floating-point processor includes a multiplier unit coupled to an adder unit. The intermediate result from the multiplier unit is processed (i.e., rounded) into representations that are more easily managed in the adder unit. However, some of the processing (i.e., normalization and exponent adjustment) to generate an IEEE-compliant representation is deferred to the adder unit. By combining and deferring some of the processing steps for the intermediate result, circuit complexity is reduced and operational performance is improved.

Floating-point processor with improved intermediate result handling

A method and apparatus predict whether an overflow or underflow floating-point exception could occur as a result of a data processing system performing a particular floating-point operation. Predictions are made based on at least one overflow threshold value, at least first and second underflow threshold values, and a preliminary result exponent value derived from the values of the exponents of the floating-point numbers that are about to be acted upon. The preliminary result exponent is compared to an overflow or underflow threshold value in order to predict whether there is a possibility that an overflow or underflow floating-point exception could occur. Overflow and underflow exceptions are predicted and an exception prediction signal is generated. The exception prediction signals that are generated may be used by data processing system control units, for example, to temporarily halt any parallel processing operations that may be affected by an overflow or underflow floating-point exception.

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Madison, WI, United States of America

John L Kelley