International Business Machines Corporation

John Patterson

Steven I Ross

Susanne Hupfer

Li-Te Cheng

Daniel M Gruen

Steven L Rohall

James Edward Christensen

Stephen Eric Levy

Nishanth R Sastry

Paul Brian Moody

Bernard J Kerr

Jamie C Rasmussen

Seymour Kellerman

Bryan William Clark

Eric M Wilcox

Masato Ikura

Phuong B Le

Steve L Rohall

Arjuna Wijeyekoon

A publication-and-subscription mechanism for team rooms, referred to as team room 'channels', through which teams are able to selectively share resources from their team rooms with non-members, and that allows selective contributions, modifications, and discussions from non-members. The team room channels operate as bidirectional information pipelines to other team rooms. The team room channels may either be broadcast to all known teams, or be published selectively to one or more designated 'target' teams. The receiving team rooms may then subscribe to specific published channels as appropriate. Information items from a team's team room, such as documents, tasks, representations of team members, and/or other resources, may be added to one or more of a team's published channels. Teams can associate specific permissions with each channel, including Read, Contribute, Modify, and/or Discuss. These permissions apply to all items associated with the channel. Teams can subscribe to those channels published to them, to receive synchronous notifications of changes to the channel items.

Selective information sharing across team spaces

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for virtual world integration with a collaborative computing application. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for virtual world and collaborative computing application integration can be provided. The method can include loading a virtual world, detecting a posting in a collaborative application, and creating an object with the posting in the virtual world. The method further can include detecting a creation of an object in the virtual world including content, and creating a posting in the collaborative application with the content from the object in the virtual world. In one aspect of the embodiment, creating an object with the posting in the virtual world can include determining a topic for the posting, identifying a place in the virtual world corresponding to the topic, and creating the object in the identified place.

Virtual world integration with a collaborative application

A chat user interface for threaded text chat systems. The user interface can include a canvas view in which multiple portions of a threaded text tree for a chat session can be rendered separately and concurrently. The user interface further can include a chat participant view, a chat input view and an outline view of an ongoing chat session. Notably, selections of a threaded text tree rendered in the canvas view can be configured for zooming so that certain parts of the threaded text tree can be viewed more readily than other parts of the threaded text tree. Moreover, as new text entries are provided to any branch of the threaded text tree, visual indicators can be activated in the canvas view to alert an end user to the location of the new text entries. Finally, the canvas view can accommodate both imported external objects, such as graphics or links to Web pages, and also a white board region into which notations can be applied by an end user during the course of a chat session.

Chat user interface for threaded text chat systems

Computer method and apparatus persists portions of group conversations in a virtual environment. A group conversation is formed of group member communications. Indications or illustrations, such as chat bubbles, are displayed to end users to represent the group member communications. The invention system enables a user to persist a portion of the group conversation by selecting respective indicators (e.g., chat bubbles) corresponding to one or more of the group member communications. The processor (persist engine) also enables any user to interact with persisted conversation portions. Interactions supported include moving, arranging, tagging with metadata and saving snapshots of the persisted conversation portions, in the virtual environment.

Computer method and apparatus for persisting pieces of a virtual world group conversation

A computer method and apparatus control virtual environment cameras based on context. Current context is detected in a subject virtual environment. As a function of detected context, a set of predefined camera views is provided and displayed for user selection. Upon user selection of a camera view from the provided and displayed set of predefined camera views, a camera of the subject virtual environment is updated. The camera view is changed to the user selected camera view. There is ongoing detection of context and indicating of candidate camera views based on context, for user selection and update of the camera view.

Contextual camera method and apparatus for virtual environments

An expertise locator enables user defined correspondences between experts and respective certain objects. Each object inherits from classes in a hierarchy. Using the correspondences, a locator processor routine finds a candidate expert about a particular subject area. The candidate expert may be in a correspondence with a certain object whose class is a subclass of the particular subject area. Output may display an indication of the candidate expert, relevant expertise per candidate and/or a list of experts per certain object. In the case of the certain objects being topics, the hierarchy is an ontology of the topics.

System and method for ontology-based location of expertise

A computer-based method and system for just-in-time semantic information retrieval is disclosed. A user interface detects user interaction with a displayed semantic entity. In response, a search member uses semantic information about the displayed entity and automatically searches for information about the subject entity. The search employs system and/or external knowledge bases and returns highly relevant results and information with increased specificity due to the semantic basis. A sidebar unobtrusively displays to the user the search results initially obtained without user request or demand, i.e., on the user's behalf. The sidebar enables the user to dismiss the search results and to effectively copy or export the search results as desired.

Method and apparatus for semantic just-in-time-information-retrieval

A computer system and method providing on-demand extension of ontology in an ontology use process. A support module responds to a creation event in the ontology use process. The support module defines ontology specification for a newly created item, in the creation event, in a manner substantially free of disruption or interruption to the ontology use process. An ontology manager incorporates the defined ontology specification into the ontology during the ontology use process such that an on-demand extension of the ontology results. One example ontology use process is semantic modeling of situations, organizations, or objects of interest. Modeling and ontology specification take place hand in hand, and the ontology is extended on an as-needed and on-demand fashion during the course of modeling.

Method and apparatus for providing on-demand ontology creation and extension

Computer method and apparatus represent users by respective avatars in a subject virtual environment. The invention system displays the avatars in the virtual environment, and for each avatar, displays in proximity to the avatar, a respective trail of virtual contact objects. The respective trail of virtual contact objects is associated with the user represented by the avatar and serves as a visual indication of presence and activeness (level of activity) of the user in the subject virtual environment. Each virtual contact object in the respective trail stores and provides user contact data of the user and is persistable upon end-user command.

Computer system and method of using presence visualizations of avatars as persistable virtual contact objects

Presented is a computer system and user interface for seamlessly integrating the creation and submission of persistent queries, and for collecting and presenting the real-time results of those queries, into the context of one's work and directly structured work artifacts. Users are provided a real-time awareness of what is happening to their persistent queries and their results, from within the work context of the artifact and program application used during creation and submission of the queries. Rather than having to visit a separate alerting application, the user is able to manage queries and query results directly from a subject application, such as a problem-solving application.

Computer method and system for contextual management and awareness of persistent queries and results

A computer method and system provides for graphical specification of inquiries and includes a corresponding progressive summary. The inquiries operate on stream data. Users graphically specify an inquiry in a graphical user interface according to an ontology. The invention system generates a plain-text translation of the graphical description of the inquiry and displays the generated plain-text description in a progressive summary in the graphical user interface. The system continually updates and generates the display of the plain-text description during user construction of the inquiry. This provides feedback to the user for improved construction of the inquiry.

Computer method and apparatus for graphical inquiry specification with progressive summary

An improved solution for managing a project. In particular, one or more development artifacts for the project can be annotated based on a collaborative session regarding the development artifact(s). The collaborative session can be stored as a collaborative artifact, which also can be stored in the project. As a result, the collaborative session can be readily recalled and/or subsequently resumed by one or more users.

Method, system and program product for annotating a development artifact

Under the present invention, an executable object such as binary or JAVA byte code corresponding to the software application is obtained. Based on an analysis of the software application, points for introducing the collaborative components are identified. A set of executable code (e.g., an Aspect) to introduce the collaborative components at the identified points is then defined and built. Thereafter, the set of executable code and the collaborative components are linked to the executable object.

Method, system and program product for retrofitting collaborative components into existing software applications

A calendar bar utility with a special user interface may be integrated and displayed simultaneously with an electronic mail list inbox. The calendar bar user interface comprises a linear display arranged into multiple, chronologically-arranged, time periods. Upon selection of a specific time period, such as a day, or the current day, subdivisions of the time period, e.g. hours of a day, are displayed in a similar format. The calendar bar also allows multiple calendars, for example the personal calendar of the user, and a team calendar for multiple individuals, to be displayed simultaneously for easy access. Selection of a specific time period causes data associated with any event in that time period to be displayed next to the designated time period, or, alternatively, in a separate window. The data associated with the event may vary in detail and scope depending on the designer preferences, but will typically include the start and end times, the location, topic, type, i.e. call-in, video conference, etc., the participants, relevant telephone numbers, network addresses, electronic mail content and/or threads or summaries thereof and references to any relevant data and materials.

Calendar bar interface for electronic mail interaction

An electronic mail inbox uses a mail agent to categorize incoming electronic mail to facilitate more flexible and rapid viewing and possible response thereto. Several special functions for collection of regularly sent types of mail, such as newsletters, office memos, press releases, etc., are utilized. In addition, special menu items are provided for collection and presentation of different priority items, such as urgent correspondence and approval requests. The electronic mail inbox facilitates multiple viewing options so that collections of regularly sent or different priority types of mail may be viewed separately and/or interleaved with other items in a main mail inbox. In addition, items that require an affirmative response, such as approval requests, may include a special preview format that allows for rapid viewing of pertinent details and approval directly from the mail inbox without review of the complete item.

Growing community of inventors

Carlisle, MA, United States of America

John Patterson