Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Other

Jonathan Garcia

Sean O Lyndersay

Jane T Kim

Miladin Pavlicic

Robert Mitchell Smith

David L Risney

Joseph T Wyman

Steve Strauch

Matt Bielich

Jason Dean Giles

Li-Chen Lim Miller

Pat Halvorsen

Robert Smith

Li-Chen Miller

Various embodiments provide a service platform that integrates services, such as web services and/or local services, across a variety of applications. In at least some embodiments, services can be integrated with legacy applications that are 'unaware' of such services, as well as applications that are aware of such services.

Service platform for in-context results

Example methods manage data that relates a user to a player slot and to a game controller. One example method operates in a multi-user computer environment that includes a game console and a game controller. The method may establish a first mapping and a second mapping for a game running on the console. The first mapping relates a generic player position to a user profile and the second mapping relates the user profile with a game controller. The mappings rely on mapping data provided to the game through a user interface available during the game. The method controls the game, as a function of the first mapping and the second mapping, to manage controller pairings to attribute actions performed at a controller with a currently mapped user profile and then to a player slot. Controller pairings may be managed while the game is in progress without interrupting a game experience.

Managing controller pairings

Example apparatus and methods concern controlling context associations while maintaining a user experience. A memory stores information concerning a context associated with a shared launch surface in a multi-user system running on an apparatus. The memory also stores information concerning a second context associated with an application launched from the shared launch surface and running on the apparatus. Example apparatus and methods provide a launch surface context interface and an application context interface. The interfaces present information that facilitates changing launch surface ownership or application context while maintaining a user experience. For example, logic may selectively control a launch surface context association as a function of data provided by the launch surface context interface and may control an application context association as a function of data provided by the application context interface. The context associations can be manipulated without having to navigate to the launch surface.

Launch surface control

Example apparatus and methods concern attributing user actions based on biometric identifications. One example method includes detecting an action intended to control an application associated with a shared launch surface. The method includes associating the action with a body located in a field of view of a biometric sensor associated with a shared launch surface. Data from the biometric sensor is used to determine a biometric identity for the body and then the action is attributed to a user as a function of the biometric identity. A context associated with the user is accessed and an operation associated with the action is selectively controlled based on the context.

Attributing user action based on biometric identity

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Duval, WA, United States of America

Jonathan Garcia