Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Other

Joseph T Wyman

Elizabeth Ann Holz

Christina M Meyer

Kelly Elizabeth Rollin

Choon-mun Hooi

Robert Mitchell Smith

Rubaiyat Khan

Jonathan Garcia

Jaclyn Konzelmann

Jason Dean Giles

Li-Chen Lim Miller

Pat Halvorsen

Matt Bielich

Frank Fitzlaff

Serhiy Serbin

Jonathan Howe

Robert Smith

Li-Chen Miller

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

Display screen with graphical user interface

Display screen with icon set

Display screen with user interface

Tools and techniques are described for storage and expedited retrieval of messages and responses in multi-tasking environments. Methods provided by these tools may establish active communications with a first contact, and then received indications of secondary communications involving a second contact. These methods may then present user interfaces (UIs) that include representations of at least the secondary communications. Through the UIs, the methods may receive a selection of one of the secondary communications for an expedited response, and may receive input from the user that provides the expedited response to the secondary communication, while maintaining the active communication in an active state. These methods may provide the expedited response to the secondary communication, based upon the input received from the user.

Storage and expedited retrieval of messages and responses in multi-tasking environments

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Joseph T Wyman