Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Mark James Encarnacion

Michael Gamon

Patrick Pantel

Jason S Flaks

Jai Srinivasan

Nirupama Chandrasekaran

Sujay Kumar Jauhar

Ryen William White

Johnson T Apacible

Ahmed Hassan Awadallah

Bernhard S J Kohlmeier

Elnaz Nouri

Aleksey Sinyagin

Madian Khabsa

Yu Su

Jaime Brooks Teevan

Victor Poznanski

Silviu-Petru Cucerzan

Nikrouz Ghotbi

Anantha Deepthi Uppala

Vanessa Graham Murdock

Mathieu Etienne Jacques Audouin

Simon D Bernstein

Bahareh Sarrafzadeh

Woon Kiat Wong

Jamie Huynh

Niyathi Nidhi Chakrapani

James Stephen Woffinden-Luey

Liye Fu

Luis Carlos Vargas Herring

Yutaka Suze

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to task template generation and social task discovery. In examples, a task template catalog comprises task templates, which may be automatically generated and/or user-submitted, among other examples. Task templates can be reviewed, shared, and curated within the task template catalog. A user may browse the task catalog or search the task catalog for task templates. Once the user selects a task template, a task is generated based on the task template and added to the user's task list. In some examples, aspects of a task template may be customized. For example, a task may comprise parametric or conditional subtasks, thereby enabling a user to further tailor the task template to his or her needs. Thus, the task catalog provides a starting point from which the user can author a task in a task management application.

Task templates and social task discovery

Systems, storage media and methods for providing information for user prioritization of tasks associated with collaboratively developed content are described. Some examples may include: receiving a conversation thread associated with collaboratively developed content, the conversation thread including a plurality of comments authored by multiple different authors, generating a predicted measure of completion for the received conversation thread, the predicted measure of completion being at least one of a predicted number of remaining actions until the received conversation thread is resolved or a predicted number of total actions for the conversation thread to be resolved and providing, for display at a user interface, the predicted measure of completion for the received conversation thread, the predicted measure of completion being associated with the conversation thread at the user interface.

Collaborative communication triage assistance

Content frames can be provided for productivity applications through a content frame platform. The platform can detect a sequence of similar documents ('a document run') and provide functionality to easily create the next document in the sequence through a content frame. The platform can receive a trigger for a content frame for a new document; and, in response, determine whether the new document belongs to a document run. In response to determining the new document belongs to a document run, the platform can determine at least two documents in the document run to be used to create the content frame and identify common content between the at least two documents in the document run. The content frame, which can include at least an outline for the new document and sections of updatable content for the new document, can be generated using the common content and provided for display and/or editing.

Content frames for productivity applications

A content creation application can include a feature that receives an inline note within a document and communicates the content of the inline note and a user identifier associated with an author of the inline note to an intelligence service. The intelligence service can identify, from the content of the inline note, one or more agents and a request, the identified one or more agents being the author, one or more person agents, one or more bot agents, or a combination thereof. Based on the identified agent (or lack thereof), the intelligence service can generate a message to each of the one or more agents and communicate the message to the each of the one or more agents over a communication channel. A person agent or the author can receive the message and view the message using the appropriate communication application without accessing the original document.

Hybrid intelligence approach to eliciting knowledge for inline notes

Subject matter involves using natural language to Web application program interfaces (API), which map natural language commands into API calls, or API commands. This mapping enables an average user with little or no programming expertise to access Web services that use API calls using natural language. An API schema is accessed and using a specialized grammar, with the help of application programmers, canonical commands associated with the API calls are generated. A hierarchical probabilistic distribution may be applied to a semantic mesh associated with the canonical commands to identify elements of the commands that require labeling. The identified elements may be sent to annotators, for labeling with NL phrases. Labeled elements may be applied to the semantic mesh and probabilities, or weights updated. Labeled elements may be mapped to the canonical commands with machine learning to generate a natural language to API interface. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Natural language interface to web API

Aspects of the technology described herein provide an efficient user interface that enables users to respond to tasks quickly by providing automated quick task notifications via an audio channel. An audio channel quick task system includes components for recognizing and extracting quick tasks from content (e.g., interpersonal communications, composed content, line of business (LOB) application documents), and for prioritizing and routing the quick tasks to the user via an audio channel at an appropriate and relevant time. The system is enabled to process a user response, determine an action for handling the quick task, and execute the action on behalf of the user (e.g., pass a reply to a requestor, pass an instruction to an application or service, queue the quick task notification, delegate the quick task to another user or bot, forward the quick task to a companion device, or launch an application on a companion device).

Automated quick task notifications via an audio channel

Multidimensional search capabilities are enabled on a non-PC (personal computer) device being utilized by a user. An original query submitted by the user via the non-PC device is received. A structured data repository is accessed to extract structured data that is available for the original query, where the extracted structured data represents attributes of the original query. The extracted structured data is provided to the user in the form of a hierarchical menu which allows the user to interactively modify the original query, such modification resulting in a revised query.

Enabling multidimensional search on non-PC devices

A media server in a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) network includes a resource sharing service to govern the distribution of resource information regarding resources to rendering devices. In one case, the resource sharing service consults a criterion to determine whether an identified network device is authorized to receive resource information. In another case, the resource sharing service consults another criterion to determine whether a specified individual associated with the media server must consent to the transfer of the resource information in order for the transfer to occur. The resource information may include resource metadata that describes high level information regarding resources, as well as resource content. The media server includes various user interface presentations that allow the media server user to specify shared resources and distribution criteria.

Routing of resource information in a network

A network architecture in a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) network includes a resource sharing service to govern the distribution of resource information from a server to a recipient entity (such as rendering device or a control point). The network architecture includes one or more of the following provisions: (a) setting the server to operate in a predetermined private address range or an Auto IP range; (b) operating one or more parts of the network architecture on the same subnet; (c) setting a time to live (TTL) parameter associated with messages transmitted by the server to a predetermined number; (d) setting a number of permitted recipient entities to a predetermined number; (e) setting a number of permitted concurrent content distribution sessions to a predetermined session number; (f) granting access to a recipient entity on condition that the recipient entity has generated a message that conforms to the UPnP protocol; and (g) retiring a URL used to identify a location of a resource provided by the server after a predetermined amount of time.

Techniques for limiting network access

A media server in a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) network includes a resource sharing service to govern the distribution of media resource information to rendering devices. The media server includes: a media service module operating in a clamped down user context (e.g., a local service user context) and configured to share resource information over the network; a supplemental module operating in a local system user context and configured to assist the media service module in sharing resource information over the network; and a control panel module operating in a logged on user context and configured to interact with a user via a user interface display. The local system user context provides a higher level of access to media server resources compared to the clamped down user context. The media server also provides fast user switching (FUS) functionality that allows multiple users to have respective instances of the control panel module pending at the same time. Further, the media server includes a mechanism to prevent rogue applications from masquerading as the control panel module and thereby gaining unauthorized access to the media service module.

Server architecture for network resource information routing

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Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Mark James Encarnacion