Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Verrency Holdings Limited

Microsoft Corporation

Zhigu Holdings Limited

Miller Thomas Abel

Shai Guday

Joseph Futty

Michael Jack Sinclair

Darko Kirovski

Kamran Rajabi Zargahi

Benjamin E Nick

James Kai Yu Lau

Craig Scott Brenner

Matthew Graham Dyor

William Jefferson Westerinen

Moe Khosravy

William Thomas Blank

Jyh-Han Lin

Murali R Krishnan

Scott C Forbes

Michael D Smith

Shai Herzog

Danny B Lange

Anoop Anantha

Gerald Reuben DeJean, Ii

Jeffrey Herron

Alan Marshall

Eric J Horvitz

Steven Nabil Bathiche

Charles J Migos

Dawson Yee

Feng Zhao

Alexander Frank

Scott Randall Shell

John Clavin

Max Glenn Morris

Johannes Klein

Gregory P Baribault

Kenneth G Mages

Viswanath Vadlamani

Yuhang Zhu

Richard Yuqi Yao

Julio Estrada

Gerald Reuben DeJean

Bruce E Johnson

Katrika Marie Morris

Ruston John David Panabaker

Hung Minh Dang

Katrika Marie Woodcock

Neil Laurence Coles

John A Maffei

Eric P Gilmore

Yingyi Zou

Gerald Reuben Ii Dejean

Payment cards and also the systems and methods for securely managing financial transactions using the payment cards are provided. In one implementation, a payment card includes a first component incorporated into a plastic substrate, wherein the first component is configured to provide details of a first substitute account associated with a cardholder's valid credentials. The payment card also includes at least one additional component incorporated into the plastic substrate. Each of the additional components is configured to provide details of at least one additional substitute account associated with the cardholder's valid credentials. Each substitute account includes details that are distinct from the details of each of the other substitute accounts. Also, at least one of the substitute accounts is provided to a merchant for conducting a financial transaction with the merchant.

Payment devices having multiple modes of conducting financial transactions

A near field communication (NFC)-enabled client device includes one or more computer-readable storage media and an NFC interface component operational in a card emulation mode of an NFC protocol. The client device also includes an application for performing a transaction using the NFC protocol. The application is stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media. Programming logic is configured to receive and store a state object (e.g., a cookie) provided by a security authority using the NFC protocol when performing a transaction using the application. The state object includes an identifier, data payload and a public key associated with the security authority. The programming logic is also configured to transmit the state object to the security authority upon receiving an HTTP operation identifying the state object.

Use of state objects in near field communication (NFC) transactions

An application store tastemaker recommendation service determines experts within a user's social network(s), receives recommendations from the experts, filters and/or ranks mobile application query results based at least in part on the recommendations. Additionally, the service may further determine the experts based on data compiled about previous actions, reviews, comments, etc., of the experts. Further, the service may provide recommendations to the user to aid in selecting mobile applications for purchase, and may provide an avenue for completing such purchases.

Application store tastemaker recommendations

A PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) array antenna has multiple PIFAs. The PIFA array is used to provide different radiation patterns for communication. A signal being emitted by the PIFA array is manipulated. According to the manipulation, the PIFA array may emit the signal with an omni-directional radiation pattern or a directional radiation pattern; the same PIFA array (antenna) is used for both directional communication and omni-directional communication. The PIFA array may be used in mobile computing devices, smart phones, or the like, allowing such devices to transmit directionally and omni-directionally. The signal manipulation may involve splitting the signal into components that feed PIFAs, and before the components reach the PIFAs, changing properties of the components (e.g., phase) relative to each other.

PIFA array

Viral application distribution facilitates distribution of an application among users and increases likelihood of downloading the application by the users. A first device may receive information of an application from a second device through a short-range communication channel. The information may comprise identification information of the application without any personally identifiable information of the second device to protect privacy of a user of the second device. A version of the application that is compatible with the first device is determined by searching a catalog using the identification information of the application. The compatible version of the application may then be downloaded or obtained by the first device. Location-based viral distribution may also be performed between devices that visit a location, even at different times.

Viral application distribution

Determining geospatial patterns from device data collected from a plurality of computing devices. The devices represent, for example, a plurality of sources providing the device data. The device data describes the computing devices and/or environments thereof. Some embodiments present the determined patterns to users for editing, update maps with the edited patterns, and distribute the maps to the users. The maps are stored to create a searchable map library.

Identifying geospatial patterns from device data

Provisioning techniques are described. In implementations, a particular one of a plurality of public keys are located using an identifier included in a request received via a network. The located public key is communicated via the network, the public key configured to encrypt data that is to be decrypted by a secure element of a mobile communication device, the secure element implemented using hardware and including a private key that is configured to decrypt the data that was encrypted using the public key.

Provisioning techniques

Secure element authentication techniques are described. In implementations, a confirmation is received that an identity of a user has been physically verified using one or more physical documents. One or more credentials that are usable to authenticate the user are caused to be stored in a secure element of a mobile communication device of the user, the secure element implemented using tamper-resistant hardware.

Secure element authentication

The present invention includes methods and technologies for defining and administering device manners policy ('DMP'), propagating DMP, reception and recognition of, and compliance with DMP. Such policy may be used to communicate to various mobile and other devices the 'manners' with which compliance is expected or required. Similar to some of the social manners honored among people, such as with &#x201c;no smoking&#x201d; or &#x201c;employees only&#x201d; zones, &#x201c;no swimming&#x201d; or &#x201c;no flash photography&#x201d; areas, and scenarios for &#x201c;please wash your hands&#x201d; or &#x201c;no talking out loud&#x201d;, devices may recognize and comply with analogous &#x201c;device manners&#x201d; policy.

Mobile device manners propagation and compliance

Distributing and tracking electronic coupons based on proximity. Upon detecting recipients proximate to a computing device, one or more electronic coupons are selected and transmitted to the detected recipients. The transmittal occurs via a wireless connection in some embodiments. Coupon properties associated with the transmitted coupons are adjusted (e.g., values decreased, expiration conditions modified, location of transmittal, etc.). Distribution data for the transmitted coupons is stored to maintain a distribution history.

Viral distribution and tracking of electronic coupons

A mobile device such as a cell phone is used to remotely control an electronic appliance such as a television or personal computer. In a setup phase, the mobile device captures an image of the electronic appliance and identifies and stores scale-invariant features of the image. A user interface configuration such as a virtual keypad configuration, and a communication protocol, can be associated with the stored data. Subsequently, in an implementation phase, another image of the electronic appliance is captured and compared to the stored features in a library to identify a match. In response, the associated user interface configuration and communication protocol are implemented to control the electronic appliance. In a polling and reply process, the mobile device captures a picture of a display of the electronic device and compares it to image data which is transmitted by the electronic appliance.

Mobile device which automatically determines operating mode

The claimed subject matter provides for systems and/or methods for a dynamic range wireless access point to initiate deliberate and/or selective communications with one or more wireless devices over a short range radio path. One embodiment of an access point system comprises a processor that transfers one or more wireless devices to a long range radio path once a transition condition has been met. In another embodiment, an access point system may affect transactions between user/customer's smart devices and a commercial place of business where the access point system and the smart devices initiate communications when the smart devices are deliberately placed within the proximity of the access point antenna and/or the smart devices are brought within the vicinity of the access point antenna such as by passing through the entrance or exit to the place of business.

Dynamic range wireless communications access point

Technology for use with computing devices, particularly mobile devices and wireless networks supporting federation, enabling people, devices, systems, or the like to join together in electronic federations for purposes of voting or the like. The votes in such voting situations may be weighted based on various criteria associated with the voter, the subject of the vote, and/or other criteria relevant to the voting scenario. The technology also enables users to monitor a voting scenario in real-time and tailor their own voting or decisions or the like to the scenario, even as it unfolds.

Federated voting with criteria-based discrimination

Growing community of inventors

Mercer Island, WA, United States of America

Miller Thomas Abel