Oracle America, Inc.

Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Seth T Proctor

Geetha Srikantan

Jan Brittenson

Aravind Narasimhan

Paul B Lamere

Anne H Anderson

David A Jurgens

Matthew Shafer

Jonathan S Sergent

David Vengerov

David R Chase

Jeffrey H Alexander

Jeffrey L Alexander

James Megquier

A system provides a model for use within a digital environment. The model comprises at least one music segment, and supplies music for the digital environment. The system identifies a location within the digital environment. The location requires at least one music segment supplied by the model. The system selects at least one music segment to play within the digital environment. The music segment is selected based on the model, the location requiring the at least one music segment, and the digital environment. The selecting of the music segment is operable to be modified based on the model, the location requiring the at least one music segment, and the digital environment.

Methods and apparatus for acoustic model based soundtracks

Example embodiments herein include an audio manager that identifies at least one user in a social environment (e.g., multiplayer gaming environment). Each user in the social environment has a respective user music profile that contains audio attributes for various types of audio. The audio manager combines the user music profile from each user to form a group music profile. The audio manager further identifies a selection of audio segments to be rendered in the social environment that match the group music profile. Additionally, the audio manager processes the selection of audio segments against the audio attributes of at least one user to determine an audio segment to be rendered in the social environment. In one embodiment, the audio manager processes the selection of audio segments in accordance with a social value metric. In turn, the audio manager renders the audio segment in the social environment in accordance with the social value metric.

Audio processing in a social environment

A system and method for using an opaque group within a federated identity management environment, to prevent disclosure of identities of the group. An opaque group is constructed at an identity provider within the system and has a group identity that references primary system identities of its members (e.g., electronic mail addresses, public key certificates, network addresses). Services to the group (e.g., distribution of an object such as a document or electronic mail message, invitation to an online meeting, authentication as a member of the group) can be requested from service providers, but because service providers do not have access to members' primary identities, the service providers forward the requests to an identity provider that has access to the group identity. That identity provider retrieves the members' identities and completes the action.

Using opaque groups in a federated identity management environment

A system provides a task scheduler to define a priority queue with at least one window and a queue-window key. Each window is an ordered collection of tasks in a task pool of the priority queue and is identified by the queue-window key. The task scheduler sets a task-window key equal to a user-window key when the user-window key is greater than the minimum queue-window key. The task scheduler can further set the task-window key equal to the minimum queue-window key when the user-window key is less than the minimum queue-window key. A maximum task limit per user for each window and a priority increment for the user-window key are further applied to ensure fair scheduling.

Methods and apparatus for window-based fair priority scheduling

Disclosed herein is a system and method for dynamic scheduling of application tasks in a distributed task-based system. The system and method employ a learning mechanism that observes and predicts overall application task costs across a networked system, taking into account how the states or loads of the applications are likely to change over time. The application task costs are defined in economic terms. The system and method allows continuous optimization of application response times as perceived by application users.

Dynamic scheduling of application tasks in a distributed task based system

XACML (eXtensible Access Control Markup Language) documents, PolicySets and Policies can become long, complex and difficult to completely comprehend. A method is provided for facilitating analysis of such code to make it easier to answer questions such as: Given a particular set of Attribute values (and/or others unknown as of now), what is permitted or denied; are any of the rules redundant; are any of the rules inconsistent; for any pair of policies in the code, what set of Attributes will they both return Permit; how can a policy be refactored into an equivalent set of policies in which each branch of the policy tree pertains to specific values of specified Attributes? To facilitate such analysis and refactoring, every Rule in the collection of policies being analyzed is reduced to an equivalent expression in DNF (Disjunctive Normal Form). Some terms, predicates and other elements may be eliminated.

Method for analyzing an XACML policy

One embodiment may estimate the processing time of tasks requested by an application by maintaining a state-model for the application. The state model may include states that represent the tasks requested by the application, with each state including the average run-time of each task. In another embodiment, a state model may estimate which task is likely to be requested for processing after the current task is completed by providing edges in the state model connecting the states. Each edge in the state model may track the number of times the application transitions from one task to the next. Over time, data may be gathered representing the percentage of time that each edge is from a state node. Given this information, the scheduler may estimate the CPU cost of the next task based on the current state, the most likely transition, and the cost of the predicted next task. The state model may also track multiple users of the application and modify or create the state model as the users traverse through the state model.

Method for stage-based cost analysis for task scheduling

A system and method are provided for streaming a media track to multiple clients using a single copy of the track's metadata, rather than making separate copies of the metadata for each stream. A media track's metadata includes information that is used to identify and locate media corresponding to different time positions in the track or media program. Sharing one copy of the metadata among multiple client streams promotes more efficient use of a media streaming server's resources. When a media track is first requested, a track object is generated to store and allow access to the metadata. For each client stream, a separate track handle object is created to manage access to the metadata for the stream's specific context. The streamed media track may be part of a live media event or may be part of a pre-recorded media program.

Streaming a single media track to multiple clients

A method and apparatus are provided for handling events received at a media streaming server. Server sockets configured to receive events are divided into collections and registered with a polling object. Each collection shares a processor thread for detecting events. Each socket is associated with an event consumer object that is notified when an event is received at the socket. The event consumer objects invoke task objects to handle the events. Task objects are queued in a task queue and execute using a pool of processor threads. Event consumer objects are derived from an abstract base consumer class that defines a common interface. Subclasses of the base consumer class are configured for different types of events that may be received (e.g., connection requests, media streaming commands, media data, media stream quality reports). Specific event consumer objects are instantiated from the subclasses to provide implementations of the common interface.

Method and apparatus for polling multiple sockets with a single thread and handling events received at the sockets with a pool of threads

A system and method are provided for resynchronizing a media stream. A media streaming server receives live or pre-recorded media for streaming to clients. When media is not received or available for streaming at the appropriate media time index, the media stream is deemed to be out of synchronization. The server selects a future time index at which to resynchronize the stream and may discard intervening media. Media corresponding to the new time index is requested or retrieved and, if available at the new time index, media streaming resumes in synchronization. If media corresponding to the new time index is not available, the server may select another future time index and try again to resynchronize. Resynchronization may be attempted a configurable number of times and, if unsuccessful, the server may terminate the stream.

Growing community of inventors

Concord, MA, United States of America

Seth T Proctor