Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Talal Ali Batrouny

Curtis Glenn Wong

Dale Alan Sather

Kenneth S Reneris

Thaddeus C Pritchett

Eric J Horvitz

Cory J Cirrincione

Kevin Timothy Shields

Behrooz Chitsaz

Frederic Azera

Elyssa Cox

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that manages media content. The disclosed system includes a component that synchronizes with a multimedia player that is in communication with the component. The component upon synchronization automatically determines an amount of storage space available on the handheld device and based at least in part on this available space, the component substitutes a first media presentation persisted on the storage space with a second media presentation retrieved from a media storage farm.

Virtual personal video recorder

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that manages storage media associated with a plurality of disparate devices. The disclosed system can include a network of disparate devices wherein each device in the network can be associated with storage media. Additionally, the disclosed system can also include a component that identifies each device in the network, associates a likelihood that the device will periodically leave or rejoin the network, and utilizes the associated likelihood to construct a logical redundant pile of inexpensive disks comprising the storage media associated with the disparate devices.

Redundant pile of inexpensive drivers (RPID)

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that asynchronously disseminates multimedia content to disparate clients. The disclosed system can include a component that receives multimedia content supplied by a multimedia publisher, encrypts or applies a time sensitive lock to the received multimedia content, disseminates the encrypted or locked multimedia content to the disparate clients, and a time subsequent, generates and distributes to the disparate clients a counterpart to the time sensitive lock necessary to unlock and play the disseminated and encrypted or locked multimedia content on the clients.

Asynchronous download

A channel updater. The channel updater maintains an accurate channel line-up by automatically testing accessible channels to determine if those channels are available for viewing. Available channels are added to the channel line-up, and unavailable channels are subtracted from the channel line-up. The updater persistently retests the channels so that changes in channel availability are reflected in the channel line-up.

Maintaining accurate channel line-up by persistently monitoring availability of accessible channels

The subject disclosure pertains to a multi-tasking interference system. A gatekeeper receives primary and secondary inputs, and a quantifier ascertains attention values associated with primary inputs and interruption values associated with secondary inputs. Attention values are ascertained based on attributes associated with primary inputs such as type or genre of media presentation, temporal location within media presentation, or a likelihood of impending commercials. Based on a comparison between attention values and interruption values the gatekeeper determines whether, when, and how to interrupt the primary input with the secondary input and accordingly thereafter interrupts the primary input with the secondary input based on the foregoing assessment.

Multi-tasking interference model

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that effectuates selective viewing of multimedia audio and/or visual content. The disclosed system can include a component that obtains multimedia audio or visual content from a broadcast server, categorizes the multimedia audio or visual content, and associates index tags to categorized multimedia audio or visual content. The index tags are utilized to provide a facility to search or summarize the categorized multimedia audio or visual content, wherein the resultant searches and summarizations can be displayed on a display associated with the component.

Growing community of inventors

Sammamish, WA, United States of America

Talal Ali Batrouny