Personal content server apparatus and associated methods that allow a user (e.g., cable or satellite network subscriber) to access content, such as a video program, from a location outside the subscriber's network. In one embodiment, a personal content server streams the content to the subscriber over a network connection from the local e.g., (subscription) network to a remote network upon authorization by a content manager process. Various access, business or operational rules are applied depending on the content and delivery mode; e.g., to live video broadcast, video-on-demand (VOD), or archived content from the subscriber's digital video recorder (DVR) or networked PVR. Secondary content (e.g., promotions, advertisements, etc.) can also be selectively replaced if desired in order to make the remotely delivered content more appropriate to the remote user's context.

Personal content server apparatus and methods

Enhanced methods, systems, and techniques for social discovery are provided. Example embodiments provide a Social Discovery System ('SDS'), which enables users to contribute, share, manipulate, and otherwise engage in the creation and management of social knowledge and information. In one example embodiment, the SDS comprises a dot creation API, a dot system component, a dot user component, a permissions engine, a dot retrieval API, and a display engine. These components/modules cooperate to allow users, communities of users, and applications to create, manage, search, share and take collaborative action on social knowledge and the relationships that influence such knowledge and provide APIs to access SDS capabilities, a social search language, display capabilities, etc. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and it is submitted with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Social discovery systems and methods

Systems and methods are provided for preserving the privacy of data contained in mirrored network traffic. The mirrored network traffic may comprise data that may be considered confidential, privileged, private, or otherwise sensitive data. For example, the data payload of a frame of mirrored network traffic may include private Voice over IP (VoIP) communications between users on one or more networks. The present invention provides various techniques for securing the privacy of data contained in the mirrored network traffic. Using the techniques of the present invention, network traffic comprising confidential, privileged, private, or otherwise sensitive data may be mirrored in such a manner as to provide for the privacy of such data over at least a portion if not all of the mirrored communications between the mirror source point and the mirror destination point.

Method for network traffic mirroring with data privacy

A deployment and distribution model improves content delivery with a business incentive for placement of kiosks (308) with one or more wireless access points in public locations so that portable media players (PMPs) can receive media content (e.g., audio, video, text, haptic content, etc.). In addition, coordination between subscribing users of PMPs (310), vendors who provide kiosks, and a network central controller (306) of a content distribution system (300) allow for prepositioning of video content at the kiosks through economically desirable low data rate communication links from the network (e.g., dial- up modem, DSL, etc.); coordinated queuing of downloads (e.g., partial downloads) between kiosk to PMP, peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading between PMPs, and uploads from PMP to kiosk; billing/crediting to correspond with such participation in the distribution; and changing priority/selection of prepositioning of content at kiosks to reflect a clientele profile.

Access point for improved content delivery system

The disclosure relates to a digital identity system including an enrolment module executing on a processor configured to receive a data item from an enrolling device and to create in persistent electronic storage a digital profile comprising the data item. The system also includes a credential creation module executing on a processor configured to generate a credential from a random sequence, to associate the credential with the digital profile in a database, and to transmit the credential to the enrolling device. The system further includes a publication module executing on a processor configured, in response to later presentation of the credential to the digital identity system, to publish the digital profile by storing a version of the digital profile in a memory location accessible to a device presenting the credential.

Digital identity system

A system, method and software are provided that install a custom configuration profile (202) on one more target devices (402), which may be hardwired or wireless devices, and which include personal data assistants (404), mobile telephones (410), laptop computers (408) and desktop computers (406). The custom configuration profile includes a user-specified combination of applications, data, protocols, and policies, suited to a particular target device, and selected in accordance with the desires and requirements of a particular user or group of users. The custom configuration profile can be installed on new devices or on devices that have suffered a catastrophic failure and require reconfiguration. Further, the custom configuration profile is configured to be installed automatically on a target device with little or no involvement on the part of the user, and the installation can be implemented by wireless or hardwire connections between the target device and the backup device (300) where the custom configuration profile is initially stored.

Computing device configuration manager

Authenticating a third party client system prior to providing Internet access via an Internet access point. In a distributed computing system including an Internet access point, an authentication service, and a third party client system, an authentication service receives an authorization request from a third party client system. The authorization request is initiated in response to a single action being performed by a user of the third party client system. The user is not required to manually submit any identification information. The authorization request includes a unique client identifier for identifying the third party client system. The method also includes verifying that the third party client system associated with the unique client identifier is authorized to access the Internet via the Internet access point. If the third party client system is authorized to access the Internet, Internet access is provided to the third party client system.

Authentication service for facilitating access to services

A system (fig. 1) for collecting, evaluating and using usage activity includes one or more media devices and a network with a ratings service (158). A media device includes a logging service (115) for logging usage activity when media content is accessed and played, shared, deleted and/or stored. When a connection to the network is present, the usage activity is transmitted to the ratings service (158). The ratings service evaluates the usage activity and prepares a usage report, which can be transmitted to one or more content providers and/or can be used to refine programming and/or influence advertising decisions. A content provider can collect votes by sending a list of possible song choices to media devices and receiving vote data collected by logging services (115) on the media devices. The vote data is evaluated and a vote report is prepared that can be used to refine programming content and/or to influence advertising decisions.

Logging of radio listening and interactivity

Systems and methods for implementing content management in a network computing environment. The content management is concerned with, for example, content backup, storage, and sharing, local and remote accessibility, security, content consistency, and other network operations. The systems and method incorporate a network appliance in a local area network. The appliance communicates with the various devices in the network and, in at least some embodiments, with a remote content management service. In addition, computing devices in the local area network have installed content management software to allow the network appliance to access, copy for backup, and/or manipulate content on the computing device. The software of the network appliance communicates with the software installed on the client computers to configure itself and the network automatically or with relatively little user input.

Distributed content management system

A method of seamlessly scaling multiple network appliances in an appliance based network. The method allows a network to automatically utilize the resources of one or more additional appliances without performing extensive installation or calibration routines. In addition, the method includes assigning a new appliance a particular role and sub-role designation such that it is used in the most effective manner to serve the particular needs of the network in which the new appliance is being connected. The new appliance can be used as an expansion appliance (335) to provide additional data storage capabilities (340), a mirroring appliance (320), which provides backup data storage capabilities (325, 330), and/or a range extension appliance that extends the wireless communication range of the existing appliance.

Tim Sullivan

Papers

Computing device configuration manager

Authentication service for facilitating access to services

Logging of radio listening and interactivity

Distributed content management system

Seamless scaling of multiple appliances