Apple Inc.

About: Apple Inc. is a company organization based out in Herzliya, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Signal & User interface. The organization has 15687 authors who have published 22600 publications receiving 624507 citations. The organization is also known as: Apple Computer, Inc. & Apple Computer Inc.

Multimedia control center

Abstract: Techniques and systems for centralized access to multimedia content stored on or available to a computing device are disclosed. The centralized access can be provided by a media control interface that receives user inputs and interacts with media programs resident on the computing device to produce graphical user interfaces that can be presented on a display device.

System for managing local database updates published to different online information services in different formats from a central platform

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides a powerful yet easy to use electronic publishing tool for information providers and online service operators. The electronic publishing tool allows information providers to manage the content they provide to online services. It also reduces the effort required by operations staff of online services to support a growing number of information providers. Finally, the electronic publishing tool allows content to be captured from information providers (and, by extension, subscribers) so that it can be published onto a variety of platforms with minimal additional effort. For example information, in addition to or in lieu of being published on an online service, may be published on CD through a facility such as AppleLink CD (AppleLink CD allows a portion of the "static" content of an online service such as AppleLink to be published and distributed in CD form, with the result that the content is infinitely reusable without incurring connect charges.) Furthermore, information previously published on one online service may be published on one or more other online services, or information may be published on several online services at the same time. A number of potentially "thorny" problems of distributed database systems are solved in an elegant and efficient manner. The first issue involves synchronizing different copies of an item on machines that are not continuously linked at which each copy may be changed independently. Rather than attempting to formulate a set of synchronization policies generally applicable to all items in all instances, synchronization policies are moved from the database engine to the items themselves. The second issue involves lifetime--knowing, given a complex set of interrelationship of items, when an item may be safely deleted. This problem is addressed by providing an interested party mechanism whereby items may "express interest" in each other. When no item is interested in a particular item, that item may safely "go away."

Method and apparatus for protected content data processing

Abstract: Methods and an apparatuses that perform protected content data processing with limited access to system resources are described. One or more regions in a memory (including a source memory and a destination memory) can be allocated and unprocessed content data can be mapped to the source memory. A process can be initialized with the source and destination memories to process the content data. The process can be prevented from accessing resource other than the allocated regions in the memory. The processed content data can be stored in the destination memory. In one embodiment, the content data can include media content. A playing device can be instructed to play the media content based on the processed content data via the destination memory.

Product integrity systems and associated methods

Abstract: The invention provides a smart sensor in the form of an adhesive bandage. The sensor may be used in many applications such as within sports, the shipping industry and medical and health industries. The sensor sticks to people and objects and wirelessly communicates with remote receivers. Internal detectors sense conditions associated with movement and/or the environment of the sensor. In one example, an accelerometer detects impact and drop distance of a package in transit; the sensor is either within a label or attached to a product within the package. The sensor may also prevent theft and assist in tracking package disposition so as to reduce lost packages. The sensors of the invention may also be used in fitness and health, such as to monitor body functions of heart rate and respiration; these sensors also may initiate immediate wireless warnings for improper functions so that persons may obtain immediate assistance. Sensors of the invention are also useful for sports media broadcasts; multiple sensors may attach to athletes so that wireless performance data is made available, in near real time, to audiences and media observers. Data from sensors of the invention may also change the computer gaming community; that is, certain sensors tracking real performance data may relay information used within gaming so as to govern computer gaming motions. Typically, sensors of the invention communicate by an RF transmitter or transceiver. Groups of sensors may be combined within a common canister that imparts date and time information and “power on” when dispensed.

A Low-Power Wide-Linear-Range Transconductance Amplifier

Abstract: The linear range of approximately ±75 mV of traditional subthreshold transconductance amplifiers is too small for certain applications—for example, for filters in electronic cochleas, where it is desirable to handle loud sounds without distortion and to have a large dynamic range. We describe a transconductance amplifier designed for low-power (< 1 µW) subthreshold operation with a wide input linear range. We obtain wide linear range by widening the tanh, or decreasing the ratio of transconductance to bias current, by a combination of four techniques. First, the well terminals of the input differential-pair transistors are used as the amplifier inputs. Then, feedback techniques known as source degeneration (a common technique) and gate degeneration (a new technique) provide further improvements. Finally, a novel bump-linearization technique extends the linear range even further. We present signal-flow diagrams for speedy analysis of such circuit techniques. Our transconductance reduction is achieved in a compact 13-transistor circuit without degrading other characteristics such as dc-input operating range. In a standard 2 µm process, we were able to obtain a linear range of ±1.7V. Using our wide-linear-range amplifier and a capacitor, we construct a follower–integrator with an experimental dynamic range of 65 dB. We show that, if the amplifier‘s noise is predominantly thermal, then an increase in its linear range increases the follower–integrator‘s dynamic range. If the amplifier‘s noise is predominantly 1/f, then an increase in its linear range has no effect on the follower–integrator‘s dynamic range. To preserve follower–integrator bandwidth, power consumption increases proportionately with an increase in the amplifier‘s linear range. We also present data for changes in the subthreshold exponential parameter with current level and with gate-to-bulk voltage that should be of interest to all low-power designers. We have described the use of our amplifier in a silicon cochlea [1, 2].