Service Initiation Techniques

• US 20090248397A1
• Filed: 03/25/2008
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Dewar, Robert E., Kim, Jane T., Garcia, Jonathan
• Application Number:
  US12/055,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20090248397A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

Service initiation techniques are described. In at least one implementation, a computing device receives a selection of text that is displayed in a user interface by an application. Selection is detected of one of a plurality of services that are displayed in the user interface. Responsive to the detection, the selection of text is provided to the selected service without further user intervention.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that are executable to:

based on a speech input, determine which of a plurality of services is to receive text that is displayed in a user interface by an application; and

provide the text to the determined service without user intervention.

2. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the text is selected in the user interface using a cursor control device such that other text in the user interface is not selected and is not provided to the determined service.

3. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable to output a user interface containing a representation of each of the plurality of services.

4. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 3, wherein at least one said representation includes an identifier which indicates that selection of a corresponding said service is performable by providing the speech input.

5. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable to preview a result of processing performed by the determined service using the provided text.

6. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 5, wherein the preview is performed without opening a browser.

7. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 5, wherein the preview is initiated using speech.

8. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the speech input corresponds to a name of the determined service.

9. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the speech input corresponds to a previously-stored customized name given to the determined service by a user.

10. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable to cause translation of subsequent speech inputs to cease once the determination of the service using the speech input may be performed.

11. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions are configured as part of an operating system.

12. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein at least one said service is local to a computing device that executes the instructions.

13. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein at least one said service is remote to a computing device that executes the instructions.

14. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable to perform the determination for a plurality of said applications to access the plurality of services, at least one of which is local to a computing device that executes the instructions and another one of which is remote to the computing device.

15. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 1, wherein the instructions are part of a module that is callable by the application via one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) to perform the determination and the provision.

16. One or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that are executable to output a user interface having a plurality of representations of services, at least one of which is accessible via a network, in which, at least one of the representations is selectable via speech to cause selected text to be provided to a respective said service without further user intervention.

17. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 16, wherein the at least one said representation is output in the user interface with an indication that the representation is selectable using speech.

18. A method implemented by a computing device comprising:

receiving a selection of text that is displayed in a user interface by an application;

detecting a selection of one of a plurality of services that are displayed in the user interface; and

responsive to the detecting, providing the selection of text to the selected service, without further user intervention, to initiate operation of the selected service using the selection of text.

19. A method as described in claim 18, wherein the selection of the one of the plurality of services is performed using a cursor control device.

20. A method as described in claim 18, further comprising outputting representations of each of the plurality of services, without user intervention, responsive to the receiving of the selection of the text.