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Microsoft Patents "Fonts With Feelings"

Posted by timothy on from the schoolhouse-rock-prior-art dept.

theodp writes "Seems like those old IBM flaming logo commercials (video) should count as prior art, but the USPTO granted Microsoft a patent Tuesday for inventing Fonts With Feelings. Giving font characters sound, motion, and altered appearance, Microsoft asserts, gives a user 'the impression the fonts have personalities,' thereby enhancing the user's understanding and/or fluency of words. From the patent: 'As a few non-limiting examples, the word 'giant' can get very large; the word 'lion' can morph into a line drawing of a lion; the word 'toss' can morph into a hand that animates a ball toss; the word 'bees' could show bees flying around with or without a 'buzz' sound effect'. If you're curious, Microsoft Research offers some explanations and examples of 'fontlings' in action — don't miss 'f' kicks 'a'!"

6 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Re:and the world Microsoft... by eldavojohn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    And if you type 'Ballmer' the B morphs into a miniature Carl Brutananadilewski from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and starts sweating profusely while throwing the other letters at you while shouting 'DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS!"

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    My work here is dung.
  2. Microsoft patents Schoolhouse Rock by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 2, Interesting

    We've seen this before....

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  3. Too big, too unfocused by Infonaut · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's a shame, really. MS spends a lot of money on R&D, but they seem to get so few groundbreaking shipping products from it.

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  4. Re:Just like WordWorld and a million others by Yvanhoe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Because if it is the idea that they claim, it is quite silly : http://creativebits.org/files/zoomorphic_calligraphy.jpg (Someone told me this is a fisherman's poem)
    But remember : a millenium-old practice is innovative when it is done ON A COMPUTER !

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  5. Re:animated fonts in the Amiga era? by keeboo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What about this?
    Amiga had a tradition of animation and color fonts since the 1980s.

  6. Kawaii? by VickiM · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For some reason, this makes me think of the kawaii movement that happened in Japan. School girls started adding drawings to their letters, making them very cute and difficult to read. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaii