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Google Nabs Patent To Monitor Your Cursor Movement

bool2 writes "Google has been awarded a patent for displaying search results based on how you move your mouse cursor on the screen... Google's plans are to monitor the movements of the cursor, such as when a user hovers over a certain ad or link to read a tooltip, and then provide relevant search results, and ads, based on that behaviour. It means that it does not require users to actually click a link to know that they were interested in it, opening a world of opportunity for even more focused ads."

6 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I assume webkit will be properly protected by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 2, Informative

    Good luck, a basic part of javascript ui coding is knowing where the mouse is.

  2. Re:I assume webkit will be properly protected by Tom9729 · · Score: 4, Informative

    This can be done right now in any browser unless you turn off or restrict JavaScript.

  3. Re:The only problem with that... by treeves · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'll go further and say that I tend to move the cursor AWAY FROM where I'm looking so as not to be distracted by it or cover things up. They'd get a negative correlation with what I'm interested in from my cursor movement. But maybe they already know that.

    --
    ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
  4. Re:Hover on this comment by tuxgeek · · Score: 2, Informative

    Firefox w/ Adblock and NoScript may be of some use here already.
    Just block all google related scripts
    Nothing to see here, move along

    --
    "Suppose you were an idiot...and suppose you were a member of Congress...but I repeat myself." Mark Twain
  5. Re:Legally by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 3, Informative

    Websites have been doing this for at least a few years now already. They've got heat maps that show where people keep their mouse. I don't really see how Google's idea is any different, unless they feed it through some mouse gesture software to get a deeper meaning.

  6. Re:This isn't a story about "spying". by Monchanger · · Score: 2, Informative

    People have done this and got bored with it 2 years ago or more.

    If you had RTFP, you'd know that Google's patent application was initially filed in Dec., 2004. That's a little over 2 years ago in case you couldn't figure it out.