Microsoft Seeks Patent For "Search By Sketch"

theodp writes "So, how does one search for images that aren't tagged with keywords? Google does offer its sometimes-spotty search by image, but what if you don't have an image handy that looks like what you're searching for? Microsoft, reports GeekWire, offers a solution that's 'a little like playing Pictionary with a search engine — drawing a sketch and seeing if the algorithm can return pictures that match it.' That's the concept behind Microsoft Research's patent-pending 'MindFinder' project, which has already been incorporated into a Windows Phone app called Sketch Match. A patent application made public Thursday notes that touch computing makes sketching easier than ever, making one wonder if we'll be 'giving Bing the finger' with Windows 8!"

Comments

Overaged business model

[vikingpower]

Microsoft, once more, is one the very large corporations that still think they can base their business, in the 21st century, on patents. I wonder how long it is ( yet ) going to taken before corporations of this size realize that such practice is old-fashioned ?