Relerank Search from Microsoft

Microsoft is on a roll with the introduction of more products previewed this year than there are bogus affiliates at 180solutions. There's Windows Defender, Windows OneCare, Windows Vista, weekly security updates and a whole realm of products called Windows (fill in any name) Live.

While they've backed off reported re-branding to MSN, it does appear that Microsoft is planning to introduce a new search technology called “Relerank”. According to papers filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, Relerank is "computer software for organizing, displaying and managing search results from computer search engine software".

In a previous trademark application which hints at being related, Microsoft registered a “sound mark” in the key of D, which may provide additional incite into the new search software.

“providing customized on-line web pages featuring user-defined information, which includes search engines and on-line web links to other web sites; providing information via the Internet in the fields of computers, computer software, computer components, computer peripherals, computer and software support; computer services, namely, providing search engines for obtaining data via the Internet; and providing information about the weather via the Internet”

While these definitions are vague, I expect Microsoft hopes Relerank to do for multimedia content ranking what Google ranking has done with web pages.