Can Microsoft patent the slider idea in search

to change serps as per user requirement

[Imaster]

I feel the coolest feature about the MSN Search beta is the ability to be able to modify the results as per our requirement,
1) popularity - alexa kind of data or maybe how many other sites linking to them, not sure
2) relevance - how close the keywords match, etc
3) updated - how recently the sites were updated

Do you think the idea of letting a user modify the serps (without changing any keywords) as per their requirement can be patented, and if so, has Microsoft already applied for one?

If they are granted such a patent, they could surely promote this feature to get into Googles turf real effectively!

[opiesilver]

You can bet if Microsoft can then they will indeed try to patent it. They have applied for more intellectual patents than any other organization on earth.