1. A data processing system comprising: a segmentation system adapted to receive data, said segmentation system including: (a) a storage device having a plurality of different feature extraction techniques stored therein; (b) a feature extraction processor in communication with said storage device, said feature extraction processor adapted to execute at least each of the plurality of different feature extraction techniques stored in said storage device and adapted to extract one or more features from the data provided to said segmentation system; and (c) a feature extraction technique selector which selects one or more of the plurality of different feature extraction techniques based upon the type of data provided to said segmentation system; a feature classifier adapted to receive one or more features from said segmentation system and to apply a feature tag to each of the features wherein the feature tag comprises a source identifier (ID) field, a media type field, a date field, a time field, an object type field and a characteristics field and wherein the media type field is capable of specifying that the media is one of a plurality of disparate types of media including at least: image media, video media and audio media; a repository adapted to receive feature tags from said feature classifier; a search engine coupled to said repository; and a user interface coupled to said search engine.
1. A data processing system comprising: a segmentation system adapted to receive data, said segmentation system including: (a) a storage device having a plurality of different feature extraction techniques stored therein; (b) a feature extraction processor in communication with said storage device, said feature extraction processor adapted to execute at least each of the plurality of different feature extraction techniques stored in said storage device and adapted to extract one or more features from the data provided to said segmentation system; and (c) a feature extraction technique selector which selects one or more of the plurality of different feature extraction techniques based upon the type of data provided to said segmentation system; a feature classifier adapted to receive one or more features from said segmentation system and to apply a feature tag to each of the features wherein the feature tag comprises a source identifier (ID) field, a media type field, a date field, a time field, an object type field and a characteristics field and wherein the media type field is capable of specifying that the media is one of a plurality of disparate types of media including at least: image media, video media and audio media; a repository adapted to receive feature tags from said feature classifier; a search engine coupled to said repository; and a user interface coupled to said search engine. 3. The system of claim 1 wherein each feature is a subset of a data segment and wherein said segmentation processor is adapted to combine features to make higher order segments of a picture or audio stream.