One need only remember Bell Labs. They were allowed to do research for the sake of research without having to worry about a bottom line. Yet look at all of what they discovered and/or developed. They may have been viewed as not profitable by today's standard of looking only at the now or the current quarter, but look at the influence that their discoveries have made to the bottom lines of many many companies since then. It is too sad that they became a casualty of the Bell / AT&T breakup, becoming a shadow of its former existence AND now responsible for a bottom line. Microsoft aparently has "seen the light" and I hope that other companies do as well.