Yeah, well, no one is saying MS and IBM are great companies business- or product-wise, but they should both be applauded for funding truly innovative research -- be it for philanthropic reasons or for some future profit. Fact is, as you say, no other company is doing this. Not Google; not Apple; and, sadly, not Oracle.

> it doesn't matter how cool the invention is if you have to eat the rest of their shit with it.

But it does matter, because even if MS doesn't pick it up -- or implement it well -- someone else might.