&gt; <i>The first would be quite concerning. If you have companies with large research budgets, and they have no idea what they should spend money on in order to make the next big thing happen, that does not bode well.</i><p>Why doesn&#x27;t it bode well? The transistor, the laser, Unix, information theory, and a giant number of other things which form the underpinnings of modern technology came out of Bell Labs, which is the epitome of a place with a large research budget and no specific &quot;next thing to monetize&quot; that the spending was directed towards.<p>From what I understand of Apple&#x27;s culture, it&#x27;s unlikely that it will ever transform towards this, but that&#x27;s a separate point.