[zwieback]

Yes and no. HP, for example, invests a lot of R&D money in the core businesses and not everyone can just copy what we do and even though quarterly reports rule there are 5 year plans for things other than off-the-shelf consumer products. On the other hand, the D of R&D is heavily emphasized and HP Labs has been struggling to be relevant to the business units as long as I can remember. The question for blue chips is whether it's cheaper to fund your own research or wait until something is mature to the point where you can buy or license it. Much as it dismays me sometimes, it really isn't such an unreasonable strategy for the average stockholder who owns us.