Microsoft gets a lot of grief for many of the things that it does, but we should at least give Microsoft credit for being willing to reinvest profits into research and development.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he is willing to invest up to $11 billion in search over the next five years. I have a much better idea for Ballmer. Instead of investing in the future, why doesn’t Microsoft consider buying yesterday’s companies — with yesterday’s business models — instead?
That model has been a rousing success for the newspaper industry. The supposed high-minded, civic-minded Fourth Estate has been mostly about profits the last few decades (with some exceptions), while supposed money-grubbing companies like Microsoft take nothing for granted.
Imagine that, a company with robust profits using those profits to invest in the future? Get out. Unheard of.