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Google, Microsoft, Sun to Fund New Internet Lab

Posted by Zonk on from the it's-totally-rad dept.

brajesh writes "Yahoo! News has an AP story about Google, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems coming together to back a new Internet research laboratory aimed at helping entrepreneurs introduce more groundbreaking ideas to a mass audience. The Reliable, Adaptive and Distributed Systems or RAD lab is scheduled to open Thursday and will dole out $1.5 million annually over five years, with each company contributing equally. From the article : 'Conceivably, the lab's services could help launch another revolutionary company like online auctioneer eBay Inc. or even Google, which has emerged as one of the world's most valuable companies just seven years after its inception in a Silicon Valley garage.'"

9 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. they will research quantum superposition... by free+space · · Score: 5, Funny

    .... and the lab will be evil and not evil in the same time!

    1. Re:they will research quantum superposition... by mysqlrocks · · Score: 5, Funny

      .... and the lab will be evil and not evil in the same time!

      No, no, no, you've got it all wrong. Quantum mechanics says that they will be neither evil nor not evil until it observed that they are either evil or not evil. This post neither exists nor not exists until you observe it.

      --
      Bradley Holt
    2. Re:they will research quantum superposition... by jaygatsby27 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I am sorry, but the evil or not evil can not be confirmed until we kill the evil or the cat or set the box on fire. I can't recall which.

  2. Cheaper than developing by Divide+By+Zero · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Google, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems coming together to back a new Internet research laboratory aimed at helping entrepreneurs introduce more groundbreaking ideas to a mass audience ...so they can buy the rights to it, lock it down, and make it proprietary to their platform.

    It's the American Idol of developers. "We'll let you show off, decide who's best, sign them to a nasty license, and own your soul."

    (Kidding, but only half.)

    --
    Dare to Hope. Prepare to be Disappointed.
  3. I don't get it... by IAAP · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Sun Microsystems Inc. also is joining the $7.5 million project at the University of California, Berkeley. The Reliable, Adaptive and Distributed Systems, or RAD, lab was scheduled to open Thursday and will dole out $1.5 million annually over five years, with each company contributing equally.

    That's chump change to Microsoft and Google (I don't know about SUN). Why aren't any one of them just funding the whole lab themselves? It's great that Berkely is getting some needed funding, but I think that this may some sort of PR thing. Just my 5 cents.

  4. "Conceivably, the lab's services could help..." by luvirini · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Conceivably, the lab's services could help launch another revolutionary company...

    Most "revolutionary" companies have been launched by going against "common wisdom" and doing thigs different ways than everyone else. Thus getting "help" early on from big companies.. well.. you draw the conclusions..

  5. and the first product is by free+space · · Score: 5, Funny

    a desktop search tool that runs on all platforms, but crashes every 5 minutes.
    * ducks *

  6. Bargain by __aahlyu4518 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So for $2.500.000 each they will get access to the brightest ideas concerning the internet in the next 5 years... Is it just me or is that the bargain of the century?

  7. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion