As a researcher, I have a biased view that all big tech companies should have large research labs. However, the jury is still out on whether the corporate world is for or against big private investments in research.
Some good news is that the Kinect's success may relieve the pressure on Microsoft Research. Remember it only takes one big hit to pay the bills for many other failed avenues of research. The BBC has an interesting article about it.
However, a more depressing trend is that some companies are moving away from name-brand research labs and towards a decentralized system where the company funds professors at big schools. The Nytimes has the story about Intel's plans.
This follows a trend in computer science, where funding agencies and industry bigwigs feel that money is better spent on cheaper postdocs and grad students than full time researchers. The tendency to wait until a postdoc is a "star" before hiring means that people are spending much more time in grad school and postdoctoral positions, and pretty much putting their life on hold. Thanks to EJ for this link from CRA.
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