Microsoft and Google, Together?

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Putting aside their differences, Microsoft and Google have forged an unlikely alliance to create a new Internet lab at the University of California, Berkley, according to a recent AP article. The Reliable, Adaptive and Distributed Systems, or RAD, lab, reported to have opened yesterday, will aid entrepreneurs in developing revolutionary new technologies that can be more readily available to the mass audience. Sun Microsystems is also involved the $7.5 million project, and the three tech giants intend to "dole out" $1.5 million each year, collectively, to support the effort. Google and Sun have partnered before, but this is a first for Microsoft and the search engine giant.

Though they remain fierce competitors in the search space, Microsoft and Google both seem to realize the value in investing in the further development of Internet technologies. Of course, you can't overlook the fact that the companies should be able to keep a close eye on new innovations spawned from the lab. But in a time where government funding for scientific research at universities and colleges is being reduced, more educational institutes will look to forge similar alliances with tech giants to keep their research engines running.