Labs vs Academia Contd

I enjoyed the discussion on labs vs academia at Boyd, Michael, Katz and Mihai, and comments therein. I more easily understand Mihai's take than say Boyd's, perhaps because I am closer to Mihai in research interests and geographic preference. An interesting mental exercise is to ask, have truly fundamental results come from Academia (more than Labs) and have truly great applied algorithmic results come from Corporate Labs (more than Academia)? I would reckon world does not divide nicely that way. It will also be great to get a balanced view on grants. Is it an all consuming monster of a process or is there a way to be selective and reap the benefits?