The announcement came at the 2010 New York auto show that Ford Motor Co. (F) and Microsoft (MSFT) are creating a partnership to exploit the blossoming new world of plug-in electric automobiles. The team is undertaking an effort to assist power utility companies and consumers in dampening the anticipated power demand surges on the electric grid by consumers plugging in their cars for charging.

Consumer Reports indicates that the new partnership plans to employ Microsoft's Hohm software to assist in the efficient charging of plug-in automobiles. This software will use data, including the consumer's driving schedule, the affected power utility's demand cycle and the automobile's charging needs, to calculate and then enable the optimum charging times for a particular vehicle.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) is not a brand name that conjures up the word "innovation" in the minds of many. The company has turned into the world's largest software company over the past two decades, but isn't innovating fast enough to catch the tidal wave of the "internet everywhere" phenomenon that competitor Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is cashing in on. What else is left?

For years now, it's been an incredible mystery to me why appliance and television makers have not built wireless internet capabilities into their products. It's really not that hard, but no company has been innovating. With the current energy-conscious U.S. president in place now, energy conservation and alternative energy sources are a hot topic.