Actually, there are quite a few points where modern technologies would allow for a significant streamlining of research processes. Off the top of my head (as I work in the field):

1. data acquisition - you won't believe in how many labs devices with a computer interface (gpib or whatever) are running in standalone mode, costing hours in grad student hours where parameters are changed and values are read by hand - in the best case people duct-tape something together with a labview program. No. Just No.

2. collaborative data sharing - if you want to show your boss a graph, you email him a jpg - where is the site to upload a csv and show a graph to other people/edit together?

3. Writing papers: The state of the art is mailing a LaTeX(!) or Doc(!) file to your colleagues with .v1.edited appended... Reviewing the published material is just the last step.

PS: I'm working on a solution for #3 (Etherpad + LaTeX preview + export in the appropriate journal format). Drop me a line if you're interested in details.