Places Where the World's Tech Pools, Despite the Internet

Slatterz writes "A decade ago people were talking about the death of distance, and how the internet would make physical geography irrelevant. This has not come to pass; there are still places around the world that are hubs of technology just as there are for air travel, product manufacturing or natural resource exploitation. This list of the ten best IT centres of excellence includes some interesting trivia about Station X during the Second World War, why Romania is teeming with software developers, Silicon Valley, Fort Meade Maryland, and Zhongguancun in China, where Microsoft is building its Chinese headquarters."

Comments

Zhongguancun is not a city

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a part of Haidian district in Beijing. As an expat living there, my friends and I used to take day trips ($6 for a 45-minute cab ride) down there to buy cheap computer parts at enormous (and always packed) indoor markets.

Not just Fort Meade - all of the DC area

[Reality Master 201]

All of the VA/MD area around Washington is a big center for computers/IT. NIST is in Gaithersburg, MD and DARPA in Virginia Square, VA, as well as several universities (e.g., UMD, JHU) that are doing interesting research in human language technology - a big area of interest for the military and intelligence communities. Lots of major corporations have facilities in the area, too - IBM, SRI, and BBN to name a few.

Re:Not just Fort Meade - all of the DC area

[simonv]

Not to mention the Dulles Technology Corridor.

Top Places ...

[__aajwxe560]

The list:

10. Boston
9. Romania
8. Fort Meade, Maryland
7. Finland
6. Zhongguancun, China
5. San Fransisco
4. Japan
3. Bangalore
2. Taiwan
1. Silicon Valley

Re:Top Places ...

[amerinese]

You're absolutely right. In Taiwan, you see the same clustering effects with most of the semiconductor fabs (TSMC, UMC), chip designers, flat panel manufacturers, electronics designers all clustered around Hsinchu and the Hsinchu Science Park. Taiwan's "Silicon Valley" or technology hub is Hsinchu.

In Taipei, about one hour north, there are a growing number of software firms.

In Tainan, in southern Taiwan, there also is a cluster of flat panel and solar green energy firms.

Note though, that compared to many other parts of the world, Taiwan is a fairly small place. On top of that, the high speed rail shrinks the distance between all the major cities so that the whole island in some way could legitimately be considered one large cluster. There certainly has been a spreading out of firms from Hsinchu to Taoyuan (30 minutes north) and Taipei (1 hour north), besides the clusters in central and southern Taiwan.

(Off topic, there are also a bunch of clusters for precision tools, bicycles, and many other industries! But I suppose none of those could possibly be conducted over internet)

Re:Top Places ...

[Snowblindeye]

It's funny how it breaks down the Bay Area into San Francisco and Silicon Valley while on the other hand it puts entire Japan (population 130 mil) as one entry.

Yeah, weird how they didn't even explain that in the article. Oh wait... they did!

The whole San Francisco entry basically talks about why they made it a separate entry from Silicon Valley, and how its different.

From the article:

When we were coming up with this list I joked that San Francisco should be considered a separate region from Silicon Valley if only because companies from the valley actually turn a profit at some point. The differences between the two areas, however, are distinct and have become more apparent in recent years.

On the surface, it seems like San Francisco is sort of the mouthpiece for Silicon Valley; a place where the reporters and PR staff are kept so that they don't bother the engineers down in Palo Alto and Cupertino.

In reality, San Francisco has a technology sector all its own, one which blossomed with the rise of the "Web 2.0" era. Because an internet-based service doesn't require a large lab or factory space, startups were able to move from garages to small offices and apartments.

Today, companies such as Salesforce.com and Craigslist maintain their headquarters in San Francisco, while web sites such as Twitter have taken up residence in the trendy South of Market neighbourhood and made the former warehouse district the new hot place to find a start-up.

[...]

Silicon Valley is where you go to start up a business that needs lots of space to grow. San Francisco is where you come if you're a small services startup with low headcount that wants somewhere with good coffee and the best sushi this side of the Pacific.

Shaun and I may have had a giggle about the loss-making side of the business but the fact remains that online is king here.

[...]

The city is the heart of IT innovation, even if Silicon Valley is the soul.

Chile

[cenc]

I run a relocation biz in Chile. Chile is one of the most wired countries in South America.

Quality of life trumps connection in my experience.

I have a large pool of clients that are serious IT people that left the rest of the crazy world. They simple would prefer an o.k. connection, and a safe stable quiet place to work and for their families to live.

There is very little going on inside Chile as far as the IT industry is concerned, but it is a nice place to work compared to the rest of the World. They are progressively moving in bigger numbers for the lifestyle, not the connection.

Re:Silicon Valley = Cultural Diversity

[maxume]

He prefers pink unicorns (6 at a time if you can manage it).

What no RTP?

[MadMorf]

So, I guess Cisco, IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, Sony Ericson, NIH, EPA, NetApp, EMC, Red Hat and others don't count? And don't forget, as I've mentioned before, the Sanrio store...

Re:What no RTP?

[IorDMUX]

So, I guess Cisco, IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, Sony Ericson, NIH, EPA, NetApp, EMC, Red Hat and others don't count?

Cisco: Absolutely huge campus (headquarters) in San Jose/Milpitas, in the Silicon Valley
IBM: Research in Almaden and Austin, headquarters in New York
GlaxoSmithKline: Headquartered in UK, U.S. offices split between RTP and Pittsburgh, PA
Bayer: World headquarters: Germany; U.S. headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA. Minor research in RTP
Sony Ericsson: Everywhere.
NetApp: Headquarters (and most offices) in Sunnyvale, CA, in the Valley EMC: Headquartered in Massachusetts, major offices in the Valley and China
Red Hat: Main offices near RTP

No one said that they don't count, but, as you can see, the RTP is more a conglomeration of small branch-offices of companies who direct their main focus elsewhere. I've been to Boston, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and the RTP, and the latter simply can't hold a candle to the tech environment and opportunities of the other three.

Re:Why California gets it

[Anonymous Coward]

Silicon Valley's success is mainly due to Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory. Virtually every other semiconductor company(TI is a notable exception) is a direct descendant or started by a former employee of a descendant.

Re:Silicon Valley = Cultural Diversity

[DigiShaman]

FYI, most (if not all) hunters eat what they kill. It's not like anything is going to waste.