So there's silicon alley in NY, silicon prairie in the midwest, silicon forest in portland, what do we call Jersey?
If you wanted to confuse the hell out of people, you could call it "Silicon Garden", after the state's nickname, the Garden State.
Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
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Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#32According to wikipedia, it also has more engineers per square meter than any state in the US. Not quite the trashy state people are led to believe it is. Now that NYC is not affordable for startups, NJ will become a perfectly respectable tech/Start up hub. And good for it.
Nah, Jersey is done. The same 1950s attitudes/laws that caused it to lose the industry are still there. That's why it's tech scene consists mostly of big doofy defense contractors and Comcast.
Perhaps, But, I'm wagering that with NYC pricing out anyone but wall st banks, the pressure will build and it will change out of necessity. NJ shall be remade and reborn!
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#33I think Wall st sucked up most of the tech talent from NJ. Well over half the IT staff I've seen in the big banks and hedge funds live in NJ and commute in. I dont think tech could compete salary wise, though is starting to change now. Also Virtually all the data centers for NYC banks are in NJ suburbs. Other Scientists and business people moved into Pharma in the 80s & 90s - which is also not doing so well.
I know a lot of tech staff being made to relocate TO NJ. Due to Manhattan costs. This is a good thing for NJ.
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#34Even as Silicon Valley was still in its infancy, a group of organizations including Bell, MCI, GM, and others hired Fred Terman from Stanford to make NJ more like what Silicon Valley (NJ and SV share a ton of similarities, i did a tedx talk about it below [1]) but Terman was unsuccessful. He pointed to how Princeton was not focused enough on applied science the way Stanford was. East coast politics and stock market d…
FWIW, I had some good experiences at the Princeton Tech meetups a few years ago, if anyone is in that area: https://www.meetup.com/Princeton-Tech/
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#35So there's silicon alley in NY, silicon prairie in the midwest, silicon forest in portland, what do we call Jersey?
I grew up not far away from Bell Labs, very close to the Jersey Shore. Growing up, I remember friends' parents who worked in telecom refer to our area as Silicon Shore.
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#36So there's silicon alley in NY, silicon prairie in the midwest, silicon forest in portland, what do we call Jersey?
I grew up not far away from Bell Labs, very close to the Jersey Shore. Growing up, I remember friends' parents who worked in telecom refer to our area as Silicon Shore.
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#37Interesting seeing this story this morning, my company recently moved into the old Bell Labs building. Now called Bell Works, it does actually look like it's going to become a hub of new tech companies in the area. It's pretty humbling to walk into this giant building every day knowing some of the amazing things that were invented here.
It must be a great feeling. Imagine transporting yourself back into their time :)
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#38So there's silicon alley in NY, silicon prairie in the midwest, silicon forest in portland, what do we call Jersey?
Silicon Turnpike?
disclaimer: I live in NJ and commute to NY, yes - to work for a big financial concern. Lo and behold, I was just informed that my company is moving a ton of staff to a new Jersey "campus." They have likened the new facility to google or Facebook (although, knowing stuffy finance, I have my doubts ;)
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#39For those interested in learning more about Bell Labs I recommend you check out the book "The Idea Factory" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11797471-the-idea-factor...).
Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
John von Neumann worked in Princeton, I didn't realize the von Neumann architecture was aka the Princeton architecture. Of course Einstein lived and worked in Princeton too.
Many people on HN seem to forget that many strides in computer science, computer architecture, and mathematics came from schools that don't start with an "S" and are from outside of the Bay Area. I think it is more that the definition of how you measure innovation has shifted over time -- now it is based on how many dollars are raised for your venture vs. actual strides being made in academic fields of study.
....but still from a HYPSM.