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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

#101

Post by s73ver »

briandear wrote: post #60
throwawaymanbot wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Not with the insane property taxes and other regulatory friction. Highest property taxes in the country. It also has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country as well. Health insurance is also higher than in neighboring NYC (at least the last time I checked a few years ago.) All of the Democrat candidates for NJ governor want to raise taxes even more. NJ also has the most underfunded public pension syst…

I don't trust measures of "small business friendliness", because more often than not, how "business friendly" a state is really is a measure of how willing they are to gut consumer protection and employee protection laws. Having grown up in South Dakota, I can assure you this is the case there.

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#103

Post by s73ver »

briandear wrote: post #60
throwawaymanbot wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Not with the insane property taxes and other regulatory friction. Highest property taxes in the country. It also has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country as well. Health insurance is also higher than in neighboring NYC (at least the last time I checked a few years ago.) All of the Democrat candidates for NJ governor want to raise taxes even more. NJ also has the most underfunded public pension syst…

"It's a fallacy that being in San Fran or NYC actually matters."

If you want money, which let's be honest, is one of the most important things in this context, it highly does. All of the major VCs are in SF or NYC, and have shown very little desire to branch out from there. While we occasionally hear stories of a startup outside of those places doing well, it's generally the exception, not the rule.

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#104

Post by s73ver »

ghaff wrote: post #12
wheaties wrote: post #2

TLDR: anti-competative laws shunted growth to areas like silicon Valley which didn't have them. Seriously, why do we even allow people not at a C level to be impacted by these laws that say you can't leave to start a competitor? Moreover, why is it legal, like in NY, for a company to say they own all your work both on and off the job? We're killing ourselves.

I suspect that a lot of people over-emphasize the role of California non-compete lack of enforceability, specially given that (perhaps especially in the past) they've also reflected cultural differences between established large east coast firms and California startups. I'm not aware of research in the area but states other than California vary in the degree they enforce non-competes and other restrictions. I'm not a…

I don't think so. California's non-compete attitude is part of what helped Shockley Semiconductor get started, and that same attitude is what allowed the "traitorous eight" to leave there and start Fairchild Semiconductor. And it's also what helped Andy Grove et. al. leave Fairchild and start Intel.

Had these companies been located elsewhere, it's entirely possible their former employers would have gone after them, preventing those companies from going on to have the influence they did.

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#105

Post by jpmattia »

briandear wrote: post #60
throwawaymanbot wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Not with the insane property taxes and other regulatory friction. Highest property taxes in the country. It also has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country as well. Health insurance is also higher than in neighboring NYC (at least the last time I checked a few years ago.) All of the Democrat candidates for NJ governor want to raise taxes even more. NJ also has the most underfunded public pension syst…

> California was 50th.

What a strange metric they must be using: Silicon valley erupted (and continues to erupt) in CA, land of high taxes and high regulatory environment. And it seems many areas are trying to figure out how to be the next silicon valley.

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#106

Post by nerfhammer »

bogomipz wrote: post #10

Also central to New Jersey's weight as an innovation hub was Princeton University - where Alan Turning met and studied under Alonzo Church.[1]. Also worth mentioning is the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, N.J where Kurt Gödel remained a faculty member until his death in 1978.[2] Alfred Einstein also spent the last two years of his life working at the Institute. Imagine the conversations Einstein and Gode…

Gödel bio by Rebecca Goldstein covers some of the friendship between Gödel and Einstein: http://amzn.to/2rxJexf

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#107

Post by nerfhammer »

whoisinfosec wrote: post #102

Most of my clients are in NJ, very tech-heavy still.

Yea it's tech heavy but not really startup heavy, which seems to be HN's bias. I'm pretty sure Intel and IBM have big campuses there still. Also quite a bit of finance spills over from New York. And lots of tech workers live in NJ and commute over to NY.

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#108

Post by dredmorbius »

rb808 wrote: post #11

I 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.

That's a really good point. Brain-drain is a significant factor in any race for intellectual talent, and if you can switch locales just by hopping on a different train, it makes the switching costs that much lower.

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#109

Post by prions »

s73ver wrote: post #93
prions wrote: post #78

I just stared an internship at Bell Labs Murray Hill. Growing up in Holmdel, I've been a fan of Bell Labs since childhood and feel so happy to be working here. The atmosphere and energy from all the amazing achievements is really palpable. Word is the acquisition of Alcatel Lucent by Nokia has really put Bell Labs back into the public spotlight. Excited to see what the future holds and I hope I can still be a part of…

Do they still have signs marking the places where historic things happened? Like the lab where the transistor was invented, or Claude Shannon's office?

Yes! They also have a museum and a showcase room. I was able to see the first transistor.

I believe they're reconstructing Dennis Ritchie's original office. They still have his chalkboard too.

Re: Before Silicon Valley, New Jersey Reigned As Nation's Center Of Innovation

#110

Post by draw_down »

omni wrote: post #85

No discussion on New Jersey's glorious past is complete without a reference to the most passive-aggressive bridge in the world, located in Trenton http://www.usw.org/blog/2015/intro/trenton-pics.jpg

People often say that about it, but I really like it. Who hasn't felt like that? I feel that way pretty much every day at work.
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