It is a pitty the author did not mention Israel, currently the second largest high-tech industry after silicon valley.
I was going to include Israel (I hear really awesome things about it). I hope to visit sometime soon. But I don't know anyone who could do the guest essay for Israel. I am hoping to do a follow up post sometime with guest essays including Israel, Brazil, China, Russia and others.
I am somewhat acquainted with heavy-weight entrepreneurs in Israel. In addition, several of my friends are involved in start-ups, myself included. Drop me a line (shmichael at gmail) if that seems interesting.