What do you know about Silicon Valley?

I watched a very inspiring video today on Justin.TV. It's an interview that was held with one of the Who's Who in Silicon Valley talking of Mark Zuckerberg. He really touched the 'binary' side of me and I just couldn't resist doing a post on it.

Our main focus anyway would be on Silicon Valley.

Many of you know something or much about it or maybe you just know it's a place where those 'big elite' Tech companies reside.

You're right in a way but do you know one university was influential in its development...speaking of Stanford University.

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:
"After World War II, universities were experiencing enormous demand due to returning students. To address the financial demands of Stanford's growth requirements, and to provide local employment opportunities for graduating students, Frederick Terman proposed the leasing of Stanford's lands for use as an office park, named the Stanford Industrial Park (later Stanford Research Park). Leases were limited to high technology companies."

The part I love about the little research was that I discovered that my second ranking DREAM company resides there.

My darling sweet CISCO SYSTEMS for sure!
Check out the building...

Cisco Systems HQ (Image courtesy: Wikipedia)

Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, a married couple who worked as computer operations staff members at Stanford University, later joined by Richard Troiano, founded Cisco Systems in 1984.

This Stanford thingy freaks me out.
Most of their start-up stories link up to Stanford in one way or the other.

HP was founded here too... check out this extract from Wikipedia:
"One of the major success stories was Hewlett-Packard. Founded in Packard's garage by Stanford graduates William Hewlett and David Packard, Hewlett-Packard moved its offices into the Stanford Research Park slightly after 1953."

There something of interest in 'the valley' that I can't seem to place a finger on. Juxtaposing Technology and Business has always been a puzzle to me but that's just what is evident in Silicon Valley.

Oh and your darling Facebook has it's HQ here too. That was what led me to write this initially cuz I wanted to know more about 'the valley'.*insert grin*.

The controversial part of Silicon Valley is that it is rumoured to be a place of Short-sighted High-Tech startups. i.e. If you have a great idea, you want to start-up a firm to probably sell it in a few years and you're such to get the backing of a Venture Capital firm, Silicon valley is the place for you.

So what led to the rise of the Silicon Valley?
It's simple: 'The right environment'
All the companies had a symbiotic relationship...more like a plant-animal relationship.
You know...you the plant produces the oxygen which I need, I breathe it in and give you CO2 which you need...and I eat you

Check this out:
"By the early 1970s, there were many semiconductor companies in the area, computer firms using their devices, and programming and service companies serving both. Industrial space was plentiful and housing was still inexpensive."

The rise of Silicon Valley was also bolstered by the development of appropriate legal infrastructure to support the rapid formation, funding, and expansion of high-tech companies, as well as the development of a critical mass of litigators and judges experienced in resolving disputes between such firms."
It's a great place to be if you're a Tech-lover like me.

"Even after the dot-com crash, Silicon Valley continues to maintain its status as one of the top research and development centers in the world. A 2006 The Wall Street Journal story found that 13 of the 20 most inventive towns in America were in California, and 10 of those were in Silicon Valley.
San Jose led the list with 3,867 utility patents filed in 2005, and number two was Sunnyvale, at 1,881 utility patents"

So when next you travel to the U.S., make it one of your top priorities to pay a visit to where I call the '9th wonder of the world'.

Here are my 10 favourite companies in Silicon Valley:
(I couldn't put Facebook and Cisco here, those are in a special golden class. LOL!)

1. Adobe Systems (I can't count number of times I cured boredom with E-books and numerous PDFs, did I forget Photoshop??
The first audio mix I did for this blog was with Adobe Audition).

2. Asus ---> my Laptop manufacturer, I just have to acknowledge ;-)

3. Apple Inc. (Innovation on your palms...*faint*)

Apple HQ (Image courtesy: Wikipedia)

4. YouTube (acquired by Google) (You made video streaming which is supposed to be annoying attimes coool!)

5. Google (With you...I can become a professor overnight)

The Googleplex-bird's eye view (Image coutesy: Here)

6. Intel (You frustrated my gaming days but with Core i7 on the block, you're the best!)

Intel HQ - Santa Clara, California (Image courtesy:Wikipedia)

7. Yahoo! (My 1st encounter with the internet was with you, I remember it was some days after 9/11)

Yahoo! HQ (Image courtesy - Wikipedia)

8. LinkedIn (Great place for business collaboration)
The current CEO was a former Yahoo executive. This Silicon valley bond is weird.

9. Electronic Arts (Your games made my childhood rock! *raising a glass to FIFA fans*)


10. Microsoft (*raising hat to Mr Bill*)
You can read more on Silicon Valley.

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Info Age: Good cause or curse?

The information age was projected to reduce workload hence create more time but the opposite is happening. Technology has created a virtual reality of what isn't there at all.  The industrial age was escorted out with the introduction of machines which were projected to ease and shed some work hours off, hence creating more time but this has only led to more demand for that scarce resource called Time.

It has only created more avenue for more time demand in the workplace at the expense of the family.
Present modern family systems are slowly degrading and statistics have shown the increase in divorce rates even in rural settings.
I ask myself so many times what would make me as a father get home after my children would have slept on a week day only to rush out on a weekend for one supposed meeting. Am I building a home or just dwelling in a house?

The modern day family has misplaced its priorities. We have left our children to be trained by the society, media and peers and you complain about 98% failure in WAEC exams. You're yet to see more if something isn't done.
The education sector hasn't failed because of poor standards but because focus of families has shifted long ago.
Information age has brought more harm than good as it were because we have failed to manage it properly.

Father and Mother join the early morning rat race of Corporate Nigeria leaving child to discover world on his/her own.
A child always gets trained  eitherways (either at home or outside). So will you leave your vulnerable child to explore the world on his/her own or you'll protect his/her future while you still have an influence? Its left to you.

Gone are the days of your mother smacking you hard for getting a B when you thought you did well. These days the cane-therapy is gradually being phased out.
Gone are the days when we watched 'Speak out' Debates on NTA..I used to wonder in amazement of how eloquent those kids were.
Gone are the days when you were forced to watch 'Newsline' all because you wanted to stay up late on Sundays.
Oh! how I craved the lovely stories of 'Tales by Moonlight' and prayed never to steal because of a moral lesson I got from it.
I clearly remember this cartoon on HIV/AIDS by Sarah and one funny monkey she had.
Limited we were by the options of TV Stations but they were awesome and educative. Now what do we have? *sigh*

Mundane as it might seem then, we unconsciously grew up with good morals thrown forcefully in our faces by the only means of entertainment we had then.
Now we have many options, yet the reverse is the case. Entertainment has become more flashy yet brains have only got duller.

The information age was supposed to be a blessing yet the devastating effect is slowly killing our values.
We spend so much time online staring at a computer screen yet reading a book is often greeted with a tired yawn. The Bible? Let's not even go to that. Bibles have gotten more portable, fitting better underneath pillows and side drawers while reading time has also shrunk alonside size. Having a bible app on a BB a'int no guarantee of you reading it.

Technology has increased distractions and created more vacuums in lives.

I refuse to just be a cyber-activist who would come online, blab his mind and publish a note. No!
My 1st job is to create the awareness of a decay of morals and values.
Secondly is to let you know I'm taking a bold step forward to effect a change. Nuff said!
Do your part and let's quit deceiving ourselves.

Marriage isn't for all so I'd advice we stop adding to the problems on ground if we wouldn't take up responsibilities in raising purposeful and value-driven families.

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