Silicon Valley, California

Silicon Valley, California

Silicon Valley, California

Every myth needs a good story, and so does the myth of Silicon Valley, the famous and emblematic home of countless IT and high-tech companies, with a garage on Addison Avenue, Palo Alto, where friends David Packard and William Hewlett founded a company in 1938 with a starting capital of $ 538.

Where exactly is Silicon Valley (“silicone“Incidentally means” silicon “, a chemical element that is used especially for the construction of semiconductors) begins and where it stops, is more or less in the eye of the beholder, especially since many companies have now settled in the extended surrounding area.

The most common view is that Silicon Valley encompasses the entire Santa Clara Valley, including the city of San Jose, south of San Francisco Bay, which used to be known for its fruit processing and is still agricultural in places, and has a good wine-growing region Reputation includes. The neighboring cities of Palo Alto, Newark and Fremont also belong to the Silicon Valley – a term that was invented by a magazine in 1971 – even though they are not in the Santa Clara Valley.

Stanford University was the driving force behind the development of Silicon Valley. The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the prestigious University, Frederick Terman, had the idea to set up an industrial and research park on the university campus grounds surrounding the campus. Terman is now considered the father of Silicon Valley, because shortly after the founding of the technology park, the first companies moved in, first and foremost, those founded by Stanford graduates. His former students Hewlett and Packard personally persuaded Terman to move out of the garage in 1954. Shortly thereafter, the first manufacturers of semiconductors followed, followed by computer builders and software companies. One of the hallmarks of Silicon Valley’s development is that companies based here are moving one another forward by developing products that are useful to another company. Investments in the region, where researchers from Stanford University reached milestones, such as the invention of the computer mouse in 1963, flowed into ever-increasing amounts. Graduates from nearby San Jose State University also played an important role and soon took decisive decisions Positions in many of the companies. In addition, several other universities now maintain branches in Silicon Valley.

Today, almost all well-known companies in the computer, software and Internet industries are represented in Silicon Valley with at least one branch. Among the resident companies include Apple, Google, Ebay, Intel, Sun, Yahoo, Oracle, Adobe, Facebook, Palm, Electronic Arts and AMD. Even European companies such as Siemens, Nokia, SAP or Opera can not do without a presence in the Valley.

San Jose is the largest and most significant city in the region. In addition to this city of millions many more places to Silicon Valley. With a population of 61,000, Palo Alto is home to Stanford Research Park, which is the nucleus of Silicon Valley and still houses several well-known companies, including Hewlett-Packard and Facebook. Renowned for its liberal atmosphere and high quality of life, the city has a free accessible attraction, the Arizona Cactus Garden on Stanford University campus.

The city of Saratoga, which has about 30,000 inhabitants, is primarily a residential city with a rather small-town charm. The city has on average a rather wealthy population, which is expressed in exclusive shopping opportunities. Saratoga is home to several wineries.
Neighboring Sunnyvale is home to AMD and Yahoo. The city with 132,000 inhabitants can be divided into a southern half with residential areas and a northern half, in which primarily companies are at home. To the south, the city Cupertino joins with almost 51,000 inhabitants, where, among other things, the headquarters of the company Apple. According to demographic findings, Cupertino is the largest of the American cities whose inhabitants have an average annual income of more than $ 100,000. The city is relatively young and has been built largely based on a master plan. On Fridays, there is a Farmer’s Market, serving local fruits and vegetables. On the other side of Sunnyvale is the city of Mountain View, the seat of the company Google, whose campus named Googleplex itself has become a tourist attraction. The company has free wireless Internet access throughout the city, which has more than 70,000 inhabitants. Attractions include the Computer History Museum on North Shoreline Boulevard and the Downtown area around Castro Street with a diverse selection of restaurants and shops.
West of Mountain View, Los Altos is one of the richest cities in the US, measured by the median income of nearly 28,000 inhabitants. The formerly agricultural city is now mainly a residential city with some well-known residents and site of a History Museum, which traces the development of Los Altos and the surrounding cities. The neighboring Los Altos Hills is an independent city of about 8000 inhabitants.

To the south of Saratoga is the village of Los Gatos, once an agricultural town that now has about 29,000 inhabitants and, despite its proximity to San Jose, has retained its small-town character. In the small shops of pedestrian-friendly Downtown are mainly antiques. The city of Campbell, which has just under 40,000 inhabitants, borders in the northeastern direction. Campbell has some shopping centers, but primarily serves as a residential city. Worth seeing is the Tudor-style Aisnley House, which was moved to its present location on Grant Avenue in 1990 and now houses a museum of city history.

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Christina Cherry
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