

Andy Grove on Web 2.0 and the Valley: Slackers - alexwg
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/andy-grove-on-web-20-and-the-valley-slackers

======
fallentimes
This sentence made me laugh out loud:

 _"These Web 2.0 companies are surfing on the old wave. They're not creating
the next one," says analyst Navi Radjou of Forrester Research_

I'm not old enough to know either way, but I wonder if attitudes are always
similar to this during a recession.

~~~
ojbyrne
I had some good laughs at the linked article, which had some "insights" on my
favorite whipping boy, digg. Quoting Kevin Rose, - '"Things change in the
shower in the morning," he says.'

Business week seems generally shoddy to me. This article seems a classic
example - throw some random punditry together (aim for big, publicly
identifiable names though settle for companies with big PR budgets) that's
semi-relevant to current news, add some overdramatic narrative, and don't
forget the obligatory call for new tax incentives to further advance
innovation. It's a big mishmash of junk.

Watch out for the auto-starting video that further proves my point.

------
pedalpete
'the U.S. ceded the market for computer batteries to Japan in the 1970s. Now
it's way behind in the race to invent improved batteries for electric
vehicles'

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't A123 Systems a leader in this field?

~~~
ejs
Yea they are, don't know what this guy is thinking... maybe he doesn't count
companies on the east coast?

------
echair
You kids get off my lawn!

~~~
alaskamiller
Go make better batteries!

------
davidw
There has always been a "get rich quick" vein to the Bay Area, ever since the
gold rush. I think that's one of the reasons that it's not the most pleasant
place to live. When everyone's thinking "ok, get in, make money, get out", no
one's thinking much about stuff like schools, parks, infrastructure.

~~~
pg
Silicon Valley has problems, but schools, parks, and infrastructure are not
among them. In these it is among the best in the US.

~~~
davidw
I guess I'm a bit biased - I moved there the first time from Portland, Oregon,
which at least in terms of parks and infrastructure, is definitely better.
Where are you getting the school information from?

~~~
pg
<http://www.openspace.org/>

[http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/depts/csd/parks_and_open_space...](http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/depts/csd/parks_and_open_space/default.asp)

<http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/depts/utl/default.asp>

[http://www.schooldatadirect.org/app/location/q/stid=5/llid=1...](http://www.schooldatadirect.org/app/location/q/stid=5/llid=118/stllid=319/locid=1006325/stype=/catid=-1/secid=-1/compid=-1/site=pes)

~~~
comatose_kid
I live in SV with two young children. In the right area, the schools are
superb. The problem is that you need to be able to afford to live in los
gatos, saratoga, cupertino, or palo alto.

Other districts have good elementary schools, but poor middle/high schools. Or
they are far enough away from the core areas that you pay a pretty huge price
in commute time.

In summary, SV offers great public schools for affluent parents.

~~~
pg
Exactly. What Davidw really meant was that Portland was cheaper, not that it
was better.

