

Bloomberg begins quest to challenge the West Coast for supremacy in tech - jamesteow
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110719/FREE/110719898

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redthrowaway
Well, they've got one part right: tech centers flow from strong universities,
not industrial parks. That said, I think the focus on entrepreneurship may be
misguided. MIT, CMU, Stanford, and Berkeley didn't spawn tech loci because
they focussed on entrepreneurship, they did so because they were destination
schools for the best and brightest Eng and CS students from around the world.
If they focussed on building the best possible engineering school, rather than
the one most likely to spawn startups, they would paradoxically have a much
better chance of spawning startups.

Also, I can't speak for anyone else, but New York simply doesn't appeal to me
as a wannabe hacker. I _like_ San Francisco and the surrounding area. I like
the culture and the people. New York really doesn't have that same draw for
me. That said, for those from the East Coast who would otherwise go to MIT or
CMU, a top tier engineering school in New York might well be a viable
alternative.

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juiceandjuice
I think SF is very similar to NYC in the sense that it offers the cultural
variety young people want. SF has better weather (except for this damn fog)
but for the most part New York has an even bigger cultural draw than SF. The
problem is that the universities it has, namely Columbia and NYU, are not in
the same league as MIT, Stanford, or Berkeley for engineering, despite being
very good schools. Secondly, and more importantly, NYC just doesn't have the
same techy density, but it sounds like it's getting there and this could be
the sort of initiative to put it over the top.

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jamesteow
Not to mention startups compete with jobs on Wall Street for top devs. Though
I guess it'd be like starting something here in SV and competing for talent
with Facebook/Google.

The advantage that NYC has is it has vastly more top shelf design talent.

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ziadbc
I think it's great that New York wants to step its game up in science and
engineering, and should be applauded.

However, I think the idea that New York needs to be the capital of technology
over Silicon Valley is like if New York tried to become number one in Chicago
style pizza, it's just silly.

Technology is going to be a driving force in our economy because technology
simply means producing useful things we don't yet have. To make it about some
kind of dominance over another state within the same country is unnecessary,
just grow your own legacy.

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btcoal
I suspect this is more about the temporary employment boost that having a
major university in a city can bring than the long-term employment benefits
that an economy based on scientific and technological prowess can bring.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. But the picture today implies that the
technology sector doesn't tend to create a lot of jobs, even when it creates
extremely useful inovations or novel avenues of entertainment.

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MatthewB
Awesome. Anything that brings more interest to math and sciences is good in my
book.

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AnneTheAgile
I agree! I also favor government giving its largesse back to the actual
owners, in any format. Here, "The city is offering real estate on Governors
Island, Roosevelt Island or at the Brooklyn Navy Yard at virtually no cost..."
I hope it works! Those areas are a little off the beaten path. Roosevelt
Island is very interesting because it is very close to NYC.

