Seattle, the birthplace of grunge and Bill Gates, is being infiltrated by Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Zynga that are hungry for the city's engineering talent. Microsoft in the 1980s and then Amazon in the 1990s made Seattle into a tech hub. The University of Washington also turns out talented software developers.
Engineers can benefit from a lower cost of living there -- homes prices are about 42% cheaper -- while still enjoying the laid-back Pacific Northwest lifestyle. Tech companies also get off cheap. Salaries for engineers in Seattle are about $8,000 less than in California's Bay Area.
So, what's good for Silicon Valley is good for Seattle. (WSJ)
Google Bedevils Nokia (WSJ)
It's one thing to get beat in the U.S., but it's really bad when Finnish phone maker Nokia gets trounced in its own backyard. Google's Android operating system now has a 34% market share in Europe, up from just 8% a year ago. The prevalence of Nokia's OS, on the other hand, was halved in the last year, falling to 21%.
Start-up Vet Joins Obama Campaign (TechCrunch)
Former chief technology officer at Threadless, a Web retail site, has joined the Obama re-election campaign as its CTO. He's known for being a little weird.
Cyber Security and You (FT)
Hackers have executives all over concerned that they could soon be asked to explain how they left internal or user data vulnerable to attack. That means there's an opening for security experts to help solve what now seems like an intractable problem. The FT has a special report on the topic today.
H-P Takes A Load Off (Bits)
Executives aren't the only assets that H-P is dumping. Yesterday the company announced the sale of its video conferencing business to Polycom for $89 million.
Coming to America (WSJ)
As Silicon Valley companies branch out into Seattle, some foreign start-ups are setting up shop in California to take advantage of the area's booming capital market.
New Windows (Bloomberg)
Microsoft previewed its new Windows operating system, which has touch-screen functions and can be used in tablets.
Which Way the Wind Blows (Digits)
Marc Andreessen says there's no tech bubble. How does the Netscape co-founder and venture capitalist know this? Logic: Everyone says there's a bubble, so there must not be one; if no one was talking about a bubble and everyone was euphoric, then there would be something to worry about.
Gmail Hacked (WSJ)
Google said yesterday that Chinese hackers have hacked the email accounts of senior U.S. officials, along with Chinese activists and journalists. The episode sounds similar to the 2010 hacking that prompted Google to halt operations in the country.
Buzz Around the Office
Daily Inspiration (YouTube)
This kid has a future as a life coach. To wit: "If you believe in yourself, you will know how to ride a bike.... Thumbs up, everybody, for rock and roll."
List of the Day: Behaviors That Will Hold You Back
1. Unreliability.
2. Avoiding work or procrastinating.
3. Resistance to change.
(Source: BNet)
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