Rick’s Short Circuit: Detroit vs. Silicon Valley, games and TVs, hitting pirates in the UK
A tour of tech news and commentary around the Web this morning finds an economics professor at Harvard giving the nod to Silicon Valley over Detroit. Also, Jobs is ready to return to Apple, Sony and Microsoft have Nintendo-like plans, and the UK looks to restrict net pirates’ bandwidth.
In “The problem with bailouts” in the Boston Globe, Edward L. Glaeser compares the economies of San Jose and Detroit: “Despite California’s political mismanagement, San Jose has a superb base of tech-savvy entrepreneurs and a terrific climate. Silicon Valley will rise again, but the prognosis for Detroit is less rosy. Overdependence on one not very competitive industry, a shortage of college graduates, and a cold climate have led the city of Detroit to lose more than 50 percent of its population since 1950.”
He’s opposed to helping Detroit by bailing out GM, saying that government intervention protects the status quo. He adds, “Detroit was, a century ago, among the most entrepreneurial places on the planet, and it achieved automotive miracles, the scale of which ultimately turned the city into a model of big-firm stagnation. If General Motors becomes a permanent employee-owned, state-sanctioned enterprise, the firm will lose its chance to split up and become entrepreneurial once more.”
The UK government wants to restrict the connection speeds of “persistent net pirates” rather than cut them off completely, reports the BBC. The article notes that, with regard to a complete cutoff, “A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, said this was not the government’s preferred option now that net access was as valuable as other utilities such as water and electricity."
Steve Jobs is ready to return to Apple, reports the Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124415751596986965.html#mod=testMod adding, “The big question now among Apple’s business partners, investors and fans: Will Mr. Jobs make his reappearance at Apple’s annual software developers’ conference next week in San Francisco, possibly to unveil a new iPhone?”
You can never be too rich or have a TV that’s too thin. The Journal says “Some of the new liquid-crystal-display (LCD) and plasma TVs that have begun appearing in stores around the world are less than one inch thick. They weigh 15% to 25% less than previous models—which were about four inches thick—and are easier to hang on a wall.”
“The Electronic Entertainment Expo, which was substantially scaled back in 2007 and 2008, came roaring back this week at the Los Angeles Convention Center, attracting more than 35,000 visitors,” reports the LA Times. The Washington Post notes that Microsoft and Sony both unveiled Wii-like plans and offers a photo gallery from the expo.
From Thursday’s newsletters:
T&MW’s Test Industry News: The philosophy of jitter, emulate SPI signals, more…
EDN on Components: POE ICs, isolated USB, Core i7, more…
EDN’s Electronic News Today: Intel and Wind River, Google’s philanthropic arm, fab spending to double, more…
Previous Short Circuit: Intel and Wind River, Mars, and venture capital.
Meredith Poor commented:
The Obama administration will end up gently shutting down the various remnants of GM in a 'controlled' manner. Ford will most likely survive, Chrysler will not. What we'll be told is that there will be a new 'leaner, meaner' GM, but in reality union votes in national politics will keep the company from ever being competitive. The existing production resources will keep producing spare parts and handling warranties, but as demand dissolves the production of new cars will simply end.
