Harvard/Duke/UC Berkeley researcher Vivek Wadhwa — he’s dangerously close to surrounding the entire country with his teaching posts — has told the Boston/Route 128 community what he thinks of its old, cranky behind.
Wadhwa, who caused a stink awhile back when he dared to look askance at some NVCA numbers, says Silicon Valley took a commanding lead in the ’90s with its job-hopping, information sharing, networking, etc.
Which brings me to Boston. Ever heard of Route 128? To my surprise, neither have any of my students at Duke or the entrepreneurs I’ve met in Silicon Valley.
…
This organizational mechanism was in sharp contrast to that of Route 128. Dominated by large, vertically integrated, and secretive minicomputer producers such as DEC, Wang, Prime, and Data General. Technology, skill, and know-how were trapped within the boundaries of the large corporations.
Oh … snap. I like the idea of the Boston area tech executive as a collection of C. Montgomery Burnses, and look forward to their withering retorts via telegraph.







