The New York Times has a story that delves into a conundrum faced by Europeans: Why are there few, if any, technology companies from Europe with the size and reach of American tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple?
The article hypothesizes that, even though employment regulations and other business and legal factors play a role, it's actually deeply-embedded cultural differences that are the primary cause, citing less aversion to risk-taking, less stigma from business failures such as bankruptcies, little or no stigma from leaving and rejoining a company which is seen as disloyal in European cultures, more acceptance of disruptive innovation, and a less rigid educational system that allows individuals to find their own form of success.
(Considering the many indications that US schools now train for tests, not knowledge, perhaps alternatives to school are more attractive.)
Original Submission
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2015, @10:56AM
All the real production work happens in America, land of industrious innovation.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2015, @11:36AM
Because here it's not allowed to exploit workers with 80+hr workweeks.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday June 21 2015, @03:33PM
(grin)
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Insightful) by davester666 on Sunday June 21 2015, @06:12PM
Your banks do a good job, by loaning/investing money to those dotcoms in the US...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Monday June 22 2015, @10:20PM
The funny thing is that the true cycle is VCs hoping to unload their Series A investments on another round of rich suckers at some multiple greater than or equal to 5. So it's really a bunch of rich guys scamming each other. That developers and the company founders get worked to death and discarded is incidental to the process.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by deimios on Sunday June 21 2015, @12:08PM
Why do we need one? Silicon Valley already exists and it's already a huge magnet for talent, european or otherwise. This is like saying: where is the european facebook? Since it already exists and it serves europeans too, there is no incentive to create a competing copy.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2015, @05:02PM
Those are a bit different things you are comparing. Just because facebook can serve europeans, it's because it's a digital service. A place like silicon valley is a physical place, and people in europe need to go to work. Maybe at some point there's no need to go to work and everyone can work from home, but that is not reality yet. The question is, why in all this time has there not been a place like that in europe (and i don't know if it's needed)?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2015, @03:57PM
But there's no need that a large fraction of the people working in a certain field work all in the same area.
(Score: 2) by VortexCortex on Sunday June 21 2015, @09:32PM
Since it already exists and it serves europeans too, there is no incentive to create a competing copy.
The life forms that adopt monocultures quickly go extinct (and why sexes are even a thing). Diversification is good for a stable ecology. Competition also breeds new adaptations. Not everyone can afford to travel to a Tech Mecca to do such work, so it would probably be beneficial to foster centers of innovation around the world. Better to tap into the minds of the many vs relying on the few. I apologize if I sound patronizing but you did ask, "Why?"
(Score: 2, Insightful) by GDX on Monday June 22 2015, @12:20AM
The true is that the actual value of Silicon Valley is how they sell themselves, most of things that is done in Silicon Valley is done in Europe in a more spread way and the only thing that Europeans companies needs is to learn to sell themselves like the Americans do, specially their ability to create and hype a brand. There is also the hypocrisy of the Europeans investors in VC, that prefer to fund a US company than a European only, even when both have the same probability to fail.
(Score: 2, Flamebait) by Dr Spin on Monday June 22 2015, @08:29AM
One of the big problems is that people keep smoking this "Murricaine" stuff. Mrs T was addicted to it!
The UK was well ahead of America in many software areas, and a few hardware areas,
until Mrs T started publicly rubbishing the UK computer industry.
However, the VC issue is related to handing of tax write-offs, and taxation of the upper middle class.
When Apple started, Woz and Jobs' s dads had disposable income they could invest in their children's business,
and if it failed, deduct the losses from their tax. This is equivalent to the parents risking the state's money on their
children's venture.
Here in the UK, people at that level of society would have very little disposable income, because the policy is that
the state risks private people's capital. It may be communism, but the reality is Gordon Brown knows how to
spend your money better than you do! If you have disposable income, trust the government to dispose of it for you.
You know it makes scents!
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 4, Informative) by carguy on Sunday June 21 2015, @12:08PM
It's not Silicon Valley, but England has "Motorsports Valley",
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorsport_Industry_Association [wikipedia.org]
> Around 4,500 companies in the UK are involved in the motorsport industry, with an annual turnover of around £6 billion, with more than half being exports. It spends 30% of turnover on research and development. There are around 25,000 qualified engineers involved in the UK industry.
This article suggests that there are spinoffs to other sectors as well,
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/motorsport-valley-in-northamptonshire-is-bucking-the-economic-trend-1-4568259 [northamptonchron.co.uk]
> A fast-growing number of these outstanding UK manufacturers are expanding, by exploiting their assets to the full, and diversifying into new markets such as mainstream automotive and defence. Transferable skills from motorsport include rapid prototyping, lightweight, low carbon and energy efficient solutions, which are in high demand.
A 2014 study suggests that it's even larger (perhaps by including more supplier companies?),
http://www.coventry.ac.uk/primary-news/study-shows-midlands-9-billion-motorsport-valley-continues-to-thrive/ [coventry.ac.uk]
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @12:33PM
So, to begin, US exports a lot of technology, and when it actually exists, it is not easy to motivate startup of big and difficult things with other reasons then paranoia.
But as many have pointed out, in the light of recent "revelations" and the shitty state of US patent and IP laws, it is maybe time to dig up the old toolbox =)
This is important to understand...
Europe looks like africa. Really. There has been and is a potential of ethnic unrest in every country in europe. This type of situations do not encourage governments to "EQUIP" or "GEAR UP" the citizens.
Thus, no tech and equipment and gear for the masses.
Europe is OLD. Established. No new order here.
Just look at how badly the brits embraced all the technology that WW2 left, when it went home...
Sure, they got industry and shit, but wtf...
There is some Computerphile vids on youtube where a brit professor, Brailsford, talks a little about the history of computation in britain, and how the american products and culture tool over.
Think it is this one, but they all are worth a go...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rPPqm44xLs [youtube.com]
Take the entertainment industry: movies + fiction in the 1950+ to now.
In europe, culture forms the meaning of language a lot more than in USA. This means that a lot of the shit that you have can not be sprouted in europe. Hollywood would not have had a chans to take of in europe.
Even today, very few cultures allow the existence of the topics in Blade Runner, Alien + Prometheus, Friends, Clint Eastwood movies, Chuck Norris + a lot and lot of other things. We just don't have this in europe.
Anime... Dont even get me started... Our languages and history just do not work this way.
So the enterteinment industry never took of here.
If you want, I can rant on the rest of the day, but this is enought for now...
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @12:42PM
Ah, I forgot... The original thing I wanted to post was different and hence the title, but here is the deal: the consumer and sevice culture never really came to europe either.
Since companies could not sell random junk, like communication equipment, computers, and weapons to the general population, the "consumer" was not really born, until more modern times... 1990+ i would say.
For strategic, political reasons the governments had a big hand in TV, magazine production - there was no room or need for competition and "innovation" in that field.
Same goes for communication equipment, and a lot of things that can be covered by the word "service"...
So, history is bit of a burden here...
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2015, @01:17PM
Your first post is too dramatic compared to reality, while the second does indeed make sense considering history.
The dividing lines in Europe are not only ethnical. They do exist but are not nearly as strong as you make them believe. Maybe you have too much attention to Spain (Good lord they are an unruly mass) or to United Kingdom but other countries do not have separatist motives.
There are rivalries, and economical and political divides inside each country but they are not the bloodthirsty kind. Specially the newer generations educated with Erasmus and Ryanair, have become much more open to different European cultures. It takes time, and the historical heritage being so prominent is due to the huge voting mass the elderly people represent in Europe. Go check the articles where the politicians prefer to keep the current pensions subsidized with the money that should go to future generations.They don't really have the power to motivate youngsters to raise arms against each other. You, yourself, say that since the 1990s things have been changing...well Erasmus student exchange started in 1989. I don't think it is a coincidence things have been improving.
I work directly with Erasmus students (Erasmus Student Network) in my university and while they sometimes have their misgivings with my country and vice-versa, I don't see them as hating my country. On the contrary, even though my country and university are normally the last of their choices, the idea I have is that they loved them. May be it is my perception but they would have to be very cynical in a large scale to invite their families and friends to come here or re-visit on later years. I see the same in other Universities.
Also, speaking with local government institutions they also perceive Erasmus students as being very important to refresh the local civil society.
My point of view as an European.
(Score: 1, Troll) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @01:33PM
No, it is not dramatic. The clean and hard nazis in uniforms, the unshaved cold eyed russians, the hard slavs...
The people in the wars and the people living todays everday is the same people.
When you talk about people, talk so that your statement covers as much of the history as possibile.
Just look at yugoslavia 25 years ago and russia today... It is falling apart. And everyone is afraid of war in europe because everyone knows how hard and rutless we are.
Secondly, erasmus, or exchange students are an entirelly different thing. They are people with a certain mindset, who want to go abroad and meet "new and interesting people". Most of them are naive.
As educated immigrant, I can barely see the people I knew as child in these students, when they come from "my place". They are different. Sorry, bro, but you can not make any strategic assessment of the "thruth" based on exchange students...
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 4, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Monday June 22 2015, @08:44AM
I think you are full of shit.
> No, it is not dramatic. The clean and hard nazis in uniforms, the unshaved cold eyed russians, the hard slavs...
> The people in the wars and the people living todays everday is the same people
You're saying that Germany is still full of Nazis? That Germans are all "Clean and hard"? Go to Germany. Meet some people. They are some of the most welcoming, humorous and fun-loving folks you'll ever encounter.
It seems like everything you've written is based on misinformed old stereotypes and panic-mongering Daily Fail articles. I don't think you have a bloody clue what you're talking about.
> Just look at yugoslavia 25 years ago and russia today... It is falling apart. And everyone is afraid of war in europe
Everyone's afraid of war in Europe because WAR IS FUCKING HORRIBLE. There's nothing more to it than that. Europe learned that lesson the hard way, over and over again, and these last 50 years or so we've actually being doing something positive about it rather than endlessly repeating history.
> because everyone knows how hard and rutless we are.
Sorry to burst your nationalistic bubble here but no one country or continent has a monopoly on ruthlessness. It was the Brits who started the firebombing campaigns of the second world war, but there is a far longer list of nastiness behind that. The Spanish butchered millions on the new world in pursuit of gold. The French showed how ruthless they can be during the revolution. Africans, Asians, Americans - I could give you list of atrocities as long as your arm from pretty much any nation on Earth. What's your point? That people can be bastards and that war is hell? Not news. But people - the same people even - can also be warm, inviting and compassionate.
You get the former when people don't know or trust their neighbours, when they let themselves be informed by propaganda and stereotypes rather than direct contact with other peoples. The solution to that is to get people out of their borders and meeting as many different folks as they can. The internet has helped a lot in that as well. See how much more popular opposition there is to every war now.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Sunday June 21 2015, @09:13PM
While you and I, and many students, and most of our peers that we talk to feel that way, we're not the only ones that have been brought up in the last 20 years. It's not just old people that voted for UKIP, or for the Wilders and Le Pens of the world. Danish People’s Party have just done very well in Denmark, Golden Dawn, the NDP, and Jobbik are all attracting a disenfranchised youth.
Youth unemployment is terrible, house prices put the dream of owning a cardboard box out of reach for practically everyone, there will be no state pension, public services are being cut left right and centre, and there is little to look forward to for many people other than reality TV on a saturday night and perhaps a week in Shagalouf.
Immigrants are easy to blame, stirred up by hate rags like the daily mail who pander to the xenophobic "don't forget the war" bunch of pensioners.
There won't be a europe-wide country-level war, but unless there's major change there will be europe-wide fighting. While the poor overthrowing the rich may keep diamond merchants awake at night, they'll easily flee to the Cayman islands.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:00PM
You are either joking or ignorant: does Minitel [wikipedia.org] ring any bell? What about Spectrum ZX [wikipedia.org] or the slightly earlier BBC Micro [wikipedia.org]? You know EVE Online had Elite [wikipedia.org] as inspiration, which was written first for BBC Micro or Acorn Electron [wikipedia.org]?
MikroMikko [wikipedia.org] and NMT - 1G mobiles [wikipedia.org] from Nokia?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:09PM
Do you understand the word "Europe"?
It is not just a couple of countries in the west...
Have you heard about the "cold war"?
The fundaments that led to these big US tech companies started already 1950ies, and a lot under the 1800:s...
I am talking of times that span 50 to 200 years, and you come with some shit that is 15 - 30 years old?
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:28PM
In regards with East Europe/cold war: yeah, I still remember the food shortages in my late childhood/early teen years, due to massive export of food to our "friendly neighbour, from where the bright light of communism comes, CCCP".
What does it have to do with the presumably non-existent EU Silicon Valley?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:32PM
I SAID:
Since companies could not sell random junk, like communication equipment, computers, and weapons to the general population, the "consumer" was not really born, until more modern times... 1990+ i would say.
IN EUROPE. this is the sentence that you quoted.
Is this not the truth?
Did we have some serious public electronics market in europe (east + west) prior to this date?
What is the problem?
In the Big Europe we did not become "consumers" of tech until the 1990+ years.
I do not understand you.
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:54PM
You say UK, France an Finland (the 3 examples I quoted) were not Europe in 1980?
I'll grant to you, not the entire Europe had access to tech gizmos and related services, but... not even today one would pretend that the entire USA is a source of technological progress. Heck, have a look at the mobile coverage map [opensignal.com] and you'll see areas of "rural backwater": what good it would be to buy a mobile phone if you can't "consume" its services?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @03:34PM
Well, I say, I am entirelly certain that this is thanks to US technology culture.
Also, US compares best to Russia, not central and coastal europe. I do not think that solving communication and transportation problams across russia, from one end to the other, is even comparable to the rest of europe.
Same with usa. Rural areas is not 15-50km, as i understand, but 300+...
Secondly, I is irrelevant what a company does, when the entire chain of production/knowledge is not available in the same region.
Who makes the processors/electronics in the products that you mention? Nokia?
Who makes the OS, and the compilers they use?
Where is the programming language coming from?
In sweden, even Ericcson made computers, but abandoned it long time ago. Why?
They made mobile phones, then platforms, and abandoned it recently.
Nokia = Microsoft.
Let us rephraise the question then: assuming that I agree with your way of thinking, where are the things today, that we had?
Why do we not have a silicon valley today?
And a fun anecdote...
In sweden there are copper lines for phone. A lot of it, and they are good, and they can still carry internet with good speed.
Now, these phone lines have been there for a while, and it is the culture of this country to lay these really good lines, of most pristine quality. The chance you get a "no line free" on the swedish phone netwprk has always been close to 0. There is a lot of "star" formations in the swedish phone line.
Even the gsm towers used to use the ground cables. Dont know how they do today.
Why? Do these people have 1337 and interesting things to say with very short notice?
I had an interesting explanation from source i will not mention.
The swedish military decided to make a very reliable network, in the days.
Until some years ago, the phone company was still state owned.
That is why we have a serious amount of copper in the ground today.
So the phone coverage in west is not so strange. And, had very little with avarage consumers to do.
I can imagine that it was the case also in some other countries in the west, but it is not public knowledge.
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday June 21 2015, @03:55PM
Why would you need one?
Look, ARM [wikipedia.org] is European... thanks to Android, there are more ARM processors in this world than there are Intels.
Raspberry PI is European [wikipedia.org]
Arduino [wikipedia.org] is European
Alcatel [wikipedia.org] (which bought Bell Labs) is European
What's in Sillicon Valley now? A bunch of guys that invented "global taxi"? Or "show your privates, I'll show mine, this in the view of the whole world and we'll call it social media"?
Mate, Europe has much denser population, a more relaxed life-style and better public transport: if you want to meet your friend (and show the privates to each other) you don't need Facebook/Twitter/Uber, just go to a beer garden of your choice and listen to a jazz band (or a gypsy one if so you like), then pick which place you retreat, her or your's.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @04:14PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture [wikipedia.org]
Bro, give credit where it belongs.
Arm is not actually manufactured enywhere in europe, the fabs or in other places. Also, the history of arm is a bit convoluted with a lot of US companies, as can be read on the wiki page...
I begun with the 68000, have not even heard of arm, until maybe 10 years ago...
What's in Sillicon Valley now? A bunch of guys that invented "global taxi"?
Unfortunately, a lot of talent that is not used as they should...
US, as it is today, is getting more and more defunct, but there is still an optimism inspiring amount of brainpower over there, so a "change" might actually lead to something constructive.
The tech industry in US also led to large amount of science fiction that in turn lead to concepts and debates whould not have come from europe.
No matter how you see it, europe lives in a dream that starts cracking up...
Some say people in US have their identity in God, in the Army, or in Tech...
In europe we have our identity in artists and composers now many decades dead, and in misinformation about one or other countries liberal lifestyle...
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday June 21 2015, @05:00PM
Let me cite an 17y+ movie [wikipedia.org]: "American components, Russian Components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!" So why does matter? If the Chinese are able to fabs without being able to design a CPU*, why is this a problem for someone who can design?
* not quite true [wikipedia.org], but surprise: BLX (the designer of Longsoon) is fabless. Guess who fabs them? STMicroelectronics [wikipedia.org], which
---
You are mistaken and, as I see, in a pessimistic mood (are you Russian? Even so, it's summer there, can't get a reason for the gloomy mood). Science and innovation takes place in Europe more that in US nowadays, US is wasting itself like hell in destructive endeavours (their fault, nobody pushed Bush into Iraq). I gave you the links before, have some others.
* Rosetta [wikipedia.org] landing on the comet is European
* 3D printed space thrusters [soylentnews.org] are European ("We produce 150–200 thrusters in this class per year for different customers")
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @07:56PM
interview with the maker of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jOJl8gRPyQ [youtube.com]
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 1, Troll) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:16PM
also do not troll my fucking conversations with products that are built on american chips.
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:30PM
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday June 21 2015, @08:11PM
with European products that are built on american chips
FIFY.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Dr Spin on Monday June 22 2015, @08:18AM
Especially not when using a mobile phone with a CPU designed in Europe (ARM).
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @02:24PM
With this type of arguments you can point at the swedish Jas military plane, and say it is elite european poduct.
Ok, the engine might be Rolls Royce.
But the electreonics in it?
Elite europena FPGA with double elite european vector processors?
And the books the engineers read when they went to school?
Elite programming and electronics titles form europe or US?
And was it the elite european population thet led to the existence to those books and that technology, or was the existence of those based on US mechanics and electronics culture that started probably in the beginning of the century?
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 2) by zugedneb on Sunday June 21 2015, @12:57PM
I europe it wes a big thing to be doctor, engineer... Not easy to talk to one, and they did not talk to "many", They were busy? Universities were some sort of heaven you came to...
In USA, mechanics, electronics engineers and later programmers just grew on trees.
They were everywhere. In the garage, the backyard, in the bar...
Made all kinds of hobby projects on everyday basis, that were classified as military technology in europe.
Published lots of catalogues, blueprints, and components available to the avarage citizen...
Tired...
old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2015, @03:28PM
Slow down soylentil! Looks like you have no less than 9 replies in this article already.
(Score: 3, Funny) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Monday June 22 2015, @09:26AM
> In USA, mechanics, electronics engineers and later programmers just grew on trees.
Yeah, that's right. Everyone in the US is way more qualified than anyone in Europe. That old guy on his porch spitting tobacco at alligators? Qualified Neurosurgeon. Jim-Bob over there wearing his confederate-flag-underwear in the "Fried Grease" aisle of Wal-Mart? He helped design the Space Shuttle.
> Published lots of catalogues, blueprints, and components available to the avarage citizen...
Yes, because if there's one thing that american corporate culture is big on, it's the free-sharing of information. I'd like to know exactly the location of the IP bridge that you are using to communicate with us from backwards-world.
(Score: 3, Informative) by VortexCortex on Sunday June 21 2015, @09:19PM
a conundrum faced by Europeans: Why are there few, if any, technology companies from Europe with the size and reach of American tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple?
Well, let's see. I seem to remember something about a common place such "tech giants" are headquartered according to their tax records... Oh yes, that's right:
The double Irish arrangement [wikipedia.org] is a tax avoidance strategy that some multinational corporations use to lower their corporate tax liability. The strategy uses payments between related entities in a corporate structure to shift income from a higher-tax country to a lower-tax country. It relies on the fact that Irish tax law does not include US transfer pricing rules. Specifically, Ireland has territorial taxation, and hence does not levy taxes on income booked in subsidiaries of Irish companies that are outside the state. [...]
It is called double Irish because it requires two Irish companies to complete the structure. One of these companies is tax resident in a tax haven, such as the Cayman Islands or Bermuda. Irish tax law currently provides that a company is tax resident where its central management and control is located, not where it is incorporated [...]
Major companies known to employ the double Irish strategy are:
Eureka! Europe's silicon valley is apparently Ireland, doubly so. Oh, you meant places where such tech giants employ workers? Well, to answer that we'll have to see where all those H1B employees are coming from...
(Score: 2, Informative) by Kharnynb on Monday June 22 2015, @06:37AM
There is many Tech/software companies, there just isn't one big physical spot they are focused physically.
Apart from the old giants such as siemens or philips, there is SAP which is huge.
Then there is a lot of smaller companies that do well in their own niches.
Rovio
Spotify
Fsecure
AVG
supercell
raspberry pi
What we don't really have is big monopolist companies, that's sadly a result of the USA's massive consumer market with so little rules.
And of course there's always still Linux, even though it's of course mostly developed all over the place now.
Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2015, @12:07PM
Maybe it's simply because it is harder to make software for people using a dozen different languages than it is to make software for people all speaking the same language.
Yes, all the big companies have localization of their interfaces. But I strongly doubt that they started out with localized interfaces. And an American company can simply grow much larger before having the need to localize. Being in a large single-language market is a big advantage.