Sunnyvale, December 24, 1986
Christmas in Silicon Valley
“Jingle Bells,” “We wish you a Merry Christmas,” “Feliz Navidad,” “O Tannenbaum,” “Stille Nacht” - this is how it sounds in several languages and variations for weeks over the loudspeaker systems of the large shopping malls, providing Yuletide background music. Thousands of people in a colorful mixture of East and West - English, German, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish-Mexican next to Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean -- just to name the larger ethnic groups, which are streaming through these shopping centers. The abundance of consumer goods offered here is dazzling. The sales personnel, already visibly exhausted, are calling attention to last-minute bargains. The cashiers routinely type the serial number or scan each purchased item with the barcode scanner of the UPC (United Product Code). This enables the big retail companies throughout the United States and Canada to keep current records of even the smallest piece of merchandise of their stockholding. It has radically changed stockkeeping according to market demand.
These and similar revolutionary innovations in the market place have become possible during the last two decades by the ingenuity of Silicon Valley. The original Santa Clara Valley has become known worldwide by its nickname “Silicon Valley.” The name Silicon Valley originated because since 1957 the silicon chips have been developed here, which are, as is generally known, the building blocks of the computer industry. But what really is it, the frequently mentioned and also misunderstood Silicon Valley? In short, it is the 30 mile long stretch of land at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay, which extends from Palo Alto over Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara to San Jose. Here, in a Mediterranean-like landscape, about 500 of the best known electronic companies have established their headquarters. It has become the world center of computer technology and data-processing. From here, the new data-processing and telecommunication age was initiated, whose development is just in its beginning stage. There is a continuous flow of traffic along the EI Camino Real. One drives along Palm tree lined thoroughfares, roses are blooming in the gardens, and the ripe fruits hang on the lemon and orange trees. The air is spring-like and mild. The climate, protected at the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains against the Pacific, remains evenly moderate throughout the year.
On the surface, life in Silicon Valley does not show signs of tense competition or of continuous surveillance, suspecting industrial espionage. On the contrary, life appears to be free and easy, almost idyllic. But this should not give the wrong impression that people are not working hard here and with risks involved. Computer technology has developed a new language and lifestyle that anticipates the 2lst century. There is no noise, nor does the clean industry cause air pollution. The new architecture of industrial office buildings blends into the park-like green space. It looks like a single large campus, as if the grounds of Stanford University had just been expanded. A new clicking and keyboard culture has been emerging, which organizes, stores, retrieves and forwards information at the speed of light. Attention remains completely concentrated on the screen. Books are rarely read anymore or letters written. Letter writing is being replaced by e-mail. It seems as if the humanities brought along from Europe or the East Coast belonged to an age gone by.
December 31, 1986
Steinbeck Country
After a drive by car of only a few hours south from here, one comes to the Salinas Valley in the Monterey Bay, an area that has become known as Steinbeck Country. John Steinbeck (1902-68), who was born in the city of Salinas, used the landscape and people of his immediate California homeland as background and subject matter for his short stories and novels. Among these are The Pastures of Heaven (1932), Torti11a Flat (1935), The Long Valley (1938), Cannery Row (1945), and East of Eden (1952). When Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962, the Salinas Valley became known worldwide. The Delta of the Salinas River is one of the most fertile plains on earth. As far as the eye can see, the artichoke and salad fields stretch out endlessly. The originally well preserved Mission San Juan Bautista stands amid eucalyptus trees in the foothills north of Salinas. From the foothills, the barren and inaccessible Diablo Range, which closes the Salinas Valley to the east, rises to the sky. Steinbeck had taken special interest in the “Paisanos,” the Mexican migrant field workers whose lot he narrates with human understanding and sympathy.
The city of Monterey has become a tourist attraction. On Cannery Row sardines have not been packed for a long time. The dilapidated shacks of the former cannery have been turned into an amusement park with stores, antique shops and restaurants. But the real tourist attraction is the large Monterey Bay Aquarium that was opened in 1984.
The Monterey Peninsula has an austere beauty. Riding from Monterey along the Pacific coast on the famous “17-Mile Drive” to Carmel, one may be surprised by the rare, wild vegetation. Cyprus trees cling to the cliffs, withstanding the surf of the Pacific. And otters, seals, sea lions, and pelicans frolic on the small islands off the coast. Outside Carmel, directly on the Pacific coast, lies Pebble Beach, one of the most beautiful and also most difficult golf courses in the world.