City San Jose is just the third largest city in California, but does it really matter if we are talking about the capital of the world-known Silicon Valley? When in 1777 a small mission received a magnificent Spanish name El Pueblo San Jose de Guadalupe, hardly anybody could assume that three hundred years later the city and its vicinities would become a concentration of the world electronic and computer industry. But also in its early history San Jose managed to become famous, at least, twice: it became the first capital of California and the first non-military colony in that place.

The territory named "Silicon Valley" and stretched 40 km far away from city San Jose in the southwest up to Palo Alto in the northwest seems more like one big city which has grown up almost 7 thousand computer and software companies, including many world leaders of the branch. It is hardly possible to find in the list of the "grandees" of computer industry even one who hasn’t noted in Silicon Valley – by headquarters, the research center or, at least, a business representation. The industrial growth of the USA by circa 45 percent is provided due to manufacture of computers and semiconductors, and the main merit in it belongs to the Silicon Valley. According to statistics San Jose metropolitan area has achieved the 1st place in the USA goods export, having overtaken former leaders – New York and Detroit.

And all began almost a half a century back in 1957 when eight young engineers, having left the laboratory of semiconductors of Beckman Instruments Company because of the conflict with the management, founded Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation that became the pioneer in manufacturing silicon microchips. The well-known "Traitorous Eight" led by the "Mayor of Silicon Valley" Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, 11 years later created Intel company, and established new principles of business on the basis of which the Valley has grown. Not without reason it is considered as the native land of the venture business representing a symbiosis of a new technological idea, risky investments and a corporate management. A transformation of an idea into a corporation is the most ordinary business for Silicon Valley: here, as people say, it is easy to find a person who will prepare a ready company literally for half a day if there is an interesting idea.

Today Silicon Valley is not only a manufacture, first of all, it is a powerful "brain" center, a concentration of a large number of technological companies and the absence of risk fear. The contribution to the general prosperity is also made by the numerous universities located in the territory of the Valley among which the most known is Stanford University. If one goes deep into history, it is possible even to say, that Stanford University concerned the conception of electronic technologies, as in the beginning of the last century it financed the researches of "the father of electronics" Lee de Forest – the inventor of the well-known lamp triode, that very missing part which absence made it impossible to create a radio signal amplifier. The University confirmed its devotion to the ideas of "hi-tech" soon after the end of the Second World War when it leased a part of its private territories to hi-tech companies for the period of 99 years – and thus Stanford industrial park nowadays known as technopark "Silicon Valley " appeared.

It is curious to note, that Silicon Valley strongly differs from other parts of America by cars and the manner of driving. Local drivers are mutually polite. The most popular car models – Mercedes and BMW – that is absolutely unusual for the States. Probably, it is due to the influence of riches and the life style that has arisen in this "hi-tech paradise" where almost half the population has, at least, higher education. The average price of a private residence here makes approximately half a million dollars. Annual earnings in Silicon Valley are above 2 times more, than on the average in the USA, and in computer-software and semiconductor industry it is even more 5 times. At the same time each employee working in the Valley earns for his company about 200 thousand dollars a year. A considerable shred of these incomes goes to the city treasury of San Jose which makes it one of the richest cities of America.

One more feature of San Jose is rather unusual for the States "neglect" to various sorts of monuments and sights, that are traditionally called "pride of the place", or pride of the place where you live. The inhabitants of San Jose do not care. Business, business and once again business, competition rules a ball here and people work all day and night for seven days a week…