UNIT7

1	Many computer companies started in the 1950s near San Francisco, California.  Top scientists came together in this area of beautiful green hills and farms.  Instead of working for big companies, as scientists in those days usually did, they started their own.  They were able to get a lot of money quickly \\ something that did not happen in New York, the business capital of the US at that time.  They worked very hard to make what is now known as Silicon Valley, which is home to some of the most powerful technological companies in the world.
2	William Shockley, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1956 for making the transistor, was the first scientist to go to Silicon Valley.  He dreamt of making transistors out of silicon.  He created a company with eight other top scientists, but they did not like Mr. Shockley.  They left and opened their own companies.  Some of those companies still exist today.
3	Before Silicon Valley, new companies had to borrow money from banks or friends.  In 1938, scientists Bill Hewlett and David Packard had great ideas, but were only able to borrow a little money.  They started their work in a garage with just $500.  It took them a long time to build their company.
4	Luckily, a few men believed that giving money to new technological companies could make them rich.  This new way, called gventure capital,h became popular in the 1960s, and even now Silicon Valley companies get more money this way than any other area in the world.
