The Computer Society: Down Silicon Valley

Some people still call it Santa Clara County, Calif., but more and more it is referred to as Silicon Valley, the place the miracle-chip industry calls home. Packed into a 10-mile by 25-mile wedge along the southwestern shore of San Francisco Bay are hundreds of the nation's high-technology firms, many of them involved in manufacturing silicon chips, related semiconductor devices and microcomputer-controlled products. At rush hour, cars inch along Highway 101, the valley's main drag, and peel off into the parking lots of well-manicured, one-and two-story buildings with names like Siliconix Inc., Synertek,...