AS IT IS 2015-09-01 Los Angeles' Silicon Beach Becoming Like Silicon Valley

AS IT IS 2015-09-01 Los Angeles' Silicon¹ Beach Becoming Like Silicon Valley

America's high technology industry is centered in northern California. The area, known as Silicon Valley, is a short drive from San Francisco Bay. Silicon Valley is home to Google, Apple and other industry leaders. But smaller tech start-ups can be found further south in and around the city of Los Angeles. Some people are now calling this area "Silicon Beach," a play on the name of the rival Silicon Valley.

The company VNTANA is one of the many technology start-ups near Los Angeles. The company’s name comes from the Spanish word for "window." It is based in the seaside community of Santa Monica. VNTANA creates holograms -- three-dimensional images -- for education, marketing², and entertainment.  

Ashley Crowder works for the company.

"It takes two people less than an hour to set up the screen, and it can be shipped anywhere in the world."

The system is interactive³, requiring communication between people and computers. It can produce "live" remote appearances from sometimes distant, faraway places and virtual, computer-aided concerts. Users are able to control the projected images with hand movements.

VNTANA makes use of its closeness to Hollywood, the home of America’s movie industry. Ben Conway also works for the company. He says Silicon Valley is more concerned about technology, while Silicon Beach deals with entertainment.

"We have a focus on interactive and on content.  And that's something that the entertainment community really understands."

But the technology sector⁴ is diverse. Matthew Goldman is with Wallaby Financial. His company advises people on which credit cards to use, based on interest rates and awards from the stores they visit. Mr. Goldman says the company has designed application software for wireless⁵ phones.

"The phone locates you and it communicates with our servers that make up these recommendations and do the intelligence and send back the results to your phone, in virtually real time."

The Los Angeles tech industry spreads from the city to surrounding communities and the Pacific Ocean. Experts say its size is hard to measure. But Silicon Beach is home to many hundreds of tech start-ups and continues to grow.

Words in this Story

diverse – adj. made up of different people or things

rival – n. a competitor or opponent; a person or thing that tries to be more successful than another

sector – n. an area or part of an economy

start-up – n. a new business

1 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。