But with several areas slowing at once, the situation also makes the region uniquely vulnerable to the imminent slumps. Silicon Valley has such a diverse array of different strengths to fall back on, that even if one thing goes down, there are so many other opportunities. Mr. Cortright, who recently published a study comparing high-tech clusters around the country, says the valley's strong venture capital community has made it easy for good ideas to get a hearing from the financial sector. The area also has an abundance of skilled engineers and programmers, building a regional knowledge that gives impetus to even more advances. Despite gains elsewhere, the valley still commands in everything from the chips that power computers, to the software that makes them run, to the networks that let them talk to one another.
History tends to be a real pivotal factor.
Biotechnology, considered by some to be technology's next wave, never has been a Silicon Valley strength, especially compared with hotspots such as Boston, Seattle and San Diego. And Southern California has become a nexus of sorts for high-speed communications chips, a market Intel and other Silicon Valley heavyweights have tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to enter. According to Marc Brailov, a spokesman for tech manufacturing group American Electronics Association, this year's projected 2 percent to 3 percent growth in the gross domestic product is nothing to sneeze at. Even so, he admits that's cold comfort to business leaders who have grown accustomed to growth of 5 percent and 6 percent. Dot-coms aren't the only wounded segment.