I've seen plenty of threads asking for potential alternate locations for Hollywood (that is, the center of the film industry in the United States, and by extension the world), but what are some plausible alternate locations for *Silicon Valley? That is, regions that could have become host to the lion's share of the American high-tech industry instead of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Obvious alternate locations include other center of economic activity and education in the United States, including the NYC/Tri-State area, New England (could overlap with the former), Southern California, the Chicago area, and the Washington, DC area. Of course, plausible dark horse candidates could be the Pacific Northwest or the Research Triangle in North Carolina.
What are some other plausible options? And how what would be the specific PODs needed for any of these given areas to surpass the Bay Area in this industry?
(As a bonus, what would the San Francisco area look like if the bulk of *Silicon Valley had been established elsewhere instead?)