Is software innovation still primarily North American and European? Why, and for how much longer?

Posted by limist on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by limist
Published on 2011-02-16T19:15:39Z Indexed on 2011/02/16 23:34 UTC
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culture

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innovation

Since this site is read by a global audience of programmers, I want to know if people generally agree that the vast majority of software innovation - languages, OS, tools, methodologies, books, etc. - still originates from the USA, Canada, and the EU. I can think of a few exceptions, e.g. Nginx webserver from Russia and the Ruby language from Japan, but overwhelmingly, the software I use and encounter daily is from North America and the EU.

Why? Is history and historical momentum (computing having started in USA and Europe) still driving the industry? And/or, is some nebulous (or real) cultural difference discouraging software innovation abroad?
Or are those of us in the West simply ignorant of real software innovation going on in Asia, South America, Eastern Europe, etc.?
When, if ever, might the centers of innovation move out of the West?

Your experiences and opinions welcome, thanks!

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