“As the inventor of the Apple I and Apple II, along with Apple’s original software, Steve Wozniak is a living legend. Legendary, too, is his complicated relationship with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, as well as the practical jokes that “Woz” played on colleagues in the headiest moments of the company’s formative years,” Hardy Green reports for BusinessWeek. “This fall, Wozniak will publish his memoir, I Woz: How I Invented the Personal Computer and Had Fun Along the Way, written with tech journalist Gina Smith (Norton).”
BusinessWeek associate editor Hardy Green interviewed Wozniak on May 20 at the book industry’s annual extravaganza, BookExpo America, in Washington, D.C. Here a re a few snippets:
Do you feel that your past has at times been misrepresented?
Woz: Yes. The press tries to make it look like I’m at odds with Apple. They made it sound like I left Apple because I was mad. But I was leaving to start a company that made a remote control — and I really remained an employee of Apple, too. To this day, they try to bring up big conflicts between me and Steve Jobs. But we have never argued — there’s not one person that has ever seen us in an argument. We are different types of people, but I’m a non-conflict person.
Do you feel that Jobs ever ripped you off, perhaps in the case of the game Breakout that you invented and he claimed credit for with Atari?
Woz: He was more concerned about money. In the case of Breakout, all he had to do was ask me. I had a job at [Hewlett-Packard] and didn’t need the money. He was always into business, and I was into designing. And that’s not a good vs. bad thing. Steve turned down doing the foreword for the book. But there’s nothing really bad about him in the book. He may have misinterpreted something.
How do you regard the state of innovation in the computer industry?
Woz: The industry is so mature at this point that there just isn’t that much room for innovation. There are lots of little companies around, but they don’t get noticed. Apple kind of owns the movie program, the photo program. There’s a lot of feeling that instead of 50 companies making computers, maybe there should be only a dozen and only room for a couple of operating systems. So there aren’t so many areas that haven’t been swamped.
More in the full article here.
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Related articles:
Apple CEO Steve Jobs declines to write foreword for Woz’s autobiography – April 14, 2006
Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak autobiography ‘I, Woz’ coming this fall – April 11, 2006
Microsoft ‘pleased’ with Apple’s Boot Camp; Woz says ‘It’s a great thing for Apple’ – April 06, 2006
Woz says he never intended to change the world with Apple – March 27, 2006
Woz raises $150 million with Acquicor IPO – March 15, 2006
Wozgate erupts – March 03, 2006
Woz celebrates 30th anniversary of the Homebrew Computer Club (links to videos) – November 07, 2005
If ever there was a Wiz there was a Woz is that Wiz.
Woz is a f*@king idiot. Anybody who was a techie back then could have stuck the parts together and made that first piece of cr@p. They already had microprocessors and the memory chips… it was no big deal!
Give the credit to the guys who invented the chips. Woz became a billionaire on his AAPL stock and says he wasn’t interested in money! Yeah right! What a f*@king liar.
And I don’t want to hear any more comments about “anger management” from you f*@king morons. I already saw that dumbass movie!
Correction: MICROSOFT actually invented the Apple II.
therapy?
Wow, ay karamba is back with his useless opinions.
Go away karamba, no one is interested in what you post.
Iteresting comment, Rob. Explain yourself.
It’s in your dresser drawer if the question is where did you leave your medication.
Things were definetly more interesting back when there were multiple computer companies each with their own OS. When Amiga and Apple were in competition some really cool advancements were made. The PC platform really homoginized the market and not necessarily for the better. But such is the way the free market goes. I tend to believe that consumers got a better product when the company that built the machine also wrote the OS. While open architecture looked appealing in the early 90’s we’ve seen where it has lead…
Woz is the man.
MacDailyNews used to be until it turned it an readers nightmare with all of these terrible advertisements.
I wish Apple had BASIC with every computer sold. Did Jobs and Woz enjoy teaching-using it? How many people have used BASIC in other computers? Commodore Amiga,Commodore 64,Atari,Trs-80, and APPLE II! Apple is said to to be used by people for fun. All those people were having fun with that, AND third party support was great. It can’t hurt Apple to Sell More computers! And by the way, look 10 min. into triumph of the nerds-where STEVE JOBS says how much HE liked it. Check it out. If THEY thought it was great, then why stop other people from having it, by not including it? i-BASIC…let’s have it.
Ay Caramba: Get a life!
If you had ever accomplished anything yourself, you’d realize that all breakthroughs seem obvious in retrospect. And ease up with the hosilities, man, we’re all just trying to get through the day and enjoy life.
Ay caramba! is Woz’s alter ego
Perhaps Ay caramba! is being sarcastic with the anger management thing?…
Anyway, I don’t think the extent of Woz’s injuries from his plane crash has been fully explained. Woz is a brilliant engineer, but he appears woefully naive in judging people’s intentions.
Rock Star – just use FireFox and Adblock. It works effectively in displaying only what you want from this site.
Interesting that he says “The industry is so mature at this point that there just isn’t that much room for innovation.”
It seems amazing to me that he thinks this is true. After hundreds of years of ever faster innovation it must be obvious that it is just a matter of time before the industry is made to look as though it hasn’t yet begun – let alone reached any kind of maturity.
Anybody who was a techie back then could have stuck the parts together and made….
Yeah well could you hav done it? And it’s MORE than a pile ‘o chips. Did the people who “made the chips” think of using them to make a computer? Intel HAD the 8088, BUT wanted to use it for a calculator. It takes software, knowlege of eletronics AND SKILL. Again, WHY didn’t you do it. Want a valuim?
I wish Apple had BASIC with every computer sold.
Today it’s XCode and Terminal. A lot of development power included for the base price of a Mac. Admittedly the learning curve is a bit steeper, but the potential reward is much greater too.
BABY BOOMERS WILL SELL STOCKS TO BUY FOOD
duh.
which means stock market will soon crash
YES, the whole idea IS to have a SIMPLE programing. i-basic is there to atract people to it, instead of having them give up in frustration! EASY for the people. A great starting point even if later you use x-code.
Jobs did it, AT FIRST, and I think Woz taught it.
“Woz is a brilliant engineer, but he appears woefully naive in judging people’s intentions.”
This is typical in my experience. Engineers often have less people skills and cunning business sense. That’s why the Apple would have never left the garage if not for Jobs.
does anybody actually believes this guys? we never argued. Yeah right. Unless you were his bitch.
According to my Windows PC using acquaintances, Bill Gates invented the personal computer.
Ballmer’s contribution could be called “sweat equity.”
Does Encarta even mention Apple?
If the stock market crashes, hope all your money’s in Gold (symbol: GLD).
All my money’s in AAPL ang GLD right now. AAPL hasn’t been doing well (but I’m very, very confident in the next few years of AAPL so I’m not selling) and GLD has been through the roof.
The worse the economy gets, the weaker the dollar gets, the more valuable gold gets.
Ampar: Are you being serious that some people actually believe that Gates invented the personal computer?
“Anybody who was a techie back then could have stuck the parts together and made…. “
You’re right. Techies did put together computers and lots of other things. Think Radio Shack, Heath Kit, Zenith, etc. (Never heard of Heath Kit? ) Apple’s innovation was to actually put it together into a package, along with software, for the masses. Sure, the engineers could do it and they still do. But most people can’t or won’t. That is why Apple gets the credit. They created the industry. Kinda like Ford with the Model T.
While I think Jobs is the Man, Woz deserves better.
But I think his attitude shows how great he how is very grounded.
Most people would be upset about what they didn’t get.
But now Woz.
He made a ton of money.
He does what he wants.
He has a ton of fame. Sure, not as much as Jobs, but he also doesn’t take the negative heat too.
He has a ton of fun.
He spends a boat load of time with his family.
Oh, and I agree with the other poster. This web site REALLY needs to get rid of the intelitxt advertisements.
@Ay caramba¡
Your comments are dripping with jealousy. Did your Daddy work for a chi manufacturer in Silicon Valley or something?
Up until Apple was formed, computers were not meant to be dropped on top of a desk. Give credit where credit is due.
Hmmm, the computer industry has matured and there is not a lot of innovation.
That type of arrogance brings one back to the early PC days when IBM set the standard for OS and minimal memory configurations. Something like, “end users will never need more than 512k.” Or something like that.
And was that “argued” or “agreed”
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Ay caramba!
What Woz did “was no big deal.”
Just like what Rembrandt did “was no big deal.”
Common misinterpretations of Rembrandt’s significance: 1: Graphic representation of environment – Caveman 2: Crude representation of people – Caveman’s nephew 3: Realistic perspective in art – Caveman’s second cousin 4: Use of color – Caveman’s great niece 5: Realistic facial representation – Caveman’s great-great grandson who never married 6: Use of oil paints – Caveman’s middle-eastern brother-in-law Rembrandt was a poseur, just like Woz was.
MW: couldnt – What you do today couldnt be done without the accomplishments of those before you.
There “isn’t that much room for innovation”? I’m losing more respect for Woz every time he opens his mouth.
He has absolutely no vision and is so out of touch. Steve Jobs, on the other hand, has a master plan!
Woz is a creative whiner
He just wants to get back into the game at Apple like old times.
He has no direction in his life and he feels the only person that can do it is me. Steve Jobs.
Well Woz, I don’t have a job for you, it’s not like “old times”. I got one foot in the grave and I got to turn this company around and really don’t have time to play father figure to you.
I’m to hell bent on making myself a idol and a legend.
So Woz, get a life. Move on.
Look here!
I can’t tell you how to edit your /etc/hosts file to get rid of the intellitext ads ok?
So don’t fscking ASK!!!
I’m so tired of the damm lame whiners bitching to MDN who needs the money that they mouse over ads!!!
Five frigging seconds I can sudo pico /etc/hosts and add a simple line to the bottom and I can block my computer from accessing any site on the internet just about.
So why do people complain? Because they are dumb, they can’t Google for themselves ot learn a darn thing about how the internet or computers works.
They don’t have the foggiest idea about IP addresses and that 0.0.0.0 means “to go nowhere”
That the domain name 0.0.0.0 macdailynews.us.intellitxt.com means to don’t contact that site.
Heck people are so stupid they would even forget to control x to exit, y to save and press return afterwards.
But it’s so darn easy!!!
Heck even visiting a site like http://www.mvps.org.winhelp2002/ would go a long way. But no they are too dumg to cut and paste it in their URL and press return. They expect a fancy link.
Well eat my shorts!!!!
Quote From Article: “Have you ever thought about why it was you, and not somebody else, who was able to invent so many things?
That’s what the book is all about. I took a lot of lucky, accidental directions, and they all converged on the Apple II computer, the greatest product of our time. I was in the right environment, Silicon Valley, I had a supportive father, I stumbled on to the right manuals — I stumbled into it so accidentally.
But you know in your heart when you’ve stumbled into the right thing and that this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. I did this for no other reason than a love and a passion, and I wanted to do it better than any other person.”
THAT is why Woz was and still is a great person and an important figure in the history of the personal computer. Woz will NEVER be irrelevant. HE will be in the history books long after we are forgotten.
sak pase