The Wall Street Journal interviews Apple co-founder Woz

20 years ago

“In the mid-1970s, Steve Wozniak built the Apple I and then launched Apple Computer Inc. in 1976 with Steve Jobs. Now, Mr. Wozniak has written a memoir, ‘iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It.’ The book, co-written with Gina Smith, a journalist, and published by W.W. Norton & Co., explains how a super smart kid with a fondness for transistors and diodes transformed business and culture,” Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg writes for The Wall Street Journal.

Trachtenberg writes, “Mr. Wozniak, 56 years old, doesn’t mind telling readers he was usually the brainiest guy in the room — as well as the most socially inept. Imagine this: His high school principal was actually furious after discovering a ticking electronic metronome attached to batteries labeled ‘contact explosive’ inside a school locker. To create extra thrills, Mr. Wozniak had rigged the metronome ‘with a switched resistor to start ticking faster when someone opened up the locker door.’ After being caught, Mr. Wozniak spent the night in juvenile detention. ‘I shouldn’t have smiled,’ he says.”

Trachtenberg writes, “Mr. Wozniak is still an employee of Apple Computer, representing the company at industry events, but sees himself primarily as a philanthropist and a teacher. (An Apple spokesman declined to comment on Mr. Wozniak’s role.) Meanwhile, his old partner Mr. Jobs declined to write a forward [sic] for the book. “He may have had a lack of time,” says Mr. Wozniak. Most recently, Mr. Wozniak helped launch Acquicor Technology Inc. with two former Apple Computer employees. On Tuesday, Acquicor agreed to acquire Jazz Semiconductor Inc. for $260 million.”

Woz spoke to The Wall Street Journal’s Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg from his home in Los Gatos, California.

Full interview here.