“Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak Saturday blasted his old buddy Steve Jobs’ decision to drop the price of the iPhone by $200 only 68 days after the big launch and even took his old friend to task for how refunds have been handled for the popular device,” Steven Burke reports for CMP Channel.
“‘Nobody expects a product to drop that much in price in such a short time,’ said Wozniak, the driving force behind the original Apple I and II computers,” Burke reports. “‘Steve Jobs and everyone expects technology to drop in price. The first adopters always pay a premium. I am one of them. I am used to that. But that one was too soon, too harsh.'”
Burke reports, “Even though he takes issue with the price cut and how it was handled, Wozniak said he is a big fan of the iPhone. ‘I fell in love with the iPhone,’ he said. ‘I did not like it at first.’ Wozniak said it took him a month to fall in love with the device.”
Burke reports, “Wozniak complained that a lot of the intense focus on user interface design even at Apple has gone away. ‘We have learned the formulas and a lot of that (innovative) thinking has gone away,’ he said. ‘Now we (at Apple) are a monopoloy as much as Microsoft. If you’re going to buy a Macintosh you’re going to buy a Macintosh and we don’t need quality to sell.'”
Burke also reports, “Wozniak said when Apple came out with the .Mac domain moniker the name Woz was not available. After being initially upset at not being able to get his own name for the Apple domain, he learned that his old friend Jobs ‘had actually saved it for me.'”
Full article here.
Don’t fret, it’s just more of Woz being Woz, but he really should look up the word “monopoly” and read the relevant court transcripts and findings before he utters the word in sentences containing Apple and Microsoft. A free spirit, and Steve Jobs’ personal loose cannon, Woz is (was?) a brilliant engineer, but a brilliant businessman and/or legal mind, not so much. Woz should stick to the Segway polo, Hummer trips to the South Pole with Buzz Aldrin, and red-headed comediennes. Let the “other” Steve worry about Apple.
Wow. I think that Kathy Griffin woman is going to his head.
Actually Puh-leazze… I think that Kathy Griffin needs to give him head.
“We at Apple”?
It hasn’t been “we” in years…
I love Woz… but he can say some weird things at times… he’s like that really smart dude you know — who lacks some social skills & he says shit that embarrasses you in front of people.
he’s just super smart… and super smart dudes are weird.
Geez, when did this fat fsck join the dark side?
Actually, Woz has a point: Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines were groundbreaking, and are still among the best, but there hasn’t been any significant work on them in years, and Apple themselves do not seem to follow them anymore.
Using the word “monopoly” is inappropriate — “complacent” is closer to the mark. Apple have found a reasonably secure position in the market, and so they’ve stopped being as innovative and groundbreaking in interface design as they were.
he’s still an employee and can still say “we” technically… though barely.
“But that one was too soon, too harsh.'”
Would it somehow have been better if the price drop was less, or later?
People are now substituting the word “Monopoly” for “big and powerful. But it just ain’t so ’cause words have meanings.
Sorry, but the truth hurts…….
“…they’ve stopped being as innovative and groundbreaking in interface design as they were.”
I agree with Mac developer and with Woz. The problem is that Apple’s new success has happened just recently. What might we expect if more people switch to Macs? 2 “Dark Sides”? My biggest concern is with our beloved Macintosh platform and Apple’s apparent neglect of it (its core base). A long, long time passed before the iMacs received a (lame in my opinion) update. I am still waiting for MacPros (14 months and counting) and Pro monitors to be refreshed (what, 3-4 years?). Down right shameful if you ask me.
I love Apple and the Mac but, we need Linux to become a threat to keep everyone honest.
Apple should open iTunes so that it sells music to all MP3 players.
Apple is just making use of it’s momentum so that it stays in the spotlight.
RE: Mac Developer – “Using the word “monopoly” is inappropriate — “complacent” is closer to the mark. Apple have found a reasonably secure position in the market, and so they’ve stopped being as innovative and groundbreaking in interface design as they were.”
You have got to be joking. While I agree that Apple has drifted away from the Human Interface Guidelines, not always to good effect, the iPhone interface is one of the wonders of the tech world. It is THE reason the iPhone actually works, and other smartphones suck. There is nothing about the iPhone that suggests that Apple is being complacent about interface design.
As for desktop GUIs, the reality is that they have reached a certain maturation level and innovation is more incremental now.
While there are aspects of OSX that seem more stylish than functional (and I happen to agree with some of Tog’s criticisms of it), OSX has become progressively more refined and elegant with each version. In the meantime, Apple has focused its capacity for innovation on taking functions that have been either arcane or bothersome — like, say, back-up — and creating beautiful solutions such as Time Machine.
In any case, it beats the hell out of anything going on at Microsoft.
F**k that fat bastard, he has not contributed ANYTHING worthwhile for decades. Woz why don’t you go work on the US2 festival!