“Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with the late Steve Jobs, predicted ‘horrible problems’ in the coming years as cloud-based computing takes hold.
Wozniak, 61, was the star turn at the penultimate performance in Washington of ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,’ monologist Mike Daisey’s controversial two-hour expose of Apple’s labor conditions in China,” Robert MacPherson reports for AFP. “In a post-performance dialogue with Daisey and audience members, Wozniak held forth on topics as varied as public education (he once did a stint as a school teacher) and reality TV (having appeared on Dancing with the Stars).”
“‘I really worry about everything going to the cloud,’ he said. ‘I think it’s going to be horrendous. I think there are going to be a lot of horrible problems in the next five years,'” MacPherson reports. “He added: ‘With the cloud, you don’t own anything. You already signed it away’ through the legalistic terms of service with a cloud provider that computer users must agree to. ‘I want to feel that I own things,’ Wozniak said. ‘A lot of people feel, ‘Oh, everything is really on my computer,’ but I say the more we transfer everything onto the web, onto the cloud, the less we’re going to have control over it.'”
MacPherson reports, “Prior to Saturday at the Woolly Mammoth theater in Washington, Daisey and Wozniak had met once before, in California after a performance of ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ in its original version in February 2011. Wozniak was moved to tears, but a year later Daisey came under fire when it emerged that sections of his one-man show dealing with the Foxconn plant in China where iPhones and iPads are assembled had been fabricated. Public radio show ‘This American Life,’ which had broadcast portions of ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy,’ went so far as to issue a retraction. Daisey meanwhile reworked his script, albeit without toning down his powerful delivery.”
“Many in the audience echoed Daisey’s concern about Foxconn’s work force, but Wozniak said he expected labor conditions in China to evolve as the nation grows richer. He also commended Apple for its oversight of its factories,” MacPherson reports. “‘We know we (citizens and consumers) have a voice. We can speak (about labor conditions), but we can’t act like, oh, Foxconn is bad or Apple is bad,’ he said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Appearing onstage with a proven liar while undercutting iCloud, Apple’s strategy for the next decade or more: All-around excellent decision-making there, Woz!
The only positives here for Woz: Yes, we must be very careful with cloud computing. Agreed. And, yes, Woz, you do look somewhat slimmer onstage next to that big fat liar! (Stay away from that thing’s mouth, lest you disappear in one gulp.)
One More Thing: According to Wikipedia, Apple is still issuing Woz token paychecks that amount to roughly $120,000 per year. Why? So he can jet around to do things like give the Apple co-founder’s stamp of approval to a glutton who spreads lies about the company under the banner of “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” of all things? Or is it to cast doubts on a central Apple product for which billion-dollar data centers have been and continue to be constructed? Or is it so he can be photographed with and interviewed about his various iPhone knockoffs, all of which infringe with abandon on Apple’s patented IP?
Makes a lot of sense, Tim.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Trevor7578” and “Citymark” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Liar Mike Daisey blasts Mossberg, Swisher over Tim Cook interview – May 31, 2012
Foxconn workers talk about jobs, working conditions assembling iPhones and iPads – May 5, 2012
Apple Foxconn petition maker Mark Shields a D.C.-based professional activist – May 3, 2012
Marketplace goes inside Foxconn, posts exclusive look at how an iPad is made (with video) – April 12, 2012
Liar Mike Daisey dumped as Cornish College commencement speaker, will not receive honorary degree – April 9, 2012
Apple supplier Foxconn cuts working hours; workers worry, question why – March 30, 2012
Fair Labor Association releases Foxconn report; looks to correct overtime, safety issues – March 29, 2012
Change.org petition calls for Change.org to retract petition against Apple; says based on Mike Daisey’s lies – March 21, 2012
Foxconn won’t take legal action against ‘This American Life’ after retraction of Mike Daisey lies – March 19, 2012
Foxconn glad Mike Daisey’s lies exposed; says media hasn’t gone far enough in reporting truth – March 19, 2012
Apple and the Daisey affair: Why did the company keep its silence, when it knew a year ago what we know now? – March 18, 2012
Apple firestorm leads Mike Daisey to change his ‘agony and ecstasy of Steve Jobs’ show – March 17, 2012
‘This American Life’ retracts story, says it can’t vouch for the truth of Mike Daisey’s monologue about Apple in China – March 16, 2012
Foxconn: The fire that wasn’t – March 15, 2012
Apple supplier Foxconn again lifts pay for China workers; 16-25 percent increase – February 17, 2012
FLA President: Foxconn factories ‘first-class; way, way above average’ – February 15, 2012
‘Slacktivism’ groups claim credit for Apple supplier audits over a month after Apple originally announced its plans – February 14, 2012
Thousands line up for iPhone assembly jobs at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou, China plant – January 30, 2012
Apple CEO Tim Cook calls New York Times supplier report ‘patently false and offensive’ – January 27, 2012
Apple audit led by COO Tim Cook prompted improvements at Foxconn – February 14, 2011
Media blows it: Foxconn employees face significantly lower suicide risk – May 28, 2010
Sometimes Woz is a little strange. May be he has too many Android devices in his pocket.
But I think he’s absolutely correct about the cloud. Just because it’s new or just because Apple is pushing it does not mean that it is good for us. Woz is in a world of his own sometimes but that has nothing to do with his observation and opinion on cloud computing.
The story here is that Woz is a kind-hearted man who is easily fooled by liars and crooks. Daizey of course, is still a lying douchebag.
This x a million. Woz is a good dude in desperate need of a “handler”, someone to say “Yo, Woz, this is a seriously terrible idea…”
Dailey is that and more.
Daisey
I don’t view Woz as Apple or even proApple anymore.
And strange how his comments in iCloud are in sync with the story breaking of Mat Honans iCloud account being hacked…
Brute-forcing a weak password can hardly be called being “hacked.” Begin stupid is more like it.
It wasn’t hacked that way, the “hacker” sweet talked an Apple help tech into believing it was his account.
And remembering Woz’ past life as a hacker, I can only speculate on who the person who sweet talked an Apple help rep into doing such a thing.
“Hi, this is Woz.” “Yes, the Woz. I have a friend who has forgotten his account’s password. I’ll send you an autographed photo of me if you’ll change his password…”
I would overlook this hack if they hacker used brute force. But they revealed a much more serious threat IMO.
My whole computing ‘file system’ can be accessed by Apple employees. Or deleted.
It confirms in the worst way possible what Woz was saying about ‘the cloud’ and more specifically iCloud.
As much as I love Apple I don’t trust them with this level of access. I am thankful this has come to light as I think that Apple will make it right. Under Steve I felt safer as he seemed determined to protect users (maybe Wozs influence?) at all costs.
I don’t use iCloud because I have about zero trust in it, and this was before the problems that Mat Honan had popped up.
With the information about how it happened coming to light, I’d say my confidence has entered the below minus category.
Also, this afternoon the App Store stopped accepting the password for my Apple ID in the middle of doing updates in the App Store. Although I was doing the updates on just one Mac, when I tried to update an app on my MacBook it would take my password on that either. Needless to say, these events together have not engendered my confidence in Apple.
And where is MDN on all this? Why no report or links to any article about it? I thought this was a news site.
Woz was speaking of “cloud” computing in the general sense, not specifically about “iCloud”.
Also, anyone that knows Apple history is aware that Woz has been ambivalent about Apple since its founding.
The problem for Apple now is that it cannot change its relationship with Woz without huge PR damage.
“The problem for Apple now is that it cannot change its relationship with Woz without huge PR damage.”
Seriously??? You’re joking. Right?
No, I’m not. What part of my statement is giving you heartburn.
yes about the cloud, but it relates directly to iCloud.
Despite the fact he appeared on this stage and whatever supposed PR hit they will take (I think this would be minuscule – only the early Apple people and tech heads relate him to Apple and they mostly know where he is at now so wouldn’t care in fact most wonder why the umbilical hasn’t been cut)…the point he raises is valid.
No Woz = No Apple. That equation should never be overlooked. I don’t know where we would today be without the Woz of the 1970s and early 1980s.
Woz has been a free spirit and a loose cannon for years. Much of what he has said over the years is reasonable, although he does occasionally take off in some strange directions. However, I don’t think that his comments have ever been that damaging to Apple as a whole. Most people treat Woz like a somewhat interesting uncle. Personally, I would love to sit down and have a beer or two with him.
Maybe so, but he was never the same after crashing his plane,.
Woz also has not shown the best decision making these past few years, but then again the press has taken what he had said out of context a number of times.
Funny how you don’t see that story here.
Woz has officially jumped the shark…
Crossed the Rubicon.
more like climb the back of a whale when he was hanging out with mike daisey! In the tradition of Sea World. 😉
Fat, and Fatter!
Whatever Woz ever was, he lacked class.
This Daisey is a slanderer of Steve Jobs’s good name, worse still, with proven lies. Woz jumped at the chance to be associated with that.
Sad show of utter classlessness all around.
I have lost respect for and interest in what the loose cannon says a long time ago. He should decline the stipend from Apple if he has any integrity left.
Agreed. This ignorant and obese dork (don’t mean Daisey) is rapidly proving that he had little to do with Apple’s success.
He’s a maverick who just enjoys whatever celebrity status has been accorded him because of his association with Apple in the early days.
Wozniak is a media whore now, and not even a good one. He never seemed that smart to begin with. He rode the tail of the comet. Without the comet, he never accomplished anything else of not, except crashing his plane.
God bless Woz! He is who he is, and isn’t afraid to speak his mind. I think it’s great that Apple keeps him on the payroll like that because he is one of the founding spirits. Let there always be room for the Woz’s in Apple.
The Wonderful Wizard of Woz, the flying monkeys have gone into his head apparently.
Woz was a good mechanic to enable the early stage of Jobs’ brilliant vision. But that’s all he ever was, the mechanic.
Would be just as easy to say that Steve Jobs was a good idea guy and without real engineering talent that is all he ever was, an idea guy.
I think Woz is a brilliant engineer and one lucky son of a B for basically being in a position to live off of one of his creations for the rest of his life. Better than the lottery if you ask me!
I’m not sure I could put one of the steves before the other, even thought Woz was only instrumental in the early success of Apple that success is what enabled everything great that came later.
Thats not Woz any more. Woz died when he crashed that plane. What remains is some brain dead zombie like critter that loves Android and Mike Daisey.
To Wozniak fans, he still “looks” like Woz…….but he was gone a long time ago….. and SJ knew it, that’s why he never let him design another Apple product. Now, it is time for Apple to cut off his Apple salary as well.
your saying Woz is like that alien from the THING movie? Never thought of it like that lol
just because this guy on stage lied about conditions in China doesn’t mean that WOZ cannot have existential misgivings about the cloud. What if MDN created a great new business plan for MDN 3.0 in the cloud and then you find that you forgot to read the fineprint and now amazon cloud team pork owns your idea.
Which part or “Yes, we must be very careful with cloud computing. Agreed.” didn’t you understand, you poor thing?
There’s a lot of revisionism going on here. Woz is Woz. You are all speculating. His vision of problems with cloud computing are shared by many. Mike Daisey is an actor and writer. I cannot attest to his credibility. Neither can you. I think the core message is fundamentally intact. You surrender your rights (wither implicitly or explicitly) when you engage in cloud storage. Apple is not your mother, girlfriend, confessor, nor BFF. They are a corporation with their own self-interestsw; sometimes not in line with yours.
“I cannot attest to his credibility. Neither can you.”
Sorry. Wrong! The facts are the facts. He lied about some very important things for profit. He’s a slimeball.
That’s true, but it doesn’t address the inherent insecurity issues with “cloud computing” that tbone/Woz/others have brought up.
Personally, I like the idea of syncing/shared data across all my Apple devices, but I can do without iCloud. It isn’t necessary for the syncing/sharing.
and Cloud computing is not strictly an Apple issue. Who do you think is more likely to handle your data with integrity and secure it from hackers? Google, Microsoft, or Apple?
Your opinion, no matter how well informed, is still only an opinion.
There is a difference between fact and opinion. Facts are true for everyone. Opinions are true for those who hold them. These are facts. Daisey lied, and he did so to make money. You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.
Assfat, gas bag, lying assdog Daisey is a perfect piece of shit.
I love cloud computing. but yes I’m worried.
Woz was at the right place and time in history. He keeps trying to stay relevant and the Media continues to enable him. I applaud him for what he did but not so much for what he does today, now he is just taken advantage of by other companies and people. Someone on MDN called him the crazy lovable uncle that you see every year at Xmas, whose a little nuts but gives the best presents — if you were around him all year long, that’s another story.
Daisy Woz and Dozey Woz and little lamsey divy.
Two dumplings = two dumb things.
That’s all the proof I need! carbohydrates and junk food can really mess up a person’s mental clarity.
People please get real. The man is his own man. If he thinks the cloud is going to get ugly that’s his opinion. He didn’t say icloud is evil, he just said that with modern tos you give up ownership of the content. Have any of you people even read the icloud tos?
The world would be different without woz. Show a little god damn respect. If you don’t agree fine, say so but enough with the childish name calling and so on.
For the most part, ppl aren’t disagreeing with his perspective cloud computing. They are pissed that he’s happily associating himself with a fat loser whose life focus is gaining fame by lying about Apple.
And fwiw, I don’t think Apple would be different w/o Woz. Steve was consistently able to find the talent he needed to execute his vision. If it hadn’t been Woz, it would have been someone else.
The slander of Woz on this board is disgusting. Mother didn’t teach you to hold your negative opinions of others to yourselves? If you don’t agree with his use of free speech, fine. Attack ideas, not persons.
As for Daisey: yup, hated to see anyone blatantly twist the truth to fit his narrative. Just like Limbaugh.
Thank you. I was beginning to think this site was going to the dogs. Years ago, in the first version of this site, there would never have been one single person speak of Woz (or virtually any of the old Apple guard) like they are now.
Makes me sick.
If you agree or not is fine and please say so, it’s our right to but the verbal assaults on the man for saying something that might be a dig at an Apple service is like schoolyard bullying or worse.
Be ashamed.
Without Woz there would be no Apple- simple fact. Jobs was the salesman- Woz did the things that got Apple off the ground and embodies many of the things that brought the revolution Jobs envisioned to the world.
Simply put- Woz is a man of a different generation and time. A very generous guy who is a geek without equal- having had his hand in the personal computer, the universal remote, RFID chips and all kinds of stuff. He loves Apple, but is not an Apple partisan.
The world could use a few more like him.
Although Woz has many good qualities, he is totally full of himself and believes every word that comes out of his over-active mouth.
I like Woz and understand his concerns with clouds. I’m not such a big fan myself, however it’s a necessary evil as our lives move from one central device to many – and we expect our information to be in all of them.
I also don’t mind that he checks out all other devices and talks about them. He’s a geek, geeks do that and he’s kind of the the goodwill ambassador for Apple.
However appearing with Mike Daisey? That’s feels wrong and I’m not sure how he came up with that idea. However I’m glad at least he put a little cold water into Daisey’s flaming diatribe.
Yup. It’s not so much what Woz said that’s a problem, but in whose company and on whose platform he said it. Daisey has used proven lies and deceit to publicly humiliate Apple in a big way, and for Woz, whose whole claim to fame is his Apple connection, to even give Daisey the time of day was a very bad play.
Well, I will agree that storing everything on the cloud has its risks. But so does a lot of other things we do.
He does have a point when he said there will be problems. But we should just prepare for them.