Woz strikes again: disappointed by iPhone, wary about MacBook Air and Apple TV

We'd say 2007 was a pretty big year for Steve Wozniak, what with Kathy Griffin, an Epcot animatronic, some widely covered Apple sentiments, and (honor of honors) an Engadget interview to top it all off. Turns out he's not backing down in 2008, and spoke out at a Sydney press conference with some fairly constructive criticism for some of Apple's brightest stars. He expressed concern over the 24 hour limit for iTunes movie rentals, and doesn't see the Apple TV taking off just yet, though he sees it as a "good indication of the future." Woz was less kind to the iPhone, saying he was "really disappointed" at the iPhone's introduction, due to the lack of 3G. He's still a fan of the phone interface, particularly the browser, but he's miffed about those speed constraints. Finally, he likes his MacBook Air, and he's currently attempting to see if he can make it his single laptop, but the shortage of ports and lack of disc drive and removable battery are making it difficult. We really couldn't have said any of it any better, Woz.

[Via The Inquirer]

[SpiffyMarc @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:12AM]

Well, at least Woz looks like a slightly heavier Chuck Norris in that photo. That counts for something.

[Joe @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:59AM]

I was going to say a more stylish Bob from That 70's Show, but Chuck is pretty dead on.

[Ellianth @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:59AM]

Yeah, especially those teeth. They are a healthy shade of yellow.

[mikey @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:10AM]

may if your mike huckabee

[Ryan Trevisol @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:15AM]

Except, instead of killing you with a round house kick to the face, he'll make you feel slightly shamed in a friendly match of Segway Polo . . . .

[Papa Midnight @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:17PM]

But Chuck Norris sucks so that doesn't really matter. P.S. The Woz is the man.

[OneLove @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:17PM]

thats what happens when a wookie shaves.

[Infamouship @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:48PM]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[phanbouy @ Mar 3rd 2008 6:18PM]

hey, isn't this the dude with the dual green light sabers from a couple days ago?

[ogvor @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:15AM]

Everybodys a critic...






Though I totally agree.

[mymaclife @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:15AM]

I think he is mostly disappointed by the lack of share options he now has in Apple! ;) And before anyone tries to give me a history lesson, I know he gave a load of shares to his old team members.

[DarkLeaper @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:24AM]

Woz is to Apple as Wesley Crusher/Wil Wheaton is to Star Trek: Lame

His opinions are nothing short of a novelty plus he freakin' married Kathy Griffin. Yikes.

[Izzy @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:19AM]

He is richer and smarter than you will ever be. Not a dig, but the truth, and we know those a good combination to have.

And Kathy may have a big mouth, but he scored on that too, a younger hyperactive redhead with a small ass. Go Woz!

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:38AM]

@ Izzy,

While statistically true—and assuming your don't know the OP personally—you can't know that for sure. So that is a dig!

[Matt @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:42AM]

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Lame

Thanks DarkLeaper, that basically sums up the progression.

[Jeff @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:36PM]

I didn't realize Wesley Crusher co-founded Starfleet.

Woz is largely responsible for Apple being in existence today. His Apple II line gave Apple 46% of the home computer market share and almost 100% of schools. The Mac was Jobs' thing, and after its launch and Woz's departure, Apple's market share dropped from 46% to 2%. They've been fighting ever since then for that additional 3-4% that they now have. But as popular as Apple is today, they're an absolute shell of what they were (at least relative to their competitors) during Woz's tenure.

The smartest thing Apple could do would be to bring Woz back, although my understanding is he doesn't particularly want to come back. Jobs, of course, wouldn't have him back in any important capacity - he's too threatened by him.

[F3 @ Mar 3rd 2008 5:13PM]

I'm seeing a LOT of deflection in this thread like this post. Screw you: Is the lack of 3G in the iPhone a disappointment or not? Do you really think it was excluded for some reason OTHER than planned obsolescence? And finally, what does any of that have to do with who Wozniak's dated?

It's like a freakin' gossip magazine in here.

[Jacque Aufe @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:26AM]

Funny how woz is so dead on about the products of the company he co founded but no longer has any input with but has absolutely no clue about girls. Heck, he dated that troll Kathy Griffin. That almost makes anything else he says irrelevant.

[technophobe @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:45AM]

She is 10 years younger than him, and he's not exactly the best looking guy in the world

[riggs @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:55AM]

dude she looks like a post op tranny.

[Teetdogs @ Mar 3rd 2008 2:53PM]

I would pee in her butt

[Flashpoint @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:30AM]

The Lack of 3G and the locked SIM nature of the iPhone is its two most dissapointing features to me. If they released it unlocked, Tmobile and Cingular customers and boost/nextel users would jump on it.
The Iphone is way more satisfying however than the Macbook Air. I have 1 of them (with SSD drive) that we got for free through the city budget (I run a Leopard Server Maclab) and I use my Lenovo X60 way more because it is more accessible and offers 7+ hours of battery life.

The Macbook air has the worst ports I've EVER SEEN. What apple should have done was included a detachable port expander that would plug into the spine - so you could instantly add ETHERNET, 56K, 2 USB's, DVI and a power plug that doesn't have to be plugged in at a STUPID ANGLE.
If they'd done this, they probably could have made it thinner than it already is.

[DSeaver @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:36AM]

I hate to break it to you but Cingular is now part of AT&T.

[mymaclife @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:46AM]

That's not the point of the article, the point was what Woz thinks about the stuff; no one's arguing about the shortcomings of Apple, we could always talk about the shortcomings of Woz!

[a ham sandwich @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:54AM]

uh...56k?

[ShortFuse @ Mar 5th 2008 11:37AM]

And though Boost/Nextel use SIM cards, they don't use GSM.

[mzinZ @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:40AM]

56K? Are you on crack?

[FK @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:50AM]

LOL 56K.. Needs a serial port too. Also an LPT port for my dot matrix okidata printer.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:07PM]

sometimes a user finds themselves in a place WHEN THEY TRAVEL where this is no broadband access - 56K data/fax modem is a NECCESITY and will be so until broadband becomes the standard.

I also hate to break it to YOU - but, Cingular SIM chips do not work in the iPhone.

[IndiaTech @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:41PM]

You never know when these things, the LPT, 56k modem, will come in handy. These new macs come with built-in Time Machines, you know.

[Hung @ Mar 3rd 2008 5:16PM]

I hate to break it to you, but GSM phones don't work on IDEN or CDMA networks.

[Oliver @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:41AM]

damn. I just wish woz would become an apple board member. Apple has lost track of its founding roots. They used to be a company that was all about the best design and using computers to help people. They are still that, I'll admit, but they are so freaking money and shareholder oriented it disgusted me. And wow they are becoming super proprietary and closed. I'm not talking about the loads of open software that is available for the mac nor perhaps the iPhone in the future. I'm talking about deliberate design decisions that make the customer have to purchase extra accessories and software just to get the useability of competing products. I mean sure the iPhone is good and all (I have one and love it) but why the hell would you make a recessed headphone jack? And why make it AT&T exclusive? And why do rentals only work with current generation iPhones and ipod's ? I'm sure you guys can come up with plausible reasons for that, but I'm sure you agree with me. Oh yeah, and you wanna know an example of apple grossly overpricing things? Don't look at their macs or iPods or iphone's. Look at their accessories, such as their cables. 50$ for an iPod av kit? Is you be kidding me? The ac adapter can be made for probably eight dollars and the cables only five. I'm really an apple lover, but I gotta say: what. The. Hell.

[SIC TR4NSIT @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:32AM]

I agree with Oliver on the most part except.. The cables most likely cost less than a dollar, lets not kid ourselves here. I work in retail and our markup is healthy, let alone the overhead on the manufacturers. An oem home charger for a cell phone costs us about 2-4 dollars, just imagine how much the manufacturer makes off of my store alone.

Woz is teh ballz! Plain and simple... Lets not forget that Woz left for a reason. He's more a man of honor and principle than Jobs would ever be. Jobs was a hippie with a vision, and while he did a good job at what he did, he screwed a lot of people when Apple was getting big and even turned employees against each other on purpose, so Woz left. Woz was the inventor that was all about helping people while making a decent living. Jobs was about getting rich.

"Woz is to Apple as Wesley Crusher/Wil Wheaton is to Star Trek: Lame"
Except without Woz, Apple would never have existed. Star Trek was around long before those Wheaton.

So in short, nutz to all tha haterz...

[ReggieXuk @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:49AM]

when you really think about it

apple isnt doing anything new anymore

[riggs @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:55AM]

theyre like the opposite of head-on commercials.

[rawhead @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:20AM]

You may have a point, there; however, to actually put the comment in perspective, could you tell us who you *would* consider as actually doing something new these days?

[BowserUSC @ Mar 3rd 2008 5:00PM]

Woz is my idol and the only reason why I'll even consider to buy a mac product. Here's hoping as much as my money goes into his pockets instead of Jobs'

[beanspants @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:50AM]

maybe if Woz doesn't like the way apple designs their products, then he should...
oh wait, he doesn't work there anymore does he?

so who cares.

[Eric @ Mar 3rd 2008 10:55AM]

Classic Woz. Not constrained by the realities of the market, he dreams of ways to cram more into less. Apple, for all it's dreaming and daring has to live with the realities of physics and the lack of a certain level of genius that Woz has that lead to the beginning of real PCs.

But Woz also seems to be not constrained by the realities of 3G not being ubiquitous in America yet. Or the battery drain issue, or all the other issues that make 3G not such a great idea at this point. Regardless, Apple has officially said there is a 3G iPhone coming in 2008. So quit yer whinin' and give them some time and you'll get what you want.

Don't forget, Woz also wanted to RFID your kids and pets to GPS locate them. And he had some kind of remote control that was an abject failure in the market. He's not immune to being wrong, or always right about things. He's just a guy who's good a cramming more things into fewer chips. If it hasn't been for Jobs, his computers would have never taken off. So give him his due, but recognize he's not above it all.

I mean, the guy plays Segwey polo fer cryin' out loud!

[Jeff @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:05PM]

that's exactly it: it's easy to be an arm-chair critic.

"I really think the iPhone should have been half the size, and the screen should have been twice the size and resolution, and it should have had universal WiMax coverage giving it true broadband speeds everywhere on the planet (and some places on the moon!)"

When dealing with the constraints of reality, though, one might have to actually make decisions.

[Jesse S @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:53PM]

Do you Mac fanboys love Steve Jobs so much that you still believe the lack of 3G was for an actual issue?

Are you THAT willing to blind yourself?

You people are worse than evangelical Christians.

[Eric @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:30PM]

Jesse,

It's you fanatical Apple haters who have the disconnect with reality. And you don't read much either, or you'd see that 3G IS coming for the iPhone, and that delays were playing into Apple's strategies, not a lack of ability.

Here's a quarter, get a clue.

[Joe @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:00AM]

And I use "stylish" VERY loosely.

[andrew @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:00AM]

so. . . ummmm. . . he's repeating exactly what everyone has said since the release of these products. What's new?

[Paul @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:25AM]

He is one of the founders of Apple ripping on Apple products. Duh?

[andrew @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:03PM]

I mean, I know that. Thanks though

[Mystic @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:05AM]

How many times does it have to be said? If you don't like the iPhone, get something you like or STFU you whiny little bitches! Goddamn you idiots waste A LOT of time posting on the internet how much you hate a product or a company.

[mymaclife @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:23AM]

Ditto... like it - buy it, hate it - buy something else! Don't buy the fucker then whine!

[HotMayo @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:30AM]

You could use your own advice and not complain about the complainers and just ignore them. ;)

[Hax Or @ Mar 3rd 2008 2:27PM]

I disagree.

Fighting trolls is much more fun than fighting products or companies.