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Steve Wozniak, Prince Harry and 800 others want a ban on AI ‘superintelligence’
More than 800 public figures signed a statement demanding a ban on AI work that could lead to superintelligence
Steve Wozniak's latest moonshot is a private space company
Steve Wozniak has started a company called Privateer Space.
Steve Wozniak sues Google for not acting on YouTube Bitcoin scams
Steve Wozniak has filed a lawsuit against YouTube, saying the site has repeatedly ignored his requests to take down phony bitcoin giveaways that use his name.
Apple I sells for "only" $365,000 at auction
With the original Apple computers - AKA Apple I or Apple-1 - being as scarce as the proverbial hens teeth, prices for the units hand-built by Steve Wozniak and sold by Steve Jobs have been soaring into the stratosphere. As an example, in October of 2014, the Henry Ford Museum purchased an Apple I for US$905,000. Well, yesterday a working Apple I was sold by Christies auction house for a paltry $365,000. Out of the 200 or so Apple I units produced in the early days of Apple, only 63 are known to exist and the majority of those are no longer in working order. We're not sure why the device sold yesterday - which was apparently in mint condition - was such a relative bargain. That selling price represents an increase in value of more than 547 times the original Apple I retail price, which was $666.66. That's not a bad return on investment if the computer was sold by its original owner, although he/she would have done much better to invest that money in Apple stock back when the company went public in 1980.
Steve Wozniak calls Apple's legendary garage 'a bit of a myth'
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has never been shy to talk about the company he helped create, regardless of whatever the topic may be. Most recently, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Wozniak touched briefly on a few topics from the early days of Apple, ranging from the vision of his long-time partner and friend, Steve Jobs, to how many Apple I and Apple II units were sold in the beginning. Wozniak was also asked a question regarding the legendary Apple garage, which has become known as the Cupertino firm's birthplace -- it's an iconic place, to say the least. To this, he said, "The garage is a bit of a myth."
Wozniak: Apple's famed garage start is only a myth
If you cherish the idea of Apple being created in a meager garage in suburbia California, then this is not the post for you. Speaking with Bloomberg's Brandon Lisy, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak put a pin in that story when he told Lisy that the garage is nothing but a myth and was not significant to the making of the first Apple computer. The garage is a bit of a myth. We did no designs there, no breadboarding, no prototyping, no planning of products. We did no manufacturing there. The garage didn't serve much purpose, except it was something for us to feel was our home. We had no money. You have to work out of your home when you have no money. According to Woz, the bulk of the work on the first Apple computer actually was done in his cubicle at Hewlett Packard. The work was being done-soldering things together, putting the chips together, designing them, drawing them on drafting tables-at my cubicle at Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) in Cupertino [Calif.]. You can read the rest of the interview on Bloomberg's website.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for April 1, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Today is Apple's 38th birthday
On Thursday April 1, 1976 Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne started Apple Computers. Their first product was the Apple I computer kit, built by hand by its designer Steve Wozniak. The Apple I consisted of just a motherboard, leaving users to provide their own keyboard, monitor, and case. It went on sale in June of that year for $666.66, or $2,773 in today's dollars. Now Apple is 38 years old. 456 months, 1,983 weeks, and 13,879 days of existence. In the years since its founding, the company has released groundbreaking computers from the Apple II to the Macbook Pro, constantly pushing its products to new levels of innovation. These innovations revolutionized MP3 players (launching the iPod in 2001), tablets (the iPad in 2010), and smartphones (the iPhone in 2007). Of the founding pioneers of the company, two are still alive today. Steve Jobs left the company in 1985 after a power struggle with the board of directors, but returned in the late 90s to help save the company. Without Steve Jobs, Apple may very well have gone bankrupt. Under his leadership as CEO Apple introduced the iPod, iPad, iPhone, iMac, and its own digital content retailer, iTunes. Jobs passed away in 2011 following a struggle with pancreatic cancer. Steve Wozniak left Apple in 1987 and continued his work as an entrepreneur, starting a new company called CL 9 which developed the first programmable universal remote control in 1987. Beyond his business pursuits Wozniak also taught 5th grade and appeared on Dancing with the Stars. He continues to work part time with Apple to this day. As for Ronald Wayne, his story is a slightly sad one. Wayne was an important part of Apple's founding, writing the original partnership agreement and drawing the company's first logo. For his work he was given a ten percent stake in the company, which he sold shortly after the company was founded out of fears he might be responsible for any debt the company accumulated. He reportedly sold his shares in the company for $2,300, or $9,657.88 in modern dollars. If he had held onto his ten percent he would be a billionaire today. In 2010 he explained the sale to the San Jose Mercury News. "I don't waste my time getting frustrated about things that didn't work out," he says. "I left Apple for reasons that seemed sound to me at the time. Why should I go back and 'what if' myself? If I did, I'd be in a rubber room by now." Happy birthday, Apple. You've been a source of innovation and technological foresight for almost four decades now. We can't wait to see what the next four decades will bring.
Want to own the computer that inspired the Apple II? Visit eBay now
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it's also an important part of innovation. In keeping with that idea we'd like to draw your attention to this wonderful rare eBay listing. A seller in Louisiana is offering up a working SOL-20 computer, one of only 10,000 ever produced. Currently the listing is going for $1,275. Many readers won't be aware of the importance of the SOL-20 to Apple's legacy. According to legend (aka Walter Isaacson's book Steve Jobs) in 1976 at the first annual Personal Computer Festival, held on Labor Day weekend, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak arrived with the Apple I in a cigar box. While Jobs walked around the exhibition hall, he was reassured that the Apple I was better than the competition in terms of functionality. There was just one thing nagging at him; the SOL-20. According to Isaacson, Jobs was confident that his product had the best circuitry, but the SOL-20 was better looking. It came in a beautiful metal case, with a built-in keyboard and power supply. When compared to the scrappy Apple I, the SOL-20 looked more like a professional machine. Apple I Apple II The jump in Apple's esthetic design between the Apple I and Apple II is obvious when the two are compared side by side. The SOL-20 may be largely lost to time, a footnote for enthusiasts and historians, but for a brief window you have the opportunity to own one. At bare minimum, look at your Mac's beautiful modern design and thank the stars for the dose of inspiration that helped push Jobs and Wozniak towards the future.
Haunted Empire: An unflattering and misguided look at the Tim Cook era
I really wanted to like Yukari Iwatani Kane's new book about Apple, Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs. Based on over 200 interviews with current and former executives and other industry insiders, I was anticipating an intriguing look behind the secretive walls of 1 Infinite Loop. More so, I was hoping to gain a more nuanced view as to how Apple has in fact changed with Tim Cook at the helm. To my dismay, the book failed to deliver on all counts. It's overwhelmingly clear that Kane starts with the pre-conceived conclusion that Apple's best days are behind it and cherry-picks facts and anecdotes to support her thesis. In doing so, the book is rife with bizarre leaps of logic, misleading claims, and what I can only imagine were purposeful omissions of fact. The end result is a disjointed read without a whole lot of meat or new information. The book spends a disproportionate amount of ink discussing stories and events that don't really weigh heavily on the current state of things at Apple, such as working conditions at Foxconn, early Siri mishaps, Apple's e-book trial, the company's tax situation, and yet another retelling of Apple's legal squabbles with Android. For a book that sets out to describe Tim Cook's Apple, there's an awful lot of filler regarding issues that either pre-date Tim Cook's tenure as CEO or are wholly irrelevant to a cogent discussion on Apple's ability to remain a influential tech player in the future. But what really bothered me most about the book were the sheer number of misleading inferences Kane subtly presents in an effort to factualize what were ultimately her own opinions. I frankly was expecting more from an author with Kane's journalistic pedigree. Ultimately, Kane's anti-Apple bias is so prevalent that it works to taint the entirety of the book. Below are a few representative examples of logic-gone-wild which illustrate why many of the conclusions Kane presents about Apple are hard to take seriously. Kane puts a negative spin on EVERYTHING For those not familiar with Apple, Kane's book would have you believe that Apple is wandering aimlessly from one mistake to the next. Particularly puzzling is Kane's attempt to frame most everything Apple has done over the past two years in a negative light. Even Tim Cook's performance at last year's All Things D conference wasn't safe from scrutiny, with Kane writing that Tim Cook came across as "delusional" and painfully out of touch. 1) Tim Cook as a demanding boss is worrisome Following the dismissal of former retail chief John Browett, Kane writes the following regarding Cook coming into his own as Apple CEO: By this time, Cook's management style was becoming more apparent. Cook delegated responsibilities and rewarded his executives as long as they did well. But if they made a mistake, he came down on them hard. The danger with that approach was people becoming risk-averse and stifling innovation. All of these considerations raised the question: Was cook the best choice to chart Apple's future? So let me get this straight; Tim Cook, as a CEO with high expectations, and as a CEO who holds employees and executives accountable, is actually working to stifle innovation? Umm, okay. 2) Tim Cook as a respectful boss is worrisome Meanwhile, Kane also writes that whereas Steve Jobs would routinely call back employees from vacation, Cook is more respectful of employee personal time. But, of course, this comes at a cost because Kane writes that "with more flexibility, people began taking vacations more freely." Why might this be worrisome? Because what Apple employees under Tim Cook "gained in happiness, they lost in intensity." So Kane essentially argues that Cook may not be the best fit as Apple CEO because his high expectations stifle innovation at the same time that his respect for his employees creates a sense of complacency. Put differently, Cook as CEO is a questionable choice because he's too demanding while also being too lax. 3) Apple employees are in it for the money Kane also smells trouble at Apple because long-time employees who saw their stock options make them millions now "didn't need to work as hard anymore, especially if they couldn't see a further upside." Compounding matters, Kane writes that newer employees at Apple now had no incentive to stay at the company because they had "joined too late to benefit from the huge run-up in stock price over the last few years before the decline started." This is nothing more than pure conjecture without any facts, details, first-hand accounts, or examples to stand on. There's no denying that shares of Apple are down significantly from their all-time high of $700, but Apple's share price today (in the $530 range) is still about 44% higher than it was at the time of Jobs' death. 4) Apple beat Samsung in court, and that's also worrisome Particularly bizarre is Kane's attempt to spin Apple's legal victory over Samsung as a defeat because the ruling was unlikely to "convince more consumers to buy iPhones and iPads." Kane further writes that Apple's legal victory came at a cost because it "validated" Samsung as a worthy competitor while also providing the Korean tech giant with free advertising. In truth, Samsung is a worthy competitor because it sells millions upon millions of smartphones and tablets, not because Apple decided to take them to court. Kane adds: Apple's win also put an uncomfortable spotlight on its motivations. Why was the company wasting so much time, money, and energy protecting its older technologies if it had game-changing products up its sleeve? Could it be that there was nothing more in the pipeline? Steve Jobs was famous for never looking back. But perhaps the company now had too much to lose. These types of logical leaps really strain the book's credibility, especially considering that it was Steve Jobs, and not Tim Cook, who spearheaded Apple's initial legal battle with HTC and Samsung. Was it not Steve Jobs who famously declared that he was prepared to go thermonuclear on Android? In yet another example highlighting the book's aversion to providing a complete story, Kane is gutsy enough to write that Samsung was handed "another advantage" when Judge Lucy Koh struck down $450.5 million from Apple's $1 billion judgement on account of a jury miscalculation. This, Kane explains, was another setback for Apple because collection on the judgement was postponed. What's more, Kane writes that it was a success(!) for Samsung insofar that they "had been remarkably effective at pushing the narrative that the jury had no idea what it was doing and Apple didn't deserve the magnitude of the win that it scored." Not quite. Ultimately, Apple was awarded $929 million instead of $1.05 billion, not exactly the black mark Kane would otherwise have you believe. Irrelevant facts to back up assertions abound Throughout the book, Kane relies upon flimsy facts that don't quite align with the points she's trying to make. In detailing Apple's executive team, for example, Kane describes Apple's Senior VP of Marketing Phil Schiller as a bombastic fellow who relishes his grip on power. But rather than providing detailed examples, aside from Schiller being wary of new executives until they prove themselves, Kane instead focuses on the music Schiller enjoys and his favorite hockey team. Even in his personal life, he projected bold tendencies. He was a fan of the San Jose Sharks hockey team and owned a Lamborghini. A former percussionist, he favored music with aggressive, driving drum tracks like Led Zeppelin's "Good Times. Bad Times." I suppose if you can't source detailed behind the scenes info, you sort of have to focus on immaterial facts like favorite sports teams and personal music preferences. This type of spotty narrative unfortunately permeates many of the book's chapters. Apple may have tried to embarrass Woz.. Say what?! Somewhat indicative of most of the book, Kane casually suggests that Apple may have purposefully tried to embarrass Steve Wozniak by having video monitors pan to him after Phil Schiller introduced the Mac Pro at WWDC 2013. Why would Apple do this, you might ask? Because Woz had previously made statements about Apple potentially losing its creative edge. Was it a flourish of choreographed revenge, a staged dose of instant karma aimed at embarrassing Wozniak? To his credit, Wozniak did not give his attackers any satisfaction. When the camera closed in, his face betrayed only mild interest. One blogger, watching the live feed, thought Woz looked sleepy. Wow, masterfully played, Woz! I can only wonder who tipped him off to the fact that "attackers" had invited him there with a grand plan to embarrass him. Incidentally, you can check out Woz's neutral reaction to the announcement here. Again, it's passages like this that really undermine the book's credibility as a whole. Instead of say, oh I don't know, actually asking Woz for his initial thoughts on the Mac Pro, Kane crafts a story about Apple potentially engaging in a bit of "choreographed revenge." Conveniently, Kane neglects to mention a rather easy to find June 2013 video interview Woz did with Slashgear where he addresses his demeanor during the WWDC announcement. Incidentally, it's the first hit that comes up when you Google, "Woz on the Mac Pro." In some one-to-one time, we asked the Apple co-founder what he thought of the new Mac Pro also shown at WWDC, and in particular its design. Wozniak told us that he really likes the drastic change in aesthetic, and that it reminds him of the older Power Mac G4 Cube, which also sported a smaller form-factor like the 2013 Mac Pro. As for his much-commented-on expression during the keynote when the Mac Pro was being detailed, there have been suggestions that he looked less than impressed, but he argues that people are mistaken. The look on his face during the applause while everyone else was clapping, he says, was simply him "just thinking". Unlike a lot of people, he pointed out, Wozniak prefers to carefully evaluate products and situations first before arriving at a conclusion, so as to not make a rash opinion. In fact, he was mentally comparing the Mac Pro to HP's workstations, which he believes are now the best on the market. So instead of doing a simple Google search or perhaps reaching out to Woz for clarification, we're presented with a spotty and misleading story about an Apple co-founder remaining unimpressed with innovation at Apple. While Kane's telling of the story aligns with her overarching narrative -- namely that Apple has lost its luster -- it's also quite misleading. Siri? Really? Kane spends an inordinate amount of time talking about Siri, never mind the fact that Siri was purchased and developed as an iOS feature while Jobs was still alive. Measuring the Tim Cook era by examining initial launch issues with Siri is far from instructive, and perhaps speaks to Kane's inability to truly attain much information about Apple post-Steve Jobs. Kane even adds that "Siri's rocky start wasn't Tim Cook's fault." Okay, that's fair, but then why spend so much time detailing Siri's history, Siri advertising efforts, and Siri's launch-day shortcomings? For a book that promises to provide an "illuminating portrait of Apple today that offers clues to its future", why is there no discussion whatsoever centering on how Siri may factor into Apple's future plans for the iOS ecosystem? As a final point, I was covering Apple extensively when Siri launched and don't recall it being the big fiasco of a flop that Kane makes it out to be. Sure, people enjoyed posting Siri missteps, and sure, Apple's Siri servers were sometimes overwhelmed , but I don't believe the Siri launch is heralded as a big black eye in Apple history. It certainly didn't garner the same level of negative attention as Apple Maps or Antennagate. Tim Cook: A happy #2 or a man with with grand ambition? One last example. Kane writes that Tim Cook was able to excel at Apple because he lacked an ego. Content at playing an important role behind the scenes, Kane articulates that Cook was okay with letting stars like Steve Jobs and Jony Ive garner much of the press attention because he was happy to be "second-in-command." But just one paragraph later, Kane writes that there were hints of grand ambition with respect to Cook ascension to the CEO position. But underneath the demure denials were hints of grand ambition. One of Cook's favorite quotes was one from Abraham Lincoln. "I will prepare and someday my chance will come." ... He had prepared and waited with seemingly infinite patience. Now his moment had arrived. The quote Kane cites was originally made by Cook during his 2010 Auburn Commencement address. Looking at the quote in context, It wasn't a statement that shrouded any grand ambition on the part of Cook, but rather a quote meant to instill in students the notion that if they work hard, opportunities will come their way. The notion that Tim Cook has long had a "grand ambition" to be Apple CEO would be incredibly interesting if there were facts or interviews to back it up. But if all we're presented with is an out-of-context passage from a college commencement address, why bother including it at all? As Charles Arthur noted in his own review of the book: I found the bizarre attribution of meaning to events which didn't seem to have meaning more and more intrusive. Wrapping up Overall, the book provides a simple rehashing, albeit with a negative slant, of Apple news stories over the past two years. What the book doesn't provide is any true insight into how Apple operates differently under Tim Cook than it did Steve Jobs, at least in any ways that are important. The book's back cover reads in part: Hard-hitting yet fair, Haunted Empire reveals the perils and opportunities an iconic company faces when it loses its visionary leader. If only that were true. Again, I really wanted to like this book but found it no more compelling or insightful than Kane's somewhat strange New Yorker article wherein she criticized Apple's '30 years of Mac' celebration. The inherent challenge in writing any book about Apple is that the company is notoriously closed off. Even former employees are unusually loyal and tend to shy away from discussing their tenure at the company. Consequently, authors in Kane's position are often forced to craft their own narrative and work backwards from there. The end result, in this case, is a book that undermines its own premise. By blindly presenting opinions as facts and spending too much time rehashing issues of no consequence to Apple's future innovative prospects, we're ultimately left with a book that fails to present an intriguing and informative look at the Apple empire that Kane would desperately have us believe is "haunted" by Steve Jobs.
Steve Wozniak thinks modern dependence on cloud services comes with a loss of security
In just a few short years cloud technology has revolutionized how society interacts with computers in ways not seen since the introduction of the hard drive. It allows us to share knowledge, quickly access troves of information without sacrificing space on our personal devices and even work with others in real time from thousands of miles away. But as the recent revelations regarding the NSA's domestic spying program have taught us, we should be careful about what information we share online, as the issue is simply going to get worse before it gets better. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak agrees, and spoke up about the issue at the recent Apps World North America convention. I think most companies, just like Apple, start out young and idealistic. But now all these companies are going to the cloud. And with the cloud you don't have any control. Specifically, he took issue with the lack of regulation in regard to how government agencies access the cloud. According to CNET, Wozniak used the example of old-school wiretapping to make his point. Once upon a time, you knew that the police or government could wiretap your phone if you were suspected of wrongdoing, but in the modern day, there isn't any clear distinction of what exactly is required to qualify as suspected wrongdoing. Wozniak is quoted as saying, "We're on a bad path in that direction." Online privacy and security have been major interests for the Apple co-founder for years. Wozniak provided initial funding for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to fight for computer users' digital rights. Today also happens to be The Day We Fight Back, a day of public protest against the NSA's mass spying programs. If you're interested in more information about the project head over to this website to learn more.
Steve Wozniak thinks Apple should build an Android smartphone
Yes, folks, this is real life. In an interview with Wired, at the Apps World North America conference, Steve Wozniak revealed his belief that Apple should create a phone using Google's Android operating system. According to him, "There's nothing that would keep Apple out of the Android market as a secondary phone market ... We could play in two arenas at the same time." As Wired's Mat Honan notes, the idea of such a handset wouldn't be technically impossible, but anyone who's familiar with the Apple of today knows that the chances of this actually happening are slim to none. "We [Apple] could compete very well. People like the precious looks of stylings and manufacturing that we do in our product compared to the other Android offerings," Wozniak stated during the interview. Of course, this isn't the first time (and very likely won't be the last) in which the great, legendary Woz has spoken openly about his thoughts on Apple- and Android-related affairs -- still, it's always interesting to hear his perspective on the tech industry. Wozniak also spoke to Wired about the film Her, Moore's Law and even why he thinks the Cupertino company has yet to release a smartwatch or TV. You can check out the full interview right here.
Apple II's 35-year-old operating system is now open to the public
In a world of super-fast OS X and Windows machines, it's easy to forget that early desktop computers were a lot more basic. That was the case for the Apple II, Cupertino's first mass-market computer that utilized a cassette tape for data storage and just 4K of memory. Now, more than 35 years after its release, the Computer History Museum is making the original DOS source code for the iconic computer available to the public. It was donated by Paul Laughton, creator of the original operating system, who was working to a strict deadline set by Steve Jobs to make Steve Wozniak's disk controller capable of assembling programs. It took him just seven weeks to complete and pocketed him a cool $13,000. The Computer History Museum has posted the complete source code archive to its website, we also suggest you check out its detailed history on the Apple II and its development while you're there. [Image Credit: Robert Scoble, Flickr]
Kickstarter to reunite original members of the Homebrew Computer Club more than doubles fundraising goal
A Kickstarter campaign to reunite the original members of the Homebrew Computer Club humbly began last week with a project goal of US$16,000. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Kickstarter campaign had easily eclipsed its $16,000 target with approximately $36,539 pledged from 353 backers. This is particularly cool because event organizers previously indicated that if they reach the $30,000 mark, they'd be able to hire a professional photographer to document the event and license the photos under Creative Commons. If the campaign is able to hit the $40,000 mark by October 29, a professional videographer will be commissioned to create a "micro documentary" of the event. What's notable about this Kickstarter campaign, aside from the fact that nerds are willing to plunk down big money in order to bring a group of famous nerds together, is that all of the Kickstarter incentives are completely sold out. For example, users who pledged $4,096 or more were promised eight tickets to the event along with their company logo on the event program. There were three slots available for that top-tier incentive, and all sold out out rather quickly. As for event details, the event will take place on November 11 and will feature "dozens of original surviving" Homebrew Computer Club members, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Woz, Kottke, Hertzfeld discuss the 'Jobs' movie
John Vink, who was an Apple engineer between 1996 and 2012, managed to grab three of the people portrayed in the 2013 movie Jobs for a long discussion about the movie and Steve Jobs. It's an episode of John Wants Answers with Daniel Kottke, Andy Hertzfeld and Steve Wozniak. Kottke was a friend of Jobs from Reed College who traveled to India with the Apple co-founder, and later became an early Apple employee and Macintosh team member. Hertzfeld wrote much of the original Macintosh operating system software and later went on to co-found three companies, and Wozniak needs no introduction. The team tells some fascinating stories about Apple and Jobs, and it's well worth your time to watch the video for an Apple history lesson. [via The Mac Observer]
Kickstarter launched to reunite the original members of the Homebrew Computer Club
A cool new Kickstarter campaign was launched today. Its goal? To reunite the original members of the Homebrew Computer Club. In case you're unfamiliar, the Homebrew Computer Club was a hobbyist group formed in the mid '70s for computer enthusiasts in Silicon Valley. Some famed alumni of the group include Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and famed programmer John Draper, aka Captain Crunch. The Kickstarter page for the project reads in part: Please join us on November 11th, 2013 for a historic event -- the Homebrew Computer Club Reunion. The legendary Homebrew Computer Club was a grassroots group of hardware hackers who kickstarted the personal computer revolution, and forever changed the course of consumer technology--and in the process--the world. For one night in November, dozens of original surviving Homebrew Computer Club members will reunite to celebrate their legacy and to impart their wisdom to the next generation of hackers and creators whose innovations will shape the future. Guests will include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Hypertext pioneer Ted Nelson, and Homebrew original and sometimes "moderator" Lee Felsenstein. The project goal to get this event up and running is US$16,000. Money donated to the campaign will be used to cover costs associated with booking a venue, security, staffing, food and drink and of course, travel arrangements for Homebrew members. If the amount donated reaches $30,000, a professional photographer will be hired for the event. And if the amount donated reaches $40,000, a small documentary on the gathering will be commissioned. Per usual, there are incentives associated with donating at varying monetary levels. Cleverly, though, the levels for this kickstarter project come in the following dollar increments, $4, $64, $128, $512, $1,024, $2,048, and $4,096. Users who donate $4,096 will receive eight tickets to the event along with "your company logo on the event program." You can read more about the planned event on the Kickstarter page over here. If all goes according to plan, which is to say that the fundraising goal is met by October 29, the reunion will take place on November 11, 2013. Notably, the organizers already have 25 original members on board.
Steve Wozniak headlining Apps World Europe in London on October 23rd
iOS developers in and around London might want to take note: Steve Wozniak will be the keynote speaker for Apps World Europe on October 23rd. Apps World Europe is now in its 4th year and is quickly becoming the conference of choice for mobile developers in Europe. The two day event sees over 8,000 developers, mobile marketers, mobile operators, device manufacturers, platform owners and industry professionals meet for workshops and discussions. Of notable interest this year will be a heavy focus on iOS 7, its hundreds of new features, thousands of new APIs, and brand new look. In announcing his keynote role, the Woz said. "I'm delighted to be speaking at Apps World, sharing my experience of 30 years in the mobile and computing industry, as well as learning from and feeding off the passion and enthusiasm of the app developer community in attendance." In addition to Wozniak, leaders from Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Shazam, the BBC, and dozens more will be in attendance to share their latest thoughts about mobile. Apps World Europe takes place from October 22nd-23rd at Earls Court 2, Warwick Road, London SW5 9TA. Tickets can be purchased here. And if you're an iOS developer who's going, I'll be wandering around both days, so give me a tweet during the event if you'd like to share what you're up to.
Early Apple employees comment on 'Jobs' movie
Jobs, this year's non-comedy Steve Jobs biopic, opened in theaters today. The film stars Ashton Kutcher and follows Jobs from his humble college days through his rise, fall and eventual return to power at the company he helped found. Reviews have been mixed on the film itself, but how do the people who were there at the beginning of Apple react to the film? Early Apple employees Daniel Kottke and Bill Fernandez spoke with Slashdot's Vijith Assar about what Jobs got right, and wrong, about their time with the company. Kottke worked with Apple on hardware, while Fernandez was a part of developing user interfaces for the company. Of the two, only Kottke has actually seen the movie, which he worked on as a script consultant. For his part Fernandez says he sees the film as a work of fiction and has no desire to see history reworked. So what did the filmmakers get wrong? The portrayal of Steve Wozniak. According to Kottke, this scene involving Jobs convincing Wozniak that home computers are the wave of the future while walking through a Hewlett-Packard garage "rings false." The complaint that people would rightly have about the film is that it portrays Woz as not having the same vision as Steve Jobs, which is really unfair. Woz's reply this morning was, "If I see it at all, I'm going to have to see it alone." The film also heavily dramatizes Wozniak's exit from Apple, a scene that Kottke sees as one of the film's best even though it has no basis in reality. Kottke says "that was a complete fabrication."
'Jobs' actor knew next to nothing about Apple prior to the iPod
Today marks the release of the highly anticipated Apple origins flick Jobs, and while actor Josh Gad will do his best on the silver screen to emulate a young Steve Wozniak, Gad himself knew very little of Apple's history prior to reading the script. The 32-year-old actor spoke with Mashable about his experience with the company his character helped create, admitting that before being brought into the project, his familiarity with Apple was strictly post-iPod. Of course, this experience isn't unique to Gad, and only serves to further highlight how Apple's portable gadgets, starting with the iPod, helped to reinvent the company's image as a leader in consumer electronics. Personally -- and I'm 28, for the record -- I recall my only experience with a Mac being isolated to the computer labs at school, and even those machines were being gradually swapped out with Windows-based hardware. With a total of 76 reviews tallied thus far, Jobs currently holds a 25 percent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, being described as a shallow look at very complex characters in the two Steves.
Macintosh pen holder holds your writing utensil in a classic way
Sure, at over US$53 it's a little pricey, but I am completely charmed by this pen holder shaped like an old Macintosh. Maybe it's that Susan Kare face, or the floppy drive slot, or just the reassuring, all-in-one, boxy shape, but there's something about this little 3D-printed desktop decoration that I really like. Even if it's a little expensive for my own desk, it seems like it would make a nice gift. And if you want something perhaps a little more decorative and a little less practical, the same 3D printer can deliver busts of either Steve Jobs or Steve Wozniak, each available for about $100. Both are painted in a pixel-art style, and both look pretty darn cool as well.