Steve Wozniak
Latest
Woz, Wigginton videos surface in 1984 user group talk treasure trove
TUAW reader Vince Patton provided us with several links to videos that he's uploading to YouTube. Patton's father had saved a VHS tape of a talk made by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to the Denver Apple Pi computer club at the Colorado School of Mines on October 4, 1984, which Vince uncovered and is digitizing, cleaning up and uploading to YouTube for posterity. Among the gems on Patton's YouTube channel is Woz leading the attendees in the "Pledge of Apple Allegiance," which you can watch below. Another fascinating bit shows Randy Wigginton, Apple employee No. 6 and a key member of the original Macintosh team, telling the story of how the Finder software couldn't even copy a disk just four hours before the deadline for shipping the initial Mac software. Many thanks to Patton for doing such an incredible job of preserving these wonderful pieces of Apple history.
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.
Woz: Apple 'somewhat behind' on smartphone features
Woz he talking about? Steve Wozniak recently gave an interview with German business weekly Wirtschafts Woche in which he contended that the company he co-founded has fallen behind its competitors when it comes to its flagship product, the iPhone. According to Woz, Apple is "somewhat behind with features in the smartphone business," adding that "others have caught up. Samsung is a great competitor. But precisely because they are currently making great products." Unfortunately, there's no additional context for Woz's comments, so we're left wondering precisely what he believes iPhone is lagging behind in. Since he mentions Samsung outright, we're thinking that maybe he's referring to things like screen size, since he has opined in the past that he's not exactly a fan of the iPhone 5's taller-but-not-wider format -- but who knows? What are some things the iPhone is "somewhat behind" the competition on, in your opinion? [Via Electronista]
Woz predicts that in 2013, iOS devices are headed to work
Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak often appears here on the pages of TUAW for doing some silly things like joking around with Stephen Colbert or starring in an iOS game. But the man's still got a great mind (and a lot of experience with technology), so when he makes some predictions for 2013 over in Forbes, it's worth giving him a listen. Woz's main theme seems to be business technology -- specifically how that field is trending more and more away from standard beige box desktop PCs and much more towards personal smartphones, tablets and other such devices. Woz says that the cloud will continue to be a big trend next year, and that will extend to businesses using smartphones and tablets more and more in the workplace. Finally the software and hardware on mobile devices is catching up to the growing need businesspeople have to make good use of the powerful computers they carry in their pockets. Businesses have already seen a "BYOD" (bring your own device) trend in the workplace, where employees are increasingly using their personally owned iPads and iPhones for work. Woz says that will continue, as businesses will have to balance issues like security and productivity with the comprehensive customization and portability that smartphone and tablet devices offer. That's some good insight right there, and Woz should know: the guy carries like 10 different smartphones. We've already seen businesses making good use of iOS devices, and it makes sense that 2013 would bring that trend even more into the forefront. [via Slashdot]
Vengeance: Woz With A Coz iOS game stars cartoon Steve Wozniak
Imagine Steve Wozniak. Now imagine Steve Wozniak as an adorable cartoon character. Now imagine giving that character a large revolver, a somewhat evil grin, and team him up with convict-turned-movie-star Danny Trejo. You just dreamt up one of the strangest iOS games ever, and as MacWorld reports, it's about to hit the App Store. Vengeance: Woz With A Coz is an old-school platform title that tasks you with rescuing Steve Wozniak's wife, "J-Woz," from kidnapping thugs. Plenty of blood will be shed in the journey, and both adorably lethal characters will be make use of a myriad of weaponry in order to get the job done. The game is scheduled to be released this Thanksgiving.
Woz discusses what he'd change about Apple
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently did a Q&A over on Slashdot, and Gizmodo has boiled down his answers into five things he'd change about Apple today. There's a little bit of putting thoughts in Wozniak's head here, as he wasn't specifically talking about what he would change. Still, he does have some good insight, and in a few interesting ways, his ideas about what Apple is doing lately do seem to differ from what the company thinks. For example, Woz believes iTunes should be ported to Android; he says bringing iTunes to Windows created a huge market for Apple, and porting iTunes and its various stores to other mobile OSes would grow that market as well. Woz also believes Apple should back off of the lawsuits a bit, especially when (or if) it impedes Apple's own innovations. Woz also suggests that Apple aim for a big influx of younger talent right now, when the company's future is so important. As for Woz himself re-joining Apple in any official capacity, even he agrees that he and the company have grown apart. "Apple is very complex," he says, adding that "I like personal simplicity. I like to do what I'm good at, which is enjoying technology." Woz says he would go to Apple to help out if ever called upon, but honestly, we'd agree that he's happier just enjoying what's out there at this point.
Early Apple employee Daniel Kottke on the Apple I, more
Apple employee #12, Daniel Kottke, talked to Avi Solomon of Boing Boing about his time working at Apple. The interview has captivating stories about Kottke's life in the early 1970s tech scene. Besides a long discussion of the influence of psychedelics on technology, Kottke also talks about Wozniak's hardware genius and Jobs's flair for design, which was starting to develop when he was working on the Apple I. Kottke says, It was brilliant of Steve to find Rod Holt to make a switching power supply, which was a lightweight power supply with no big heavy transformers, and to put the plastic case on it. So you could actually take the Apple ][ under your arm and carry it somewhere. We never really advertised that but it was part of the appeal. And Steve never forgot that. You can read more about Kottke and his early Apple adventures in the Boing Boing interview.
Daily Update for August 2, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all 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 inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Pink feather boa time! Fusion-io throws surprise birthday party for Woz
Apple co-founder and legend Steve Wozniak won't officially turn 62 until August 11, but that wasn't enough to keep flash memory tech company Fusion-io from holding a surprise birthday party for him last night. Ina Fried from AllThingsD was in attendance and provided a photo record of the event. Woz is the chief scientist for Fusion-io as well as an investor, and AllThingsD reports that the party was held at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art, and that pink feather boas and noisemakers were handed out to the attendees. The party for Woz remained secret despite Woz's wife allegedly needing to delete a "drunk text or tweet" from his pocketful of devices. Fusion-io also used the party as a vehicle to announce its ION Data Accelerator software, which is used to improve server speeds by optimizing flash memory processes. The software is being tested by Apple and Facebook. [via AppleInsider] #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Steve Wozniak secretly submitted Tetris scores to Nintendo Power
Aside from his tech eminence having helped found Apple, Steve Wozniak is apparently also a pretty sick Tetris player. He only plays the original Game Boy port, and admits he submitted his scores to Nintendo Power back in the day."I was always #1 in the Nintendo Power listings in 1988, and after they said my name had been in there too many times and wouldn't print it again, I spelled my name backwards (Evets Kainzow) and sent in a photo of my score," Wozniak said in a comment on a Gizmodo piece about him. "When I got the magazine, I'd forgotten doing this and was worried that a foreigner from the next city over (I used Saratoga instead of Los Gatos so they wouldn't catch on) had a score up in my range. I got worried but then remembered my joke. Whew! It's in some old issue of Nintendo Power magazine."Reddit user polar0ids was quick to call Woz's bluff, but it (unsurprisingly) turns out to be a true story. As seen here in this thread, the story checks out. There's Evets Kainzow's score: 546,145 points.[Image credit]
Woz's backpack brings new meaning to "overpacking"
If you were a genius who helped create the first Apple computer and have since then been able to pretty much do whatever you want, wouldn't you carry around a crowded backpack as well? Steve Wozniak has listed out just what he happens to carry around on his back every day, and the entire list (via Gizmodo) is something to behold: Almost ten iPhones and iPod touches, two iPads, countless adapters and cables for everything, multiple Game Boys, multiple earplugs and headphones, too many cards to even list, and pens, laser pointers, accessories and clip on lights, and everything else (although a few items are carried by his wife). It's a wonder the man is still standing given how much technology he's carrying around in that backpack everywhere. Here's the question I have, however: Just what kind of backpack is this? I can barely fit all of my technology in a huge shoulder bag when I go out on assignment, and I'm not carrying a fourth of the stuff that Woz is. I'm more curious about what he holds all of this stuff (and how he's able to haul it all around) than what's in there.
Steve Wozniak reveals contents of his backpack, has a lot of stuff
This is what happens when you're someone who co-founded Apple.
Woz wants a Surface
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak spoke at a recent conference in Chile, and perhaps the most interesting thing he said was that he is looking forward to Microsoft's new Surface tablet. Yes, there's something about Microsoft's consumer-focused attempt at making a tablet computer (maybe the case with a keyboard or the built-in stand) that has caught Woz's eye. And he says that not only do Microsoft's latest offerings "have such a strikingly good visual appearance," but Woz also joked that maybe "Steve Jobs came back reincarnated at Microsoft." We don't know about that one, but obviously Woz was joking around. And the fact that Woz wants a device that seems aimed at directly competing with Apple isn't new at all -- even when the iPhone was brand new, Woz was happy to carry around at least three iPhones and a few smartphones besides. What can we say -- the guy likes the latest and greatest tech, no matter who's making it. As he says, "I prefer to judge things I really know and not just what I've read about."
Rare video of Woz from 1984 talking about computing, joining Apple and the Mac
Reader Sarah Bailey of the North East Ohio Apple Corps sent us the video below of Steve Wozniak talking about the then-new Macintosh and lots of other Apple (and early computing) lore when he visited the Cleveland Apple club back in 1984. It's always great to see these old videos digitized for posterity, and this one is chock full of Apple stories. The video is nearly two hours long, so grab a snack, get comfy and settle in for a slice of computing history. 1984 Steve Wozniak visit to NEOAC from NEOAC MUG on Vimeo.
Vintage Apple I sells for $375,000
A rare piece of Apple history is no longer on the market. Last Friday, Auction house Sotheby's sold a working Apple I computer for US$374,500. The vintage computer sold for more than twice its estimated value after a bidding war broke out between two bidders, according to a CNN Money report. The lucky winner was an anonymous telephone bidder who will walk away with one of only six known units. Apple originally produced 50 Apple I's and the other 44 are missing. Also on the auction block was a letter Steve Jobs sent to Atari. The letter sold for $27,500, which like the Apple I was significantly more than it was valued.
Apple I fetches $374.5K at Sotheby's auction, Steve Jobs Atari note goes for $27.5K
Here's an update for all the collectors of vintage Apple Computer-wares out there. If you'll recall, it was a few weeks back when Sotheby's announced it would auction off an Apple 1 motherboard, cassette interface and its BASIC programming manual, originally set to fetch upwards of $180,000. Just this week, the hand-built piece of computing history from 1976 was sold to one lucky phone bidder for an even more massive $374,500. As Apple Insider notes, the computer is one of six that's accounted for out of 50 that are likely still out there -- ensuring these will only remain for folks with deep pockets indeed. Past that, a hand-written note from Steve Jobs during his time at Atari was also on the auction block, garnering $27,500 even though it was only estimated to sell for less than half that price. Knowing the cost of collecting a premiere piece (arguably) from the fruits of Woz and Jobs, it certainly makes that new MacBook Pro with Retina display seem like a grand bargain in comparison. Details at the links below.
Apple I up for auction: buy a bit of Apple history for the bulk of your net worth
Attention Apple lovers: here's your chance to get your hands on an original piece of company history, but the past has proven that you better have a lot of extra cash lying around. Sotheby's auction house is offering a working Apple I computer, which is the original design that was built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak back in 1976 -- by hand. It's expected to fetch between $140,000 - 180,000, and those dollars buy you a mobo, cassette interface and the original BASIC manual to get you programming partying like it's 1979. This isn't the first Apple I to hit the auction block, but with only 200 of the things in existence, the winning bidder will join the upper echelon of Apple enthusiasts. So, if you've got cash to burn and fancy yourself the ultimate fanboy, head on down to the source link for the full details. [Thanks, Deepa]
The Apple II, as described by Steve Wozniak
Ask the average geek to describe the Apple II and you'll probably hear something about its legacy or software. Ask Steve Wozniak circa 1977, on the other hand, and he'll write you a technical tome -- or at least he did for Byte magazine. Way back when the classic computer was fresh, a young Woz penned an extremely detailed "system description" for the rig, pouring over specifics on the II's graphical capabilities, memory, peripherals, programming language and more. Perhaps in (slightly late) honor of the machine's 35th anniversary, Information Week has seen fit to reprint the extensive examination for your reading pleasure -- assuming you're up to wading through the technical nitty gritty. No? Well, Woz does have a few nuggets of wisdom for the layman. "To me," he says, "a personal computer should be small, reliable, convenient to use and inexpensive." No arguments here, Steve. Read the man's words for yourself at the source link below.
Broadway star Josh Gad to play Woz in Jobs biopic
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Josh Gad is in talks to play Steve Wozniak in Jobs, the independent film staring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. Gad is best known for his starring role in the South Park creators' musical "Book of Mormon." He is also a correspondent for The Daily Show and has appeared in feature films such as Love and Other Drugs. Jobs will be shot on a shoestring budget of around US$5 million beginning next month in Texas. The film will chart the story of Steve Jobs from his days as a teenager to when he founded Apple -- and perhaps up to his return to the company in 1997, depending which reports of the script are accurate. The Ashton Kutcher-led Jobs film is not to be confused with Sony's official adaptation of Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography, which is due out late this year. Photograph credit: Dimitrio Kambouris/Getty Images.
Woz: Windows Phone is 'beautiful,' Android 'no contest,' still loves iPhone, ask again tomorrow
When Steve Wozniak talks mobile, people love to listen. Last time we checked in, he was lauding some of Android's finer points, and now he's raining praise on Windows Phone. In an interview with A New Domain, the Apple co-founder was all too happy to share his recent positive experiences with the Espoo / Redmond collaboration. In particular, Woz waxes about how intuitive the interface is, and how naturally apps lead you around. He goes on to say how there's nothing he's seen that isn't more beautiful (than iOS and Android) on the Windows system, before claiming Android is "no contest" when it comes to the interface. It's not all lemonade and roses, however, as he then admits he's no fan of the voice control functionality compared to the other two platforms. When pushed to admit what he uses as default, it's still the iPhone -- two of them in fact -- but Woz's ability to see the best in all mobile operating systems will be sure to further confirm his status as one of tech's most liked. Head down to the source to hear for yourself. [Thanks everyone who sent this in]
