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Engadget arrives at D7!
You know you're at the D conference (hosted by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of All Things D) when you're chilling in the lobby of the Four Seasons and Woz and his wife peel up on tandem Segways. Yeah, it's going to be that kind of party. We're live on the ground at D7, and you can expect some pretty interesting coverage from us this week, including liveblogs of keynotes from Palm's Jon Rubinstein, Steve Ballmer, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo of Nokia, and Mike Lazaradis from RIM. For now, though, we're going to soak in some of these beautiful rays and try to get a game of Segway polo going. A few more pics after the break.
Woz exits Dancing with the Stars
Taking a break from pure silliness to borderline-news-related silliness, yesterday was elimination night on Dancing with the Stars, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak danced off the stage. After avoiding the bottom two last week, Woz, along with Hugh Hefner's ex #1 girlfriend, Holly Madison, were eliminated in a double-elimination episode.Woz's time on DWTS was filled with injuries, vote rigging allegations (and retractions), and of course some pretty awesome (as in "awesomely bad") dancing. The Woz may no longer be on DWTS, but he will remain in our hearts.So, will you still watch Dancing with the Stars now that Woz is gone? Let us know in the poll and in your comments!%Poll-28701%
DWTS Week 2 is kinder to Woz
You think a pulled hamstring, judges' scorn, and general lack of grace or terpsichorial skill are drawbacks? Fuggedabout it. You cannot stop the Woz, you can only hope to contain him: the second-week results from Dancing With The Stars were a surprise for Steve Wozniak and his partner Karina Smirnoff, as they avoided the bottom two slots and another dance-off. For a while there it looked like Woz' injury might knock him out of the competition, but he stuck it out and delivered a performance that the panel hated but the Internet and phone voters cherished. If the power of Apple fandom can keep Woz twirling and dipping long enough to, you know, actually learn to dance without hurting himself or others, perhaps we will see the King of All Geeks on the winner's podium by season's end. Perhaps. [via CNN]
Dancing Woz cries foul, then backs down
He was resplendent in a pink satin shirt and geek glasses, but based on his comments earlier one might have thought he should dress in "anger-management purple" instead. Steve Wozniak, Apple's co-founder and current Dancing With The Stars contestant, picked a fight yesterday with the show's producers as he claimed they were faking results to engineer better ratings. His presence in the bottom two pairings, who had to dance for their lives (and no, I won't spoil it for the TiVo crowd by telling you which one -- Woz or Belinda Carlisle -- is foxtrotting home), was cited as prima facie evidence of a rigged count. After a cooling-off period, as CNET reports, Woz has updated his Facebook notes on the show to say that the production team has given him a detailed briefing and tour of the vote count configuration, and he now understands the integrity of the process -- he's apologized for his freak-out and he's promised to be a model citizen from now on. Nothing like giving a geek a tour of the server room to smooth ruffled feathers, even if those feathers are on a boa and accessorizing a lovely pair of patent leather tap shoes. [via MacDailyNews]
SCOTTEVEST: Think you can make a better Woz ad? Prove it!
Remember the horrible SCOTTEVEST ads featuring Woz that were going around back in October? A lot of people thought they could do better, so many that SCOTTEVEST is hosting the "Woz Green Screen Contest".The rules are simple. All you need to do is download some of the green screen footage featuring Woz, and use your video editing skills to create an ad that is funnier than the SCOTTEVEST attempts (it shouldn't be hard...). Post your ad on YouTube, and then promote the heck out of it. If it makes Woz and the folks at SCOTTEVEST laugh, and you're getting thousands of hits on YouTube, you may be a winner.$4000 in prizes (cash and SCOTTEVEST gear) await your entry. Make sure you get your entry in before April Fools Day.
Woz dances: "like watching a Teletubby going mad"
He did it. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and nerd superhero, just made his debut on Dancing with the Stars. As you'd expect, the surprisingly nimble Woz enjoyed himself without concern of mockery. But as one judge put it, "overall it was a disaster." Hey Woz, you're still a champion to us.
Woz is set for his Dancing with the Stars debut
ABC has released a promo picture of Woz and his dancing partner in the upcoming series of Dancing with the Stars, and it is amazing. Woz is looking good. I thought about photoshopping a pimp hat and a cane into his hands, but frankly, he doesn't need it. That man can rock a pink shirt like no one else. That's professional dancer Karina Smirnoff hanging off his arm, too -- she apparently came in second place on the show a few seasons ago dancing with Mario Lopez, but she's definitely upgraded this time around.I stay away from reality television, and talent shows usually give me hives, but I just might have to tune in for this. Our favorite Chief Scientist strolling across the floor showing up the likes of David Allan Grier and Steve-o might be too much to miss. The series premiere airs March 9th.
Steve Wozniak comes to 'Dancing With The Stars,' universe quivers
Yes, your greatest / worst dream has come to fruition: Steve Wozniak will be featured on the next season of Dancing With the Stars. There's not much we can tell you right now about his upcoming moves, though we will be watching with bated breath, quietly hoping for a double Lindy, the Sugarfoot, and Denise Richards being dipped on a Segway. [Thanks, Ethan]
Woz to be on 'Dancing...'
We heard the rumors, but now it has been officially confirmed: Steve Wozniak will be appearing on the upcoming season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. We're as shocked/horrified as you, but apparently, ABC has deemed Woz Dance worthy. We're still awaiting word of his partner and we'll let you know as soon as we do. Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC on Monday, March 9 at 8/7 c.
"Chief Scientist" is an apt title for Woz
Apple co-founder, Segway polo player, date to the stars and über-nerd Steve Wozniak has accepted a position at Fusion-io. Specifically, he'll be the company's Chief Scientist.Fusion-io uses densely-packed clusters of flash memory chips in servers to enable them to find data very quickly. Woz has been serving on the board at Fusion-io, and recently asked for a larger role. "In this case, I like the people and the product, and said I would like some greater involvement," he told The New York Times. This will be Steve's first full-time job since he shut down Wheels of Zeus in 2006.Good luck, Steve! We're looking forward to seeing what's next.[Via Ars]
Woz on Jobs' medical leave
In a conversation with NBC about Steve Jobs' leave from Apple, co-founder Steve Wozniak said this break could be exactly what Steve -- and Apple -- needs. Woz had some great things to say, and my favorite was his answer to the question, "If Steve [Jobs] were not at Apple, would the company be as able to produce the kind of products we've seen?" Woz's answer:"Way too hypothetical. I would never venture a guess ... obviously, Steve's very important but Apple has some incredible people, followers of the Apple mentality, followers of Steve himself."In other words (if I may paraphrase you, Woz), Steve isn't Apple and Apple isn't Steve. No matter what happens, the company will be fine. Good call.A bit of the audio from the Woz interview was played on last night's talkcast, along with your voicemail wishes for Steve Jobs' improved health. Mike assures me he'll have the show up and online tonight.[Via AppleInsider]
Mac founding-fathers appear at Welcome to Macintosh screening
This year at Macworld 2009, two documentary films about the Mac held screenings. While we didn't have anyone on-site at MacHEADS, a few of us were fortunate enough to attend Thursday night's screening of Welcome to Macintosh. Welcome to Macintosh, a documentary by Josh Rizzo and Rob Baca, chronicles the history of Apple and the Mac, using interviews with the people and the users that were there. Tony Walla contributed a great piece about the film last April, which fills in more background. While the film is amazing (the DVD is available now and it is chock-full of awesome), the discussion after the screening was truly magical. Five of the participants from the film, along with Very Special Guest, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, appeared on-stage and answered questions from the crowd. (See the Woz answer our own Mike Rose's question here) Read on for more historic geekiness...%Gallery-41649%
Woz gets a new job
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak seems to be a lot more visible lately.First, he's been making bad web ads for SCOTTEVEST. Next, we received pictures of Woz whizzing from the deck of his Segway. He was fined US$700 for driving his Prius at 104 miles per hour (167 kilometers per hour) on I-5. At last, we've received news that he's actually using that geek cred of his for the good of mankind.Yes, Stephen Gary Wozniak has just joined the Board of Advisors of Axiotron, makers of the Modbook (that's the mod that turns a stock MacBook into a Tablet Mac). Andreas Haas, CEO of Axiotron, was quoted late last week as saying "We're thrilled to bring Steve onto our Board of Advisors. His deep knowledge and experience are an invaluable resource for Axiotron. Steve's forward-thinking and non-conformist approach, his incredibly creative engineering designs and his emphasis on the human aspects of technology have always been an inspiration to me."We'll be visiting Axiotron and reporting on the newly updated Modbook at Macworld Expo 2009, as well as interviewing some well-known artists and designers who use the Modbook as a creative tool. Stay tuned January 5th through 9th for TUAW's extensive coverage of the Expo.
Found Footage: SCOTTEVEST Woz-i-sodes
Apple co-founder Steve "The Woz" Wozniak must have a lot of time on his hands. He's acting in online ads for SCOTTEVEST, the company that makes those great geek clothes with all sorts of pockets, cable runs, etc...Two Woz-i-sodes are already posted on the SCOTTEVEST site; one titled "Return of the Woz", featuring Woz as Lord Dirth Wozniak (see picture above), while the other "A Fish Story" has Woz using a 1G iPod nano as a handy fishing accessory. And of course, those geeky clothes products from SCOTTEVEST are featured heavily throughout the videos. Additional Woz-i-sodes will be posted weekly, giving you an excuse to work on your Christmas list and have some fun in the process. Click here to view these cinematic blunders wonders.Thanks to Kevin for the tip!
Woz says the iPod will "die out after a while" like radios and Walkmans
Uncle Woz is stirring things up today in an interview with The Telegraph, saying that he thinks "the iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one, things like, if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while... they get real cheap and then they are not selling as much." That's certainly an interesting parallel to draw, since the iPod is unquestionably the market leader and the recent updates to the nano and classic weren't particularly overwhelming -- but we've got to disagree here and say that the metaphor doesn't quite work. Walkmans and radios were standalone products that didn't really change over time, while the iPod is clearly evolving into a compelling standalone computing platform -- and it's tied to iTunes, which, hate it or love it, is the most popular content store out there. Sure, things could change dramatically -- competitors like the Zune are getting way better, subscription music could finally take off, and DRM is slowly going away (at least for music) -- but it's hard to see Apple getting baited into a brand-tarnishing price war or simply letting the iPod fade away without putting up a fight. We'll see, we suppose -- any of you willing to throw down some bold predictions?[Via Wired]
UK newspaper interviews Woz
UK newspaper Telegraph recently interviewed Steve Wozniak about the iPod, iPhone and his future wishes for Apple. He discusses, among other things, the gradual end of the iPod's reign."The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one," he says. "Things like, that if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while." I've wondered about this myself. How many time can Apple create an iPod model that's adequately unilke previous versions to create incentive to buy? Jonathan Ive is good, but he's not Gandalf. For example, the new nanos are cool, but not cool enough to cause me to abandon my "fat nano."Towards the end of the interview, Steve suggests that Apple's next product could be an "iWatch," but we're considering that one of his infamous practical jokes.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Woz talks to developers at Intel Developer Forum
Steve "Woz" Wozniak is often considered the "God" of Apple. He was the designer of the first ever Apple computers (Apple / & Apple //). At a recent developer forum at Intel, Woz gave a bit of advice to the engineers. He told them that, "the right way of going through life" is pursuing a vision without compromise. "If you have technical ideas, if you know what you're good at, and you know what you're doing is right ... you have to shut them out," Woz said, in reference to others telling you how to do something.According to InformationWeek, Woz went on to discuss other topics. He talked about being a successful inventor. While on this topic, he admitted that not having money helps the creativity. InformationWeek has the full details on the interview.
Happy Birthday and Best Wedding Wishes, Woz!
A very happy birthday to Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak, the co-founder of the company we all know and love. No comments about "third founder" Ron Wayne, please. Woz will be 58 on Monday, the 11th, but we wanted to give you the scoop on some other things going on in his life right now, so we're running his birthday greetings early.Woz's Segway Polo team, the Silicon Valley Aftershocks, is playing in the annual Woz Cup at SegwayFesT 2008 in Indianapolis this weekend. They're currently at 2nd place in the standings.Woz also took the time on Friday, August 8, 2008, to get married to WozWife 4.0 at SegwayFesT 2008. You will be happy / uninterested / dismayed to know that he did not marry former gal pal Kathy Griffin - the name of the new Mrs. Wozniak is not being released at this time.
Woz: How it all began
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and inventor of the Apple I and II, talks with the BBC about starting Apple in 1976. "Everything was ... thinking about the good of humanity," he said. His starting salary? $24,000 a year: maybe a quarter of what an Apple engineer makes today. For those of you new to the Apple universe, this is an entertaining 10-minute brief of how it all began. Woz has probably told this story a million times, but he talks about it with the same enthusiasm as if it happened yesterday. He discusses the Silicon Valley homebrew movement, Microsoft, and the perceived animosity between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Also -- and totally off-topic -- Woz wears a giant watch. I mean, seriously. Huge.
Screen Grab: Woz hacks Kathy Griffin's iPhone... on TV
Steve Wozniak is much more than a throbbing brain with a tie. He knows that the quickest way to a girl's heart is to jailbreak her iPhone... on TV. As he tells Ms. Griffin, "You know, some people would criticize you for not having hacked your iPhone." Certainly not you, Mr. Apple Co-founder? Watch it all go down after the break.P.S. Looks like Woz's watch is a Nixie -- the man's nerd to the core.[Thanks, Karim S. and Jon]
