Steve Wozniak is an enthusiast who changed the world of personal computers. Who is Steve Wozniak

Wozniak learned a lot from his father. But they studied in different ways. Paul Jobs did not even receive a secondary education, however, he knew about cars and knew how to profitably buy the necessary parts. Francis Wozniak, whom everyone called Jerry, graduated from the engineering department of the California Institute of Technology with brilliance; during his studies he was a defender in the football team, admired engineers, and looked down on traders and businessmen. At Lockheed, Wozniak Sr. developed missile guidance systems. “My father used to say that a career as an engineer is the highest achievement one can wish for,” recalled Steve Wozniak. “Because they are the ones who take the development of society to a new level.”

One of Wozniak's first childhood memories was when he came to his father's work on weekends and looked at electronic parts: "Dad put them on the table and I played with them." The boy watched, fascinated, as his father tried to ensure that the waveform on the monitor remained a straight line and he could demonstrate that one of the calculated circuits worked as it should. “I understood that whatever dad did was right and important.” If Woz, as everyone called him from childhood, asked why there were resistors and transistors lying around the house, his father took out the board and clearly explained how they worked. “Dad started his story about resistors with atoms and electrons. When I was in second grade, he explained what resistors do, without any equations - he just drew on the board. "

Woz learned another important rule from his father: it's not good to lie. “Dad believed that one should always tell the truth. Whatever it takes. This is the most important thing that he taught me. I to this day never not I'm lying. " (Draws don't count.)

Woz also inherited an aversion to over-ambition, a quality that distinguishes him from Jobs... Forty years after they met, at the presentation of another Apple product, Woz reflected on their dissimilarity: “My father always told me: stay in the middle. I didn’t aspire to the people of Steve’s level. My father was an engineer and I always wanted to be just an engineer. I was too shy to become a business leader like Jobs. "

By the fourth grade, Wozniak had become, as he calls it, one of the "children of electronics." He felt freer with transistors than with girls.

Steve looked rather ridiculous: a stocky, stooped guy who spent most of his time on circuit boards. At the age when young Jobs puzzled over a carbon microphone device that his father could not explain to him, Wozniak used transistors to create an intercom system that included amplifiers, relays, lamps and bells. The system connected the nurseries of six neighboring houses. When Jobs became interested in DIY constructors, Wozniak assembled the receiver and transmitter from parts manufactured by Hallicrafters, and with his father obtained an amateur radio license.

At home, Woz read his father's electronics magazines; he was fascinated by stories about new computers, such as the powerful ENIAC.

Since Boolean algebra was surprisingly easy for Stephen, he admired the simplicity of the new computers. In eighth grade, using the theory of binary numbers, he built a calculator that took one hundred transistors, two hundred diodes, and two hundred resistors on ten circuit boards. The invention won first prize in a city competition held by the US Air Force, despite the fact that there were even twelfth graders among the contestants. When his peers started dating girls and going to parties, Woz felt even more lonely: it was much easier for him to collect electrical circuits. “I used to have a lot of friends, we rode bicycles, talked and so on, and then I suddenly found myself isolated,” he recalls. "It seems that for so long I have never been alone before: no one even spoke to me."

Woz found an outlet in teenage antics. In the twelfth grade, he put together an electronic metronome - a device that helps keep the rhythm while practicing music - and noticed that its ticking was like the clockwork of a bomb. Then he removed the stickers from several large batteries, tied them together and hid them in the cabinets, setting the device so that when the door opened, the metronome would start ticking faster. Soon he was summoned to the director.

Woz decided that he had again won the main school prize for his knowledge of mathematics. But the police were waiting for him in his office.

The director, Mr. Brild, seeing the device, was not at a loss, grabbed the "bomb", ran out, clutching the batteries to his chest, onto the football field and only there tore off the wires. Steve couldn't help laughing. As a result, he was sent to a center for juvenile delinquents. He remembered the night spent behind bars for a long time. Woz taught inmates how to lead wires from ceiling fans to the grill so that anyone who touched them would be shocked.

Shocking those around him was a matter of honor for Woz. He prided himself on developing hardware, which means that he gets electric shocks from time to time. Once he came up with a kind of roulette: four players had to stick their thumbs into the slot; when the ball fell on a certain sector, one of the participants was electrocuted. “The electronics engineers agreed to play, but the programmers had little guts,” Wozniak grinned. In his fourth year, Woz took a part-time job at Sylvania and was given the opportunity to work on a computer for the first time in his life. He learned Fortran from a textbook and read most of the manuals on computers back then, starting with the first commercial PDP-8 minicomputer from Digital Equipment Corporation.

Then he studied the instructions for the latest microcircuits and tried to upgrade the computer with their help. He set himself the task of assembling the same machine using as few parts as possible. “I worked alone in my room with the door closed,” he recalls. Every evening Woz tried to perfect the drawings he had made the day before. By the end of the fourth year of study, he reached the pinnacle of skill. “Now I have designed computers using half the number of chips used in existing models. But all my ideas remained on paper. " He did not tell his friends about this. After all, most boys at the age of 17 are interested in something completely different.

Wozniak visited the University of Colorado on Thanksgiving that year. The university was closed during the holidays, but Steve found an engineering student who showed him the labs. Woz asked his father to send him there, but studying in another state was too expensive for the family. Then they made a deal: Steve will be allowed to leave for Colorado for a year, but then he will return home and go to De Anse College. In the end, Steve had to fulfill this condition. Arriving in Colorado in the fall of 1969, he spent so much time on practical jokes (for example, printing flyers with the words "Fuck Nixon") that he failed a couple of exams. He was left at the university, but with probationary period... In addition, he came up with a program that calculates Fibonacci numbers, which wasted so much computer time that the university authorities threatened to bill Steve. In order not to tell his parents about this, Woz chose to transfer to De Anse.

After studying for a year at De Ansa, Woz decided to take a break and earn some money. He got a job at a company that made computers for automotive industry... One of his colleagues made him a wonderful proposal: he will give Steve the necessary parts to build the computer that he designed. Wozniak decided to use as few microcircuits as possible in order to test himself and not to abuse his colleague's generosity.

Most of the work was done in the garage of a neighbor's friend, Bill Fernandez, who was still a student at Homestead. The friends celebrated the successes with Cragmont cream soda; rode bicycles to the Safeway store in Sunnyvale to hand over bottles and used the proceeds to buy new sodas. “That's why we called our project the 'cream-soda computer,'” Wozniak explains. In essence, it was a calculator: it multiplied the numbers that were entered using a set of switches, and output the result in binary encoding with a set of glowing lamps.

When work on the invention was completed, Fernandez told Wozniak that he had a classmate at Homestead with whom Woz should meet. "His name is Steve... He, like you, loves to arrange jokes and is fond of electronics. "

It was perhaps the most significant meeting in Silicon Valley since Hewlett visited Packard's garage 32 years earlier. “Steve and I sat on the sidewalk in front of Bill’s house for several hours and told each other stories from our lives - mostly about the pranks we put on and our inventions,” Wozniak recalls. - We had a lot in common. I usually had a hard time explaining to others what I was coming up with, but Steve caught on the fly. I liked him. Skinny, but strong and full of strength. "

On the Jobs the new friend made a big impression too. “Woz was the first of my acquaintances who understood electronics better than me,” he once remarked (however, exaggerating his own competence). - I liked him right away. I felt older than my age, and Woz behaved like a boy, so in general we were the same age. Steve was very smart, but a teenager in manner. "

Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, M., "Astrel", 2012, p. 45-49.

Steve Wozniak (or simply Woz) is a genius inventor from the United States. He, together with Steve Jobs, founded famous company Apple. It was Woz who created the project for future gadgets.

Steve Wozniak was born in sunny California, the son of an engineer. The father became an example for the boy, and from childhood he knew exactly what he wanted to do in the future. When he was still quite a child, he invented his own telephone in order to talk with the neighboring boys. To do this, Steve handed out special equipment that he made himself and his friends were always in touch. When the boy was in elementary school, he studied Morse code and assembled several electrical appliances on his own.

The years passed and Steve grew up, but his love for electronics grew even stronger. He did not get along at all with the girls, they considered him ugly and a little crazy. But at that moment he was not worried about this, because he needed to go to university. Of course, it was not difficult for him to pass the introductory ones, but he studied for only one year, since his parents could not pay for the next semester.

Woz had to go to college at a cheaper rate, but even here he does not stay long - this time he picks up the documents for on their own... It was during this period of his life that he met his like-minded person - Steve Jobs. Together they invented the so-called "Blue Box" - a hacking device for telephone communications.

Significant years of Steve Wozniak

1975 is a very significant year in the life of Wozniak. After all, it was then that the predecessor of the modern Iphone saw the light. And when Jobs took this invention into his hands, he realized that he needed to create his own company and produce such devices. Wozniak accepted this offer, but without much enthusiasm. He was convinced that the case was completely disastrous.
1976 - Apple was officially registered. The guys started out from the smallest. There were no conditions as such, so the first devices were born in basements, kitchens and garages. Later, things got better, orders poured, as if from the sky. The company improved and began to grow rich before our eyes. Both Steves did not even expect to reach that level.
1987 - Wozniak decides to leave Apple. But even now he buys shares in the company and is listed there as an employee.

After he left the company, he invests in a new business - he opens the CL9 company, which specializes in remote control. Jobs, of course, did not quite like it, and he tried in every possible way to block the path of his former friend. But Wozniak always found a way out and went about his business.

2001 - another company from Woz is born in the world, which is engaged in GPS technologies.

Steve Wozniak is happy that he was able to transform favorite hobby into a very lucrative job. In this he is just as grateful to Jobs, does not hold any grudge against him and misses him. Now Woz is completely calm, because he has made almost all his dreams come true and achieved his goals. In his hometown, a street was named after him. It's probably nice to be a great man of our time.

ingenious American engineer, co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs.

Stephen Wozniak ( floor. Stephen Gary Wozniak; August 11, 1950, San Jose, pcs. California), American computer developer and businessman, co-founder of the company Apple... Considered one of the fathers of the revolution personal computers... His inventions greatly contributed to the personal computer revolution in the 70s. Wozniak founded Apple Computer (now Apple inc.) With Stephen Jobs in 1976. In the mid-70s, he created the Apple I and Apple II computers. The Apple II gained incredible popularity and eventually became the best-selling personal computer in the 70s and early 80s.

Stephen had several aliases such as: “ The woz», « Wizard of woz" and " iWoz» ( pun; play on words with iPod). « WoZ» ( short for "Wheels of Zeus") Is also the name of the company Stephen founded. He also created the initial prototype of the classic Breakout games for Atari, in 4 days. He is known for his introverted personality and finds his popularity annoying. IN Apple computer it was also called " Another Steve". The more famous Steve is called Steven Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple inc. He was also called "Wiz" in order to distinguish between Jobs and Wozniak, because they had similar names. Only Jobs was called Steven, and Steven Wozniak.

Dawn of Apple

From the age of ten I wanted to become an engineer, like my father. If for some reason it didn't work out, I would have become a school teacher. I was inspired by books from which I understood that technicians are people who give others the opportunity to enjoy the results of technological progress, in fact, the saviors of the world! And already from childhood I started working on my first inventions, testing the first developments for weeks. This is good practice- a person from an early age learns to set goals for himself, to spare no time and effort to achieve them and to remember all the time - no matter how many days, months or even years the implementation of the project takes, you need to continue to go towards the goal and not give up.

I worked on a computer on weekends - alone. Loneliness gave me freedom of thought, time to think about different solutions and find the best path. I didn't need to convince anyone that this particular path is the most correct. At the same time, I did not perceive the creation of a computer as a job. I thought that the job of an engineer was designing radio systems, television devices, navigation systems, but certainly not computers.

It took me a lot long time to develop a technically perfect product, and there was nowhere to learn how to create computer technology at that time. Someone will tell you where I will see an interesting article - this gave food to my inspiration. But there was no special literature, and before everything you had to guess on your own, trying this or that solution, until the effect was achieved.

I designed computers on paper. I had no money to create prototypes, models. I had to perfect every drawing, I could only implement every idea with an ideal solution that did not require rework. In addition, minimalism became my rule: the fewer the details in the computer, the better. I worked exclusively for myself, without receiving any praise or recognition. The only reward was in my head - I knew I was doing something that I liked.

The most effective engines of progress in any project are a passionate desire to achieve a goal and a lack of money. In many ways, my passion for making computer hardware arose from my own interests and from the same lack of money. I couldn't go out and buy something - I needed to develop the same product, only more effective. The presence, let alone the excess of money, only hurts. Now, when the Apple company, founded by Steve Jobs and I, has achieved such success and special people are engaged in increasing our fortune, it is sometimes even difficult for me to remind myself of who I really am.

Wage labor

In my third year in college, I got a job at Hewlett-Packard. The innovators of my generation - Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison - often started out without a proper education. But I believed in higher education so I took a year off from my third year to go to HP and make money. True, the "academician" dragged on, and I received a higher education several years ago. Then Apple and my name were already known, so I finished my studies under the fictitious name Rocky Raccoon (Raccoon) Clark (a combination of my dog's name and my wife's maiden name). So I'm a Rocky Raccoon Clarke graduate from Berkeley College.

I started my collaboration with Hewlett-Packard by working on the first keyboard calculator, which made it possible to do without the slide rule, which was familiar at that time. It was a fantastic instrument and I immediately fell in love with my work. By the way, when you get a chance to do what you like the most in the world, don't waste it. Two years later, our calculators had a lot of computing power and could work with what mathematicians and computer scientists know as braceless backward notation, that is, make calculations in compliance with the step of the performed actions. For example, you can type on the calculator "5 +2 x3" and the machine will give the answer "11", not "21". In calculators manufactured by Texas Instruments, you had to enter parentheses to indicate the procedure. When we at Hewlett-Packard began to analyze the Texas Instruments experience, we entered a long expression into their calculator that contained six or seven parentheses. I thought, “God, I would never have decided! We need to do something about it! "I figured out that the expression should enter the computing unit written from left to right - and everything worked out! I don't know why, but I was the only one who was able to drop stereotypes, look at the problem in a new way and figure out how to solve it.

In parallel with my work at Hewlett-Packard, I did many other projects in my spare time - not for money, but simply out of interest. This is how I developed a computer game - long before there was any software at all. This game was played by hardware, not software, by transmitting signals across chips. After this and a few more of my developments, many companies began to lure me away. But I invariably turned them down, adding that I would like to work at Hewlett-Packard all my life. Hewlett-Packard is a company of engineers, I want to be an engineer all my life, - I said. I didn't want to get involved with management, politics, or finished products, I didn't want to tell others what to do - I just wanted to develop hardware and software. At Hewlett-Packard, engineers were honored and respected as a CEO. In addition, the company allowed the use of its own components for private development, if approved by the supervisor. The management believed that developing their own solutions in non-working hours hones the intelligence and creativity of employees, therefore should be encouraged.

"Let's sell it!"

One after another, the big electronics companies said they weren't interested in computers. Even Hewlett-Packard refused to develop them, although I came to my favorite company and suggested it. But I knew that a good computer must be a device that allows you to enter data into memory and write a program, and that microprocessors are the future. I decided for myself that I must have a computer, even if I have nothing to pay for the house. As usual, I didn't buy it, I had to make it myself. From Hewlett-Packard components, I assembled a real terminal that could be connected to Arpanet, the prototype of the Internet. Then in the country there were only about eight such terminals in different universities, and they cost insanely expensive. I took my TV as a monitor - anyway, I didn't have the money to pay to watch the broadcasts. It remained to invent a device that allows you to display letters and other characters in order to exchange information with interlocutors directly. I didn't want to equip my computer with a mass of switches and wires leading from the system unit to the monitor. And I came up with a keyboard based on the idea embodied in a calculator that I developed for Hewlett-Packard. I wrote a special program that translated the characters entered by the user into the computer's memory, while they were displayed on the screen. As a programming language, I chose BASIC, developed by Bill Gates, because I decided that it was possible to write a lot of computer games in it. Steve Jobs saw it and said, "Let's sell it!"

We launched the first Homebrew Computer Club in the United States, bringing together computer enthusiasts. We thought how convenient it would be for these specialists to simply connect the keyboard of a personal computer instead of hundreds of wires - and sold them for $ 40 keyboards, whose cost price was $ 20. Steve Jobs and I sold the most expensive thing we had: me - my calculator, he is a Volkswagen minivan - and started their own company.

"Now the world will change"

We started from absolute zero, we had nothing - no money, no property. Only ideas and a desire to see how it all will work, how it is
bring it to life. Usually major innovations, new directions of development, new technologies start with one exceptional technical idea or detail, executed absolutely flawlessly. But enthusiasm alone is not enough to sell this idea, resources are needed to tell many about it and convince people of its attractiveness and usefulness, marketing is needed to understand how to present this invention. In our case, we had to convince people that they needed a computer at home. Computers at that time were perceived as devices for the defense industry and large companies. They were monsters that occupied huge rooms, with many incomprehensible blinking lights and switches. We had to show future consumers with the help of visual advertising how they will use the computer, how it will fit into their life, how it will change it. Sometimes it takes time to be successful as well. Perhaps you create a great product that is ahead of its time, and then it may take twenty years before it is appreciated and wants to be purchased. Or perhaps you will be able to realize your idea only ten years after its appearance, because then the environment for its application will arise.

One fine day, Steve Jobs called and said that he had received an order for the production of one hundred Apple I computers for $ 50 thousand! That was double my annual income - a shocking amount! I went to all the departments of Hewlett-Packard and signed the authorization for this order everywhere, because I did not want to act unethical. I worked on a project day and night, and sometimes I had better solutions on the verge of sleep and wakefulness. It was in this most creative state that I came up with the idea that games should be colored! I encoded the colors in binary, and the Apple II was already rendering high-resolution color graphics. I wrote my first BASIC game with hundreds of color variations - in just half an hour. Through hardware, I would create it for the rest of my life! It amazed me. I told Steve Jobs, "Now that games are software, the world will change."

The order was waiting for us, but for the production of thousands of computers we needed money, and we went to venture capitalists. Then we were very inexperienced in business and when asked by the investor about the market size for our models, they answered: “One million copies”. "Why a million?" "Well, now there are a million shortwave users, and our computers are replacing that radio." But we got the money. We now had a full-fledged company. But here I was in for an unpleasant surprise: I was told that I had to quit my job with Hewlett-Packard! I who wanted to be an engineer all my life and only worked on computers at night! I stated that I do not want to lead own business and manage the company, I just want to do development. Steve Jobs gathered all my friends and relatives, and they all persuaded me: "Agree, this is a great chance, you will have a lot of money!" But I only agreed when they told me: “You don't have to run the company. Remain an engineer - only at Apple. "

Steve Wozniak's recipe for success

You need great developers who can work quickly and think freely, without stereotypes. Engineers earn much less than managers, but for me engineers are the most important people in the company because they are the ones who develop new products. They must love their job and have strong self-motivation.

You have to do a lot of testing to ensure that your product is simple and easy to use for the end user. To test the graphical user interface of our Lisa model, we invited people from a wide variety of humanitarian professions, not familiar with the principles of computers, designers, teachers, psychologists. This was not the first usability test.

You must use an open architecture. This allows many people to work on your product, improve and expand its capabilities. You create a whole community of people working with you. The Apple II was very open-minded. Despite the large number of installed slots for various devices and multifunctional programs, each user could improve his computer if he felt that he was missing something.

You should strive for simplicity, with the minimum of components required for your product to work. Let's say you are planning to build a house and you have architectural project and building materials. If you are well versed in materials, you will plan the house itself much better without accumulating excess in it. I apply the same approach to computers. If you know well the architecture of the machine, the number of parts in it can be halved. For me it was akin to art. I was constantly improving, first the drawings, then the models. Apple computers were huge machines, each of which had to be designed by a whole group of developers. Today - for example, at Microsoft - more than one hundred specialists can work on one system. But between these periods there was a time when one person could easily develop an entire model of a computer.

People for you should always be more important than technology. Users should be comfortable and comfortable with your product. Look at today's Japanese appliances - they have a lot of different buttons, each of which is responsible for what function. And look at the German ones - they are simple and straightforward, because they are designed for people, not for the sake of technology. Any product must have a balance of functionality and common sense. If you are adding some function, think, you cannot abandon some of the former, which is no longer relevant. Naturally, your product must perform all the steps you claim and be reliable. In doing so, it is important to find the little difference that will make your work unique and desirable. To do this, it is worth investing a little emotion in product development. This happened with the iPod. In terms of function and purpose, it is almost identical to those of the MP3 players that everyone else produces, but the iPod is a symbol, and the other is just devices. And, finally, don't write clear plans that would limit the imagination of your developers - just mention the main milestones of the project.

In 1980, the Apple II went public and made Jobs and Wozniak millionaires.

For years, the Apple II remained Apple's main source of revenue and ensured the company's viability when its leadership took on much less profitable projects such as the ill-fated Apple III and the little-lived Lisa. Thanks to the robust revenues from the Apple II, the company was able to develop the Macintosh, bring it to market, and make it its core technology — eventually supplanting the computer that paid for it all. In this sense, Wozniak can be considered the godfather of "Poppy"

In February 1981, Steve Wozniak was involved in an accident on his Beach Bonanza aircraft while taking off from the Santa Cruz aircraft fleet. As a result, he received retrograde amnesia and temporary anterograde amnesia. He did not remember what had happened and did not know that he was in a plane crash. He also did not remember his hospital stay or the things he did after he was discharged. He went about his usual business, but did not remember them. Woz began to piece together information from different people... He asked his girlfriend, Candy Clarke (formerly at Apple), that he had not been involved in any disaster. When she told him about the incident, his short-term memory returned. In fact, Woz and Candy were engaged, they ordered wedding rings in San Diego and flew there to get them. Also, in his deliverance from amnesia, Wozniak thanks computer games on the Apple II.

Stephen did not return to Apple after the plane crash. Instead, he married Candy Clark (he called her "Superwoman"), possibly for her Olympic kayak accomplishments in 1976) and returned to UC Berkeley under the name Rocky Clark, Rocky called him dog, and Clark is his wife's maiden name, there he received academic degree in 1986. In 1983, he decided to return to Apple's development team and needed a position as an engineer and a driving force for the company.

In 1982 and 1983, Wozniak sponsored two national rock festivals, The US Festival, which celebrated the evolving technology and commonwealth of music, computers, television and humans. They were a combination of a technology show and a rock festival. Rock legends such as Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Van Halen, U2 and others took part in the festivals.

Woz and Candy divorced in 1987. At that time they had three children, two boys and a girl. Later, during an alumni meeting, he renewed his relationship with Suzanne Mulkern, the former cheerleader leader (cheerleader). They got married in 1990 and divorced in 2000.

Careers outside Apple

12 years after founding the company, on February 6, 1987, Wozniak left Apple again, this time for good. Despite this, he is still listed as an employee there and even receives a salary, and he also retained a block of shares. Wozniak then founded a new enterprise "CL9", which developed consoles remote control... It launched the first universal remote controls on the market. Out of anger, Jobs threatened his suppliers to end their business with Wozniak, or they would lose their business with Apple.

He found other suppliers instead of those with whom he had worked for four years, but was disappointed in his closest friend.

Wozniak went into teaching (he taught fifth grade students) and charitable work in the field of education. After leaving Apple, Wozniak donated all of his money to the Los Gatos School District technology program (the district where Steve lives and where his children attend school). Unuson (Unite Us in Song) is an organization that Steve founded to organize two National Festivals and is now mainly used by him for his educational and philanthropic projects.

In 1985, Ronald Reagan presented Wozniak with the National Medal of Technology.

In 1997, he was appointed a Fellow of the Museum of Computer History in San Jose. Wozniak was the main sponsor and patron of the Children's Museum of Discovery (the street opposite the museum was renamed in his honor, Woz Way).

In September 2000, Wozniak entered the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 2001 he founded Wheels Of Zeus to create a wireless GPS technology that was supposed to “help ordinary people find ordinary things. " In 2002, he joined the board of directors of Ripcord Networks Inc., which includes all Apple “alumni”. Later that year, Wozniak became a member of the board of directors at Danger Inc., creator of Hip Thor's (aka SideKick from T-Mobile). In May 2004, Wozniak received an honorary doctorate from North Carolina State University for his contributions to the personal computer field.

About Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was not involved in any of my projects - Apple I and Apple II computers, and printer interfaces, floppy disks, and other inventions that I made to improve the PC. He didn't know technology. He never designed anything as an apparatus engineer, and he did not know software... He wanted to be important, and important people are always businesslike. This is what he was aiming for - a quote from interview for YouTube channel Reach A Student

However, Steve has repeatedly spoken of Jobs as the cornerstone of Apple's success.

He sold the Apple II, the product that made us all our money in the first 10 years. I just designed it

Calling Jobs his friend, Wozniak does not deny that the Apple CEO had a difficult personality.

The most creative Apple employees who worked on the Macintosh left the company and refused to ever collaborate with Jobs again. Due to Steve's bad temper, Apple has lost impressive talent - in an interview with the Business Journal.

About Apple

“I am very pleased with the way Apple is doing,” WOZ said at the Paypal FinTech Xchange 2016 conference.

In five years at the head of the company, Tim Cook managed to double its income. When he took office, Apple had $ 100 billion in annual revenue. By 2017, the figure had grown to $ 200 billion.

Also among the positive aspects of Tim Cook as CEO, Wozniak noted the refusal to cooperate with the FBI and provide the department with data on the owners of Apple equipment.

“I admire Tim Cook for his advocacy of people's privacy, because all his life Apple has made me wonder who is more important - a person or a technology.”

Also, according to Wozniak, under the leadership of Cook, the company has never released a terrible or ugly product.

However, Steve can also hear criticism of the company he created. The engineer is not happy with smartwatches, wireless headphones, and even Apple smartphones, which, according to the engineer, lack innovation.

At the same time, he acknowledges that Apple's model is not about momentary success, but about long-term customer loyalty. In this case, the smartphone war is not a sprint, but a marathon.

About smartphones

In August 2016, in an interview with Financial Review, Steve named his favorite smartphone model. It turns out it's not an iPhone. At the time, his favorite was the Nexus 5.

One of my favorite smartphones is the Nexus 5X. It is compatible with USB Type-C cable. I believe USB-C is the future - Australian Financial Review interview

About money

Wozniak's fortune is about $ 100 million. The capital of Steve Jobs in 2011 exceeded $ 10 billion. The reason for this gap in the income of the co-founders of Apple lies in the fact that Wozniak was not initially interested in money.

I didn't want to be around money because it can distort your values - interview with Fortune

Of the strange stories about money that come to mind when thinking about Wozniak - two dollar bills. On the Engadget Show, the engineer said that he makes money for himself. He buys sheets of $ 2 bills from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, cuts them into sheets of 4 bills and staples them into a notebook. You can snatch two dollars for a Big Mac out of your notebook at any time.

Investments

This quote from an interview with Fortune speaks volumes about Woz's attitude to the desire to increase his savings. In an interview with Business Insider, he added that he does not even invest in young projects.

I don't remember the last time I supported projects on KickStarter. Usually, by the time a product reaches the end consumer, it is either not working, or is not useful, or is no longer relevant - interview with Business Insider

Wozniak also explains the reluctance to participate in crowdfunding by the fact that the investor cannot see how the startup team used the funds.

About social networks

Wozniak was never too active socially. And he himself said more than once that social networks are not for him.

I have 5,000 Facebook friends I don’t know, why would I keep track of what they do in life every day?

However, there is a resource that Steve enjoys using. This is Foursquare - social network with geolocation function.

“I'm expecting a train to Rome,” Woz reports on Foursquare

About happiness

Steve Wozniak has his own formula for happiness, and it is not related to money.

The first component is to smile and joke more often. The second is to avoid being in a bad mood.

Don't worry when things go wrong. Just Think About How To Be Constructive - CNBC Interview

Steve also advises creating things just for fun, even if they never make a profit. This is how we develop our brain.

Stephen Gary in official documents Rocky Clark in university, WHO for colleagues, Stephen for mom and Steve Wozniak for everyone else. Few people know, but it was he who became the brick that allowed the whole empire to be made from the garage in Cupertino.

Editorial staff Droider I could not pass by the 65th anniversary of one of the coolest IT-figures of our time and decided to go through the biography of the creator of the personal computer, which changed the industry.

The history of the great inventor began long before meeting with Steve Jobs and grounds Apple... As a child, Stephen assembled working models of radios, calculators and other equipment from constructors. His father, Jacob Francis Wozniak, worked as an engineer in the company Lockheed, where he was engaged in the development of missile guidance systems. It was he who instilled a love for technology in young Woz.

In the 4th grade, a radio amateur's license flaunted in Wozniak's personal file. 4 years later, Steve put together a complex calculator, for which he won first prize at the BBC competition in San Jose.

"I felt like I knew secrets that no one else knows."

According to Steve Wozniak, school was boring. Perhaps it was due to a lack of interest that he independently took up the study of Fortran, the first high-level programming language with a translator. Later he got a job at the company Sylvania.

“Children come to school full of curiosity. They want to know what is inside the box, but in response they hear: "No, you must not open it."

After school, Steve went to conquer Colorado, but was forced to say goodbye to the local university and move to Cupertino due to the lack of money from the family. Here and there WHO and met with Steve Jobs... They quickly became friends, because both were interested in electronics.

Wozniak often used his passion for technology in his student years to poke fun at friends and acquaintances. For example, he intercepted television signals in dormitories and controlled the receivers of classmates, forcing them to fiddle with antennas and beat in hysterics on the back cover of the "box". He later created the first "Dial a Joke" phone line, using jokes from a book and a rented answering machine.

In the fall of 1971, Wozniak read in a magazine Esquire See an article about telephone freak John Draper. Material about Captain Crunch inspired Woz and Jobs to create a digital device Blue box for hacking local and international phone calls.

“The article talked about a group of bright personalities-developers who did everything that was possible with the help of telephone networks. I was fascinated by these fictional characters who immediately became my heroes with more opportunities than giant corporations. I was a prank and social outcast, so I wanted to be one of them. "

Young inventors even organized handicraft production of "blue boxes" and sold the device to friends at 150 dollars a piece. How Wozniak and Jobs were not caught by the police is anyone's guess. The entrepreneurs managed to sell about 100 gadgets. This was the first joint commercial success.

After 2 years Steve Jobs plunged into nirvana, and Steve went for the promotion, settling in Hewlett-Packard... Their paths crossed again when Jobs joined the company. Atari... Then the founder Nolan Bushnell invited Jobs to develop a new scheme for a computer game Breakout... The development fee was 700 dollars plus a bonus for each saved microcircuit.

Jobs could not afford such a job, but he had a useful acquaintance who could help. Of course, it comes about Wozniak. It all took 4 days. Despite the fact that Woz coped with the task brilliantly, Atari decided to abandon the implementation of the development in mass production due to the high cost. However, the promised money was paid in full. That's just about received from above 5000 dollars For the saved parts, Jobs kept silent, dividing only the fee with Wozniak equally.

Steve Wozniak who had a pathological sense of justice, had difficulty forgiving deception Steve Jobs... Money and fame were not paramount for Wozniak. As a true engineer and programmer, he was more interested in the development of technology.

In the context of 1975 computing, Woz's computer was ahead of its time. The device represented a complete solution and was much more convenient than its competitors. A MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor was installed inside the cost of only 20 dollars and ROM. It remained to add a little RAM, a keyboard and a monitor - voila, a real PC in front of the buyers.

The decision to create a company was self-evident. However force Steve Wozniak to sell his own invention for Steve Jobs headache. He did not promise Woz a mountain of money, but said that it would be an exciting adventure. And even if the project burns out, at least there will be something to tell the grandchildren about.

“The ability to create large company still exists overnight, but we founded Apple at such a unique moment in time when 1 person could single-handedly assemble all the parts and build a computer. Those days are in the past ”

On April 1, 1976, Jobs and Wozniak registered Apple computer... For this, young businessmen were forced to sell their own valuables. For example, Woz parted ways with a scientific calculator, and Jobs parted ways with a van. 1300 dollars and made up the start-up capital.

According to legend, friends collected the first computers in Jobs' garage. However, last year, Wozniak destroyed the myth. For such a complex production, a serious material and technical base was required, so a laboratory was used Hewlett-Packard.

By the way, a sense of justice Steve Wozniak could change the course of history. First WHO suggested developments HP... Jobs had to agree. The rights to the schemes got Apple only after the refusal of the company. The computer was put up for sale at a price US $ 666.66.

Then honesty saved not only friendship with a business partner, but also the company. Wozniak's father accused Jobs of appropriating his son's ingenious inventions without introducing anything new. However, Woz knew what a genius Jobs really was, so he stood up for his friend.

“An inventor will develop an idea whether he is hired by a large company or not. The process itself is important to him. I look at the work experience and education requirements for getting into Apple and I understand that Steve Jobs and I would never have been hired here. "

After the success of the first Apple computer, Wozniak had to work hard to improve on his revolutionary invention. received high-resolution graphics, a data storage system on magnetic disks, and an operating system Apple DOS to which a graphical interface and an advanced programming language was created Calvin... Much, according to Woz, was done blindly, because no one knew if it would be useful to people.

“If you don’t care about what you create, other people won’t care about your product”

Literally blew up the market. It was a resounding success. After the company went public in 1980, Wozniak and Jobs became millionaires. Over the next few years, he was the main source of income for the Cupertinians.

In 1981, Wozniak was in an accident on a private plane, where he received a complex form of amnesia. Stephen was collecting memory bit by bit. He did not even remember that he became a member of the Masonic order in California after his wife. After a lengthy recovery, Woz left the company, although he continued to take part in the life of the brainchild. According to the businessman, he simply lost interest in the "apple" and took up more attractive projects.

“Creativity is not when you do something familiar. This is when you have ideas on how to do something that you have never done before. And you take resources and do something that has never existed before. "

Steve Jobs was furious. He in every possible way interfered with new beginnings Steve, but he could not return his friend to his native company. By the way, WHO is still an employee Apple and even gets paid.

To date, Wozniak has received many awards and degrees for his contributions to the development of the US computer industry. In 2000, he entered National Inventors Hall of Fame and forever inscribed the name in history.

Paradox, but the creator of computers is afraid of evolution own brainchild... According to Woz, there is no doubt that artificial intelligence will take over humanity. Previously, he did not want to hear this, but now he is ready to admit that he was wrong.

“I, like Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, say that the future of humanity is frightening and very bad. If we came up with devices so that they do everything for us, it is natural that they will start thinking faster than us. Are we going to be gods? Or will we become pets? Or will we be like ants, which can be stepped on and not noticed? I dont know. But when I think that in the future I can become the pet of an intelligent machine, I begin to treat my dog with special warmth. "

Few people know that Wozniak was the main initiator of the famous teleconference between the USA and the USSR, which took place in 1982. He, like no one else, understands that only in peace and harmony can humanity progress further.

And also Steve Wozniak loves good TV shows and takes a direct part in the filming.

WHO always trying to improve, invent new things and do unexpected things. For example, in 2009, the inventor entered the program parquet "Dancing with the Stars"... Note that in dancing, old Wozniak will give odds to anyone. Although I could not reach the final of the project.

The secret of success Carts simple as cooking scrambled eggs. You just need to enjoy life and be happy, and not waste precious time on frustration and sadness.

“You smile from entertainment, gags and funny tricks. How can you shorten the time you spend in sadness and frustration? Don't worry so much about a scratched car and other little things. Don't paint a perfect picture of exactly how you should live ”

By the way, Steve Wozniak even derived a formula for happiness: "Happiness equals the time you smile, minus the time you frown." Take note!