Stephen “[tag]Woz[/tag]” [tag]Wozniak[/tag] is not your average adult standing puzzled on the opposite site of the digital divide. He sparked the personal computer revolution by creating the original [tag]Apple[/tag] and Apple II computers, all from a simple desire to create a simpler computer that people actually wanted. His recently published autobiography, [tag]iWoz[/tag] (written with Gina Smith; ISBN13: 978-0-393-06143-7) is suitably subtitled “Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I invented the personal computer, co-founded Apple, and had fun doing it.”

Growing up in Southern California in an area now known as Silicon Valley, Woz enjoyed tinkering with electronics due to the encouragement provided by his father, an engineer working at Lockheed. He gained a respect for engineers, since they could “take these little parts and make them work together to do something.” He credits his father for helping him to understand how the little parts worked, rather than simply read a book for the information. Besides playing baseball and riding bikes, his group of friends frequently got electronics from their parents and played with walkie-talkies and radios. They even hooked up their bedrooms with secret homemade intercoms to coordinate pranks in the neighbourhood. He built many electronics projects for school, but found it difficult to explain to his six-year-old peers what a crystal radio was. In sixth grade, he got his ham radio operator’s license, but soon lost interest because he found nobody his age to chat with. However, experimenting with electronics at his young age laid the foundation for his desire to create something new and exciting later on.

Woz’s love of pranks is only a close second to his love of electronics. In college, he had lots of fun with a TV jammer he made. It fooled his unsuspecting victims into believing that there was something wrong with the television, usually at the most unfortunate of times.

It was also at college that the two Steves discovered the secret of the “Blue Box.” It was an electronic device that could allow its user to hook it up to a phone and make free unlimited long distance calls around the world—a process known as “phone phreaking.” He used his design skills to make a digital version of the Blue Box, and the pair began selling them for a tidy profit. One time, Woz decided to call the Vatican late at night, announced himself as Henry Kissinger calling on behalf of the President, and demanded to speak with the Pope!

The state of computing at the time did not include personal computers. Big companies such as IBM relied on the steady income from their mainframe business, since the customer would require custom software, service, and new parts. Thus, smaller computers would have meant a reduction in their profits. Even when smaller computers came out, they were intended solely for a hobbyist crowd. The Altair 8800 was a microcomputer design sold in 1975, but only the kit was provided and customers had to assemble them at home. Furthermore, it consisted solely of a box with blinking lights and lacked any real software. Although the Altair did very little, its sales proved a viable market for personal computers and sparked the personal computer revolution to come. In fact, both Apple and Microsoft were created in the excitement following the Altair’s launch.

Around that time, Woz was an engineer working at Hewlett-Packard. At the time, he wanted to spend the rest of his life working there, since it allowed him access to electronics and new technology. Seeing the arcade game Pong at a local bowling alley, he hacked together his own home version and was able to shrink it into just twenty-eight chips. Although offered a job at Atari, Woz declined, since his dream was to work at HP for life. His experiences with creating video games gave him the idea to create the technology needed for computers to display colour.

Eventually, he discovered the Homebrew Computer Club in 1975. The club consisted of engineers and students meeting in a garage, discussing various topics related to their mutual interest in technology. Steve Wozniak was dissatisfied with the Altair 8800 and thought he could do better with its $400 price. This led to the creation of the original Apple computer, which used a keyboard and monitor to interact with the user. In his own words, Woz’s Apple computer was revolutionary: “Before the Apple I, all computers had hard-to-read front panels and no screens and keyboards. After Apple I, they all did.” He played around with the idea of a keyboard and screen some more, and the world was changed forever:

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that day, Sunday, June 29, 1975, was pivotal. It was the first time in history anyone had typed a character on a keyboard and seen it show up on the screen right in front of them.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

He first tried to show his bosses at Hewlett-Packard his new creation, but they rejected him 5 times since they didn’t believe there was a market out there for personal computers. Saddened with the realization that he would have to leave the company he loved to further his dreams, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ronald Wayne then went on to start Apple [tag]Computers[/tag] Inc., initially selling the Apple computer for $666.66. They had dropped out of school by then, and sold their most valued processions to fund the company. The Apple computer sold a couple hundred units and gave them a taste of victory in the adult-dominated business world of the 70s. Encouraged by this success, Woz went on to design and build his next computer, the Apple II.

The Apple II (sometimes written as the “Apple ][“) was the first real personal computer. It laid the blueprint for the revolution to follow by being the first popular personal computer to come with everything needed for use; no assembly required. With a computer market created, software products such as VisiCalc proved to the business world that there was indeed a benefit to having a computer on your desk at work. Instead of waiting for weeks to have data analyzed, the user could see the changes happen instantly in front of him. Soon every business, including small businesses, had to have one. The Apple also had a place at home and at school. Schoolchildren were taught the Logo language to draw shapes using a “turtle.” BASIC programming was relatively easy and allowed home computers to play games and do other tasks. The Apple II was expandable, had high resolution graphics, and was actually simple to use.

Most of today’s younger generation won’t remember a time when Apple dominated the computer industry with the Apple II. Most won’t even remember a computer without a graphics interface, such as Microsoft Windows or Apple’s Mac OS X. The biggest thing to consider when looking at Wozniak’s achievements is the fact that the entire personal computer revolution stemmed from a small workshop in a suburban garage. While Wozniak hasn’t been at the forefront of computer technology in years, it’s important to respect the tremendous effects these early computer pioneers have contributed to the world. Steve Wozniak and Apple proved to the world that fully assembled computers should be available to all, and that they do indeed have a function within the home and office. The Apple II continued to be a part of many elementary school classrooms well into the early 1990s, until it was eclipsed by the Apple Macintosh.

Ronald Wayne, the third member of the initial co-founders, decided he wanted no part in the risky new computer business and left Apple before they were incorporated, selling his stock for only $800. The company went public soon afterwards and made its original employees billionaires and millionaires. Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in its turbulent days in the 80s, but returned later on, sparking a new era of innovation to revive the struggling company with the iMac and iPod lines.

Woz, besides having the creativity to make the best personal computers, also serves as an inspirational figure in his recovery from amnesia. Shortly before the introduction of the Apple Macintosh, he crashed his private plane and suffered severe memory loss to the extent that he couldn’t even remember the accident. With the help of friends and family, he was able to piece together the memories he lost. With his new outlook on life, he decided to return to Berkeley and finish his degree. He took some time to plan two US Festival concerts, celebrating music, technology, and culture. Woz then left Apple permanently and went on to try his hand at other fields of electronics. His next company, CL 9, went on to market the world’s first universal remote control.

In recent years, Woz has been working on various projects to use technology to help people. He spent a lot of his time teaching children and providing technology to schools. He’s been presented with awards for his contributions, including the National Medal of Technology from President Reagan.

For his philanthropic contributions, Woz has become to be known as one of the most humble figures in the PC revolution, a stark contrast from the others concerned with personal gain. Steve Wozniak’s love for electronics sparked him to create computers to better people’s lives. In that, he has succeeded, and the evidence can be seen around us today.

“I didn’t want to start this company. My goal wasn’t to make a ton of money. It was to build good computers. I only started the company when I realized I could be an engineer forever.”

—quote from Seattle Times, 10 Apr 06This article published in The Argosy on January 18, 2007. For further reading, check back soon when Woz answers some of our questions!

This ClashBang.com article was written by Chris Chu. Tired of privately venting his frustration in vain, Chris decided to share his discontent with the rest of the world.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 at 11:58 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.