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Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak (born August 11 1950 in San Jose, California) is an American computer engineer turned philanthropist. His inventions and machines are credited with contributing greatly to the personal computer revolution of the 1970s. Wozniak co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Jobs in 1976 and created the Apple I and Apple II computers in the mid-1970s. The Apple II became one of the best selling computers of the 1970s and early 1980s, and became a very popular personal computer.
Wozniak has several nicknames, including "(The) Woz" and "Wizard of Woz". "WoZ" (short for "Wheels of Zeus") is also the name of a company Wozniak founded. Woz also developed the initial prototype of the classic Atari game Breakout in record time. He is known for his introverted character, and he finds his level of celebrity somewhat annoying. He is also known as the "Other Steve" of Apple Computer, the more prominent Steve being co-founder and current CEO Steve Jobs.
The dawn of Apple
By 1975, Woz dropped out of the University of California, Berkeley (he would later return to finish his BS degree in EECS, which he received in 1986) and came up with the computer that eventually made him famous. However, he was largely working to impress other members of the Palo Alto-based Homebrew Computer Club, a local group of electronics hobbyists. His project had no wider ambition.
Steve Jobs, a high school friend, had the idea to sell the computer as a fully assembled PC board. Wozniak, at first skeptical, was later convinced by Jobs that even if they were not a success they could at least say to their grandkids they had their own company. Together they sold some of their prized possessions (e.g. Woz's HP scientific calculator and Jobs' Volkswagen van), raised USD$1300, and assembled the first prototypes in Jobs' bedroom and later (when there was no space left) in Jobs' garage. Their first computer was quite an engineering marvel within the context of 1975 computing. In simplicity of use it was years ahead of the Altair 8800, which was introduced earlier in 1975. The Altair had no display and no true storage. It received commands via a series of switches (a single program would require thousands of toggles without an error), and its output was presented in the form of flashing lights. The Altair was great for hobbyists, for whom its assembly-required nature was actually a feature, but it was not suitable for the wider public. Woz's computer, on the other hand, which he named Apple I, was a fully assembled and functional unit that contained a $25 microprocessor (MOS 6502) on a single-circuit board with ROM. All that was needed was some RAM, a keyboard, and a monitor to make a fully functional microcomputer.
On April 1, 1976, Jobs and Wozniak formed Apple Computer. Wozniak quit his job at Hewlett-Packard and became the vice president in charge of research and development at Apple. The Apple I was priced at $666.66. Jobs and Wozniak sold their first 25 computers to a local dealer.
Wozniak could now focus full-time on fixing the shortcomings of the Apple I and adding new functionality. His new design was to retain the most important characteristics: simplicity and usability. Woz introduced high-resolution graphics in the Apple II. His computer could now display pictures instead of just letters: "I threw in high-res. It was only two chips. I didn't know if people would use it." By 1978, he also designed an inexpensive floppy-disk drive controller. He and Randy Wigginton wrote a simple disk operating system, adapting a file system and simple command line interface licensed from Shepardson Microsystems to his unique technology.
In addition to designing the hardware, Wozniak wrote most of the software that ran on the Apple. He wrote an advanced programming language interpreter named Calvin, a set of virtual 16-bit processor instructions known as SWEET16, a Breakout game (which was also a reason to add sound to the computer), the code needed to control the disk drive, and more.
In 1980, the Apple company went public and made Jobs and Wozniak millionaires.
Beyond the Apple II
For years the Apple II was the main source of profit at Apple, and it assured the company's survival when its management undertook much less profitable ventures like the ill-fated Apple III and the short-lived Lisa. It was because of the reliable profits from the Apple II that Apple was able to develop the Macintosh, bring it to market, and evolve it into Apple's primary technology, eventually replacing the machine that paid for it. In this sense, Wozniak can be considered the financial godfather of the Mac.
In February 1981, Steve Wozniak crashed his Beech Bonanza taking off from Santa Cruz Sky Park. As a result, he had temporary short-term memory loss. He had no recollection of the accident and, for a while, did not even know he had been involved in a crash. He began to piece together clues from things people said to him. He asked his girlfriend, Candy Clark (an early Apple employee who worked in the accounting department) whether he had been involved in an accident of some kind. When she told him of the event, his short-term memory was restored. Wozniak also credits Apple II computer games for aiding him in restoring those "lost" memories.
Woz did not return to Apple after recovering from the plane crash. Instead, he married Clark (he called her "Superwoman") and returned to the University of California, Berkeley under the name "Rocky (Raccoon) Clark" (Rocky was his dog's name and Clark his wife's maiden name), finally earning his undergraduate degree in 1986. In 1983 he decided to return to Apple product development, but he wanted no more of a role than that of an engineer and a motivational factor for the Apple workforce.
Woz and Clark divorced in 1987. At his high school reunion, he reconnected with Suzanne Mulkern, former head cheerleader and homecoming queen, and the two were married in 1990.
In 1982 and 1983, Wozniak also sponsored the two US Festivals, which were a celebration of evolving technologies and a marriage of music, computers, television and people.
Post-Apple career
Woz ended his full time employment with Apple for good on February 6, 1985, nine years after setting up the company. However he still remains an employee (including receiving a paycheck) , a stockholder , and a friend to Steve Jobs. Wozniak then founded a new venture called CL 9, which developed home remote control switches, bringing the first universal remote control to market in 1987.
Woz went into teaching (he taught fifth grade students) and charitable activities in the field of education. Since leaving Apple Computer, Woz has provided all the money, as well as a good amount of on-site technical support, for the technology program for the Los Gatos School district (the district in which he lives and where his children attend school). Unuson (Unite Us In Song), an organization Woz formed to organize the two US Festivals, is now primarily tasked with supporting his educational and philanthropic projects.
Wozniak received the National Medal of Technology in 1985 from Ronald Reagan, then President of the United States.
In 1997 he was named a Fellow of the Computer History Museum. Wozniak was a key contributor and benefactor to San Jose's Children's Discovery Museum (the street in front of the museum has been renamed Woz Way in his honor).
In September 2000, Steve Wozniak was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
In 2001, Woz co-founded Wheels Of Zeus (note the acronym, "WoZ"), to create wireless GPS technology to "help everyday people find everyday things". In the same year, he joined the Board of Directors of Ripcord Networks, Inc. joining Ellen Hancock, Gil Amelio, Mike Connor, and WoZ co-founder Alex Fielding, all Apple Alumni in a new telecommunications venture. Later the same year he joined the Board of Directors of Danger, Inc., the maker of the HipTop (aka SideKick from T-Mobile). In May of 2004, upon nomination by Dr. Tom Miller, Woz received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from North Carolina State University for his contribution to the field of personal computing.
In 2005, Woz was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Kettering University, in Flint, Michigan. He also received an honorary Doctor of Science from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
In 2006, Wheels of Zeus was closed, and Wozniak co-founded Acquicor Technology, a shell company for acquiring technology companies and developing them, with Apple alumni Ellen Hancock and Gil Amelio.
In September 2006, W. W. Norton released his autobiography, iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It (ISBN 0393061434).
My Own Words
Stephen Gary Wozniak was born on August 11th 1950 in Saint Jose California. He was an American Engineer but he turned into philanthropist. He is famous for his inventions and the contribution of founding the apple with Steve Jobs 1976, and he created Apple 1 and 2 in mid 1970s. Apple 2 was most selling computer in late 1970s and early 1980s, and popular as personal computer. He has a lot of nicknames such as WOZ, or Wizard WOZ. WOZ stands for wheel of Zeus. But other Steve, Steve Job is more co founder of company Apples.
References
- http://www.woz.org/letters/general/53.html
- http://www.fool.com/research/2000/features000302.htm
- "The Wizardry of Woz", excerpt from Wozniak autobiography, iWoz