Steve Wozniak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Steve Wozniak
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Wozniak in 2017
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| Born |
Stephen Gary Wozniak
August 11, 1950 San Jose, California, U.S.
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| Other names |
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| Citizenship | United States Serbia |
| Education | University of Colorado Boulder De Anza College University of California, Berkeley (BS) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1971–present |
| Known for |
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| Spouse(s) |
Alice Robertson
(m. 1976–1980)Candice Clark
(m. 1981–1987)Suzanne Mulkern
(m. 1990–2004)Janet Hill
(m. 2008) |
| Children | 3 |
| Call sign | ex-WA6BND (ex-WV6VLY) |
Stephen Gary Wozniak ( born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname "Woz", is an American electrical engineer, computer programmer, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Computer with his early business partner Steve Jobs. He is widely recognized as one of the most prominent pioneers of the personal computer revolution.
Contents
- Early life
- Pre-Apple
- Apple formation and success
- Plane crash and temporary leave from Apple
- UC Berkeley and return to Apple product development
- Final departure from Apple workforce
- Post-Apple
- Inventions
- Philanthropy
- Honors and awards
- Views on artificial superintelligence
- Personal life
- Interesting facts about Steve Wozniak
- Steve Wozniak quotes
- See also
Early life
Stephen Gary Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950, in San Jose, California. His mother, Margaret Louise Wozniak (née Kern) (1923–2014), was from Washington state, and his father, Francis Jacob "Jerry" Wozniak (1925–1994) of Michigan, was an engineer for the Lockheed Corporation. Wozniak graduated from Homestead High School in 1968, in Cupertino, California. Steve has one brother, Mark Wozniak, a former tech executive who lives in Menlo Park. He also has one sister, Leslie Wozniak. She is a grant adviser at Five Bridges Foundation, which helps at-risk youths in San Francisco.
Pre-Apple
In 1969, Wozniak was expelled from the University of Colorado Boulder in his first year for hacking the university's computer system.
He re-enrolled at De Anza College in Cupertino before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, in 1971. In June of that year, for a self-taught engineering project, Wozniak designed and built his first computer with his friend Bill Fernandez. They named it "Cream Soda" after their favorite beverage. A newspaper reporter stepped on the power supply cable and blew up the computer, but it served Wozniak as "a good prelude to my thinking 5 years later with the Apple I and Apple II computers". Before focusing his attention on Apple, he was employed at Hewlett-Packard (HP), where he designed calculators. It was during this time that he dropped out of Berkeley and befriended Steve Jobs.
Wozniak was introduced to Jobs by Fernandez, who attended Homestead High School with Jobs in 1971. Jobs and Wozniak became friends when Jobs worked for the summer at HP.
Their first business partnership began when Wozniak read an article titled "Secrets of the Little Blue Box" from the October 1971 issue of Esquire, and started to build his own "blue boxes" that enabled one to make long-distance phone calls at no cost. Jobs, who handled the sales of the blue boxes, managed to sell some two hundred of them for $150 each, and split the profit with Wozniak. Jobs later told his biographer that if it had not been for Wozniak's blue boxes, "there wouldn't have been an Apple."
In 1975, Wozniak began designing and developing the computer that would eventually make him famous, the Apple I.
Apple formation and success
By March 1, 1976, Wozniak completed the basic design of the Apple I computer. He alone designed the hardware, circuit board designs, and operating system for the computer. Wozniak originally offered the design to HP while working there, but was denied by the company on five occasions. Jobs then advised Wozniak to start a business of their own to build and sell bare printed circuit boards of the Apple I. To raise the money they needed to build the first batch of the circuit boards, Wozniak sold his HP scientific calculator while Jobs sold his Volkswagen van.
On April 1, 1976, Jobs and Wozniak formed the Apple Computer Company (now called Apple Inc.). The two decided on the name "Apple" shortly after Jobs returned from Oregon and told Wozniak about his time spent on an apple orchard there.
After the company was formed, Jobs and Wozniak made one last trip to the Homebrew Computer Club to give a presentation of the fully assembled version of the Apple I. Paul Terrell, who was starting a new computer shop in Mountain View, California, called the Byte Shop, saw the presentation and was impressed by the machine. Terrell told Jobs that he would order 50 units of the Apple I and pay $500 (equivalent to $2,570 in 2022) each on delivery, but only if they came fully assembled, as he was not interested in buying bare printed circuit boards.
Together the duo assembled the first boards in Jobs's parents' Los Altos home; initially in his bedroom and later (when there was no space left) in the garage. Wozniak's apartment in San Jose was filled with monitors, electronic devices, and computer games that he had developed. They sold their first 50 system boards to Terrell later that year.
In November 1976, Jobs and Wozniak received substantial funding from a then-semi-retired Intel product marketing manager and engineer named Mike Markkula. At the request of Markkula, Wozniak resigned from his job at HP and became the vice president in charge of research and development at Apple. Wozniak's Apple I was similar to the Altair 8800, the first commercially available microcomputer, except the Apple I had no provision for internal expansion cards. With expansion cards, the Altair could attach to a computer terminal and be programmed in BASIC. In contrast, the Apple I was a hobbyist machine. Wozniak's design included a $25 CPU (MOS 6502) on a single circuit board with 256 bytes of ROM, 4K or 8K bytes of RAM, and a 40-character by 24-row display controller. Apple's first computer lacked a case, power supply, keyboard, and display—all components that had to be provided by the user. Eventually about 200 Apple I computers were produced in total.
After the success of the Apple I, Wozniak designed the Apple II, the first personal computer with the ability to display color graphics, and BASIC programming language built in. Inspired by "the technique Atari used to simulate colors on its first arcade games", Wozniak found a way of putting colors into the NTSC system by using a US$1 chip, while colors in the PAL system are achieved by "accident" when a dot occurs on a line, and he says that to this day he has no idea how it works. During the design stage, Jobs argued that the Apple II should have two expansion slots, while Wozniak wanted eight. After a heated argument, during which Wozniak threatened that Jobs should "go get himself another computer", they decided to go with eight slots. Jobs and Wozniak introduced the Apple II at the April 1977 West Coast Computer Faire. Wozniak's first article about the Apple II was in Byte magazine in May 1977. It became one of the first highly successful mass-produced personal computers in the world.
Wozniak also designed the Disk II floppy disk drive, released in 1978 specifically for use with the Apple II series to replace the slower cassette tape storage.
In 1980, Apple went public to instant and significant financial profitability, making Jobs and Wozniak both millionaires. The Apple II's intended successor, the Apple III, released the same year, was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984.
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During the early design and development phase of the original Macintosh, Wozniak had a heavy influence over the project along with Jef Raskin, who conceived the computer. Later named the "Macintosh 128k", it would become the first mass-produced personal computer featuring an integral graphical user interface and mouse. The Macintosh would also go on to introduce the desktop publishing industry with the addition of the Apple LaserWriter, the first laser printer to feature vector graphics.
Plane crash and temporary leave from Apple
On February 7, 1981, the Beechcraft Bonanza A36TC which Wozniak was piloting (and not qualified to operate) crashed soon after takeoff from the Sky Park Airport in Scotts Valley, California. The airplane stalled while climbing, then bounced down the runway, broke through two fences, and crashed into an embankment. Wozniak and his three passengers—then-fiancée Candice Clark, her brother Jack Clark, and Jack's girlfriend, Janet Valleau—were injured. Wozniak sustained severe face and head injuries, including losing a tooth, and also suffered for the following five weeks from anterograde amnesia, the inability to create new memories. He had no memory of the crash, and did not remember his name while in the hospital or the things he did for a time after he was released. He would later state that Apple II computer games were what helped him regain his memory. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation report cited premature liftoff and pilot inexperience as probable causes of the crash.
Wozniak did not immediately return to Apple after recovering from the airplane crash.
UC Berkeley and return to Apple product development
Later in 1981, after recovering from the plane crash, Wozniak re-enrolled at UC Berkeley to complete his Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences degree that he started there in 1971 (and which he would finish in 1986).
In 1982, Wozniak returned to Apple product development, desiring no more of a role than that of an engineer and a motivational factor for the Apple workforce.
Final departure from Apple workforce
Even with the success he had helped to create at Apple, Wozniak believed that the company was hindering him from being who he wanted to be, and that it was "the bane of his existence". He enjoyed engineering, not management, and said that he missed "the fun of the early days". As other talented engineers joined the growing company, he no longer believed he was needed there, and by early 1985, Wozniak left Apple again, stating that the company had "been going in the wrong direction for the last five years". He then sold most of his stock.
Post-Apple
After his career at Apple, Wozniak founded CL 9 in 1985, which developed and brought the first programmable universal remote control to market in 1987, called the "CORE".
Beyond engineering, Wozniak's second lifelong goal had always been to teach elementary school because of the important role teachers play in students' lives. Eventually, he did teach computer classes to children from the fifth through ninth grades, and teachers as well.
In 2001, Wozniak founded Wheels of Zeus (WOZ) to create wireless GPS technology to "help everyday people find everyday things much more easily". In 2002, he joined the board of directors of Ripcord Networks, Inc., joining Apple alumni Ellen Hancock, Gil Amelio, Mike Connor, and Wheels of Zeus co-founder Alex Fielding in a new telecommunications venture. Later the same year he joined the board of directors of Danger, Inc., the maker of the Hip Top.
In 2006, Wheels of Zeus was closed, and Wozniak founded Acquicor Technology, a holding company for acquiring technology companies and developing them, with Apple alumni Hancock and Amelio. From 2009 through 2014 he was chief scientist at Fusion-io. In 2014 he became chief scientist at Primary Data, which was founded by some former Fusion-io executives.
Silicon Valley Comic Con (SVCC) is an annual pop culture and technology convention at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The convention was co-founded by Wozniak and Rick White, with Trip Hunter as CEO. Wozniak announced the annual event in 2015 along with Marvel legend Stan Lee.
In October 2017, Wozniak founded Woz U, an online educational technology service for independent students and employees. As of December 2018, Woz U was licensed as a school with the Arizona state board.
Though permanently leaving Apple as an active employee in 1985, Wozniak chose to never remove himself from the official employee list, and continues to represent the company at events or in interviews. Today he receives a stipend from Apple for this role, estimated in 2006 to be US$120,000 per year. He is also an Apple shareholder.
At the end of 2020, Wozniak announced the launch of a new company helmed by him, Efforce. Efforce is described as a marketplace for funding ecologically friendly projects.
In September 2021, it was reported that Wozniak was also starting a company alongside co-founder Alex Fielding named Privateer Space to address the problem of space debris. Privateer Space debuted the first version of its space traffic monitoring software on March 1, 2022.
Inventions
Wozniak is listed as the sole inventor on the following Apple patents:
- US Patent No. 4,136,359: "Microcomputer for use with video display"—for which he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
- US Patent No. 4,210,959: "Controller for magnetic disc, recorder, or the like"
- US Patent No. 4,217,604: "Apparatus for digitally controlling PAL color display"
- US Patent No. 4,278,972: "Digitally-controlled color signal generation means for use with display"
Philanthropy
In 1990, Wozniak helped found the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He is the founding sponsor of the Tech Museum, Silicon Valley Ballet and Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose. Also since leaving Apple, Wozniak has provided all the money, and much onsite technical support, for the technology program in his local school district in Los Gatos. Un.U.Son. (Unite Us In Song), an organization Wozniak formed to organize the two US festivals, is now primarily tasked with supporting his educational and philanthropic projects. In 1986, Wozniak lent his name to the Stephen G. Wozniak Achievement Awards (popularly known as "Wozzie Awards"), which he presented to six Bay Area high school and college students for their innovative use of computers in the fields of business, art, and music.
Honors and awards
Because of his lifetime of achievements, multiple organizations have given Wozniak awards and recognition, including:
- In 1979, Wozniak was awarded the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award.
- In 1985, both he and Steve Jobs received the National Medal of Technology from US President Ronald Reagan, the country's highest honor for achievements related to technological progress.
- Later he donated funds to create the "Woz Lab" at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 1998, he was named a Fellow of the Computer History Museum "for co-founding Apple Computer and inventing the Apple I personal computer."
- In 2000, Wozniak received the American Computer & Robotics Museum's George R. Stibitz Computing and Communications Innovator Award "for inventing the Apple I & Apple II computers & for co-founding of the Apple Computer Company." In 2022, Wozniak received the museum's Lifetime Achievement award for his role in the invention of the Apple I & II computers and the co-founding Apple. He has also personally signed and donated an Apple I to the museum, and is listed as one of the museum's "founders" level donors for this donation.
- In September 2000, Wozniak was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2001 he was awarded the 7th Annual Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment.
- The American Humanist Association awarded him the Isaac Asimov Science Award in 2011.
- In 2004, Wozniak was given the 5th Annual Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology.
- He was awarded the Global Award of the President of Armenia for Outstanding Contribution to Humanity Through IT in 2011.
- On February 17, 2014, in Los Angeles, Wozniak was awarded the 66th Hoover Medal from IEEE President & CEO J. Roberto de Marca. The award is presented to an engineer whose professional achievements and personal endeavors have advanced the well-being of humankind and is administered by a board representing five engineering organizations: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the American Society of Civil Engineers; the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers; and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
- The New York City Chapter of Young Presidents' Organization presented their 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award to Wozniak on October 16, 2014, at the American Museum of Natural History.
- In November 2014, Industry Week added Wozniak to the Manufacturing Hall of Fame.
- On June 19, 2015, Wozniak received the Legacy for Children Award from the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose. The Legacy for Children Award honors an individual whose legacy has significantly benefited the learning and lives of children. The purpose of the Award is to focus Silicon Valley's attention on the needs of our children, encouraging us all to take responsibility for their well-being. Candidates are nominated by a committee of notable community members involved in children's education, health care, human and social services, and the arts. The city of San Jose named a street "Woz Way" in his honor. The street address of the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose is 180 Woz Way.
- On June 20, 2015, The Cal Alumni Association (UC Berkeley's Alumni Association) presented Wozniak with the 2015 Alumnus of the Year Award. "We are honored to recognize Steve Wozniak with CAA's most esteemed award", said CAA President Cynthia So Schroeder '91. "His invaluable contributions to education and to UC Berkeley place him among Cal's most accomplished and respected alumni."
- In March 2016, High Point University announced that Wozniak will serve as their Innovator in Residence. Wozniak was High Point University's commencement speaker in 2013. Through this ongoing partnership, Wozniak will connect with High Point University students on a variety of topics and make campus-visits periodically.
- In March 2017, Wozniak was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 18 on its list of the 200 Most Influential Philanthropists and Social Entrepreneurs.
- Wozniak is the 2021 recipient of the IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award "for pioneering the design of consumer-friendly personal computers."
Honorary degrees
For his contributions to technology, Wozniak has been awarded a number of Honorary Doctoral degrees, which include the following:
- University of Colorado Boulder: 1989
- North Carolina State University: 2004
- Kettering University: 2005
- Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale: 2005
- ESPOL University in Ecuador: 2008
- Michigan State University, in East Lansing 2011
- Concordia University in Montreal, Canada: June 22, 2011
- State Engineering University of Armenia: November 11, 2011
- Santa Clara University: June 16, 2012
- University Camilo José Cela in Madrid, Spain: November 8, 2013
- Lincoln Law School in San Jose, California: May 19, 2023
Views on artificial superintelligence
Wozniak says that he is no longer worried about the possibility of superintelligence emerging because he is skeptical that computers will be able to compete with human "intuition": "A computer could figure out a logical endpoint decision, but that's not the way intelligence works in humans". Wozniak added that if computers do become superintelligent, "they're going to be partners of humans over all other species just forever".
Personal life
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Wozniak lives in Los Gatos, California. He was married to slalom canoe gold-medalist Candice Clark from June 1981 to 1987. They have three children together, the youngest being born after their divorce was finalized. His current spouse is Janet Hill.
In 2006, he co-authored with Gina Smith his autobiography, iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It. The book made The New York Times Best Seller list.
Wozniak has discussed his personal disdain for money and accumulating large amounts of wealth. He told Fortune magazine in 2017, "I didn't want to be near money, because it could corrupt your values ... I really didn't want to be in that super 'more than you could ever need' category." He also said that he only invests in things "close to his heart". When Apple first went public in 1980, Wozniak offered $10 million of his own stock to early Apple employees, something Jobs refused to do.
In November 2023, Wozniak suffered a minor stroke while preparing to speak at a conference in Mexico City. He was hospitalized briefly before returning home.
Interesting facts about Steve Wozniak
- The name on Wozniak's birth certificate is "Stephan Gary Wozniak". His mother said that she intended it to be spelled "Stephen", which is what he uses.
- Wozniak has been referred to frequently by the nickname "Woz", or "The Woz"; he has also been called "The Wonderful Wizard of Woz" and "The Second Steve" (in regard to his early business partner and longtime friend, Steve Jobs).
- In the early 1970s, Wozniak's blue box design earned him the nickname "Berkeley Blue".
- Wozniak has credited watching Star Trek and attending Star Trek conventions while in his youth as a source of inspiration for his starting Apple Computer
- The Apple I sold for $666.66. Wozniak later said he had no idea about the relation between the number and the mark of the beast, and that he came up with the price because he liked "repeating digits".
- On Wozniak's diploma from Berkeley, his name is listed as Rocky Raccoon Clark. Wozniak had to use a fake name to avoid publicity as his own name was well-known at the time.
- Wozniak became a Serbian citizen in December 2023.
- He is considered a "super fan" of the NHL ice hockey team San Jose Sharks.
- Wozniak has the condition prosopagnosia (face blindness).
Steve Wozniak quotes
- "If you love what you do and are willing to do what it takes, it's within your reach."
- The easier it is to do something, the harder it is to change the way you do it."
- "To give of yourself is much more important than giving a gift you can buy."
- "Wherever smart people work, doors are unlocked."
- "Imagination is something you do alone."
See also
In Spanish: Steve Wozniak para niños
- Apple IIGS (limited edition case molded with Woz's signature)
- Group coded recording (encoding methods for representing data)
- Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (1984 book)
- Information Age (which Wozniak and Jobs helped pioneer)
- Woz Challenge Cup (segway polo world championship)
