Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple along with Steve Jobs, turns 59 today
Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple along with Steve Jobs, turns 59 today
It is not always nice to be the underdog, but that is what Wozniak often called the 'Other Steve' of Apple has been for most of his life. But while he was with Apple, he contributed quite a bit to the growth of the company.
While Woz has been the creator of the Apple I, perhaps his greatest claim to fame has been the fact that he built the Apple II, which went on to become one of the bestselling computers of the 70s and the 80s.
Bedroom start-up
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Great achiever: Though called Apple's 'Other Steve', Woz has made immense contributions to computing
Pic/Al Luckow |
Both Jobs and Woz belonged to the days of the garage start-up, and to start Apple, Woz sold his HP scientific calculator and Jobs sold his Volkswagen van, and together, they raised $1,300. Initially, they put together the first Apple prototypes in Jobs' bedroom, moving on to Jobs' garage when there was no space in the bedroom.
While the Apple I came in the form of a circuit board that hobbyists could tweak, the Apple II became a success because it came as a full-fledged computer. While one reason why it succeeded was because of the spreadsheet package VisiCalc, Woz's genius was also a major player. For, it was Woz who introduced high resolution in the Apple II, allowing people to use pictures and not just text. He also wrote most of the software for the Apple II.
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The greatest award bestowed upon Woz was the National Medal of Technology, which he received in 1985. The NMT is the highest honour the US can confer to a US citizen for achievements related to technological progress.
But great men have their setbacks, and Woz suffered in 1981 when he had an accident and crashed his Beechcraft Bonanza plane. This gave him amnesia, causing him to forget that he had crashed. Fortunately, he regained his memory by piecing together what people told him about the accident.
But Woz's memory issues apart, his contributions to computing are so grand that the world will never forget them.
QUICK TAKE>>Steve Wozniak created the Apple and the Apple II
>>He is one of the pioneers of computing
>>He has continued to innovate even after moving away from Apple
Beyond Apple>>1987: Founded CL 9, which developed the first universal remote control
>>2001: Co-founded Wheels of Zeus to create wireless GPS technology
>>2009: Joined Fusion-io, a data storage and server company, as chief scientist
Source: Wikipedia
