Woz On Apple's Success

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Posted by ryuzaki0 on Thursday February 23, 2006 @05:10AM from the they've-been-doing-well-lately dept.

Frankenbuffer writes "The Globe and Mail today has a short interview with Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. Steve muses on spinning off iPod as a separate division. He also questions the move to Intel." From the article: "Microsoft wants to get out of the whole image of the big, black Darth Vader evil guy ... Innovation is probably going on within the company, because any time you put smart engineers in places eventually they wind up talking and innovating no matter how much you try to hold them back. I hope Microsoft improves and becomes more like Apple."

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Woz is a good man by CRCulver · 2006-02-23 05:17 · Score: 4, Interesting

Ever since I read Linzmayer's Apple Confidential , I've felt a little sorry for Steve Wozniak. Here's a man who was used by Steve Jobs to launch a brand and didn't even get justly compensated, and then he essentially gets forced out of his own company in a way much worse than Jobs' infamous departure.

But then I realized that, in spite of his lesser success and his challenges, Woz is probably a much happier man. Anyone who gives as much as he does to charity and cares as much about having disadvantaged kids must have a lot of inner peace.
1. Re:Woz is a good man by jcr · 2006-02-23 05:28 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Here's a man who was used by Steve Jobs to launch a brand and didn't even get justly compensated
  
  Woz made hundreds of millions of dollars. Without Jobs, he wouldn't have even left HP.
  
  -jcr
  
  --
  The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
2. Re:Woz is a good man by osgeek · 2006-02-23 05:55 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Exactly. The engineer in us all wants Woz to be the much-put-upon hero of the story, but looking at what Jobs and Woz did professionally *after* they were ousted is very telling. Woz tried his hand at a number of enterprises... none of which I can recall. I wonder why?
  
  Jobs, on the other hand, started NeXT; and though we can bicker somewhat about its market success, it was eventually sold to Apple for $400M and was extraordinarily innovative for its time. Afterward, Jobs was the single-most-responsible reason why Apple had its turn-around. He brought Pixar to its successful heights. He envisioned, brought about, and championed changes to the way we think about computer styling, music players, and animated entertainment.
  
  Wozniak sounds like a really nice guy. He was a brilliant engineer, no doubt. However, the real force behind his rise to success was the marketing brilliance of Steve Jobs. Jobs financially made Woz what he is today, and Woz should really be nothing but grateful. Slashdot probably is not the most receptive crowd to such heresy, but it is the truth.
  
  --
  Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
Re:IPods are the only reason why Apple still exist by jcr · 2006-02-23 05:25 · Score: 4, Interesting

Even if you remove the iPod from the picture, the Macintosh business is growing by double-digits, year over year. With the iPod, Apple's a sixty billion dollar company. Without it, they would probably be a thirty billion dollar company, which is still Freaking Huge.

-jcr

--
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Re:IPods are the only reason why Apple still exist by cyngus · 2006-02-23 05:30 · Score: 3, Interesting

Well, here in Ole Silicon Valley where I take the train every day to work (no, unfortunately not at Apple) they seem to have a lot of penetration. There are three laptops that I see on the train, PowerBooks, ThinkPads, and Dell whatevers. I'd say I see each in about equal numbers. Given that I have a bais to notice PowerBooks ('cause they're dead sexy!) maybe PB's account for more like 20%. Still, pretty good numbers in the Valley where I'd say a lot of the tech trend setters are.
Actually having chatted with Woz.... by RzUpAnmsCwrds · 2006-02-23 06:36 · Score: 4, Interesting

Having actually met (and chatted with) Woz a few months back, just after the Intel transition was announced, I got the impression that he was cautiously optimistic. He understood the problems with the G4 and the G5, but he was concerned about Macs becoming too "PC-like" - what differentiates Macs from PCs now? He also knew about the fact that hackers had gotten OS X (the development release at the time) to run on common PCs, but he didn't seem to be nearly as concerned about it as Apple seems to be now (not surprising considering his legacy).

Interestingly, Woz denied having anything to do with ADB (although he is frequently cited as the inventor), he carries a RAZR (despite his association with Danger, the company that produces the Sidekick) and a Bluetooth headset.

I happened to have a Sony MagicLink with me, and Woz indicated that he hadn't seen someone actually using one in years.
Re:Apple... by dodobh · 2006-02-23 10:39 · Score: 4, Interesting

Maybe in the US. In India, the only Macs I have seen belong to either Americans (or a few Europeans), or someone who has been given a Mac by the company. The popular geek portables are the Acer Turion based laptops (at ~ 1K USD), since battery life is not the important criterion for a portable here.

Getting access to electric power is easy, it is the price that is a killer issue.

--
I can throw myself at the ground, and miss.