Ask Steve Wozniak Anything

Where Are Today's Hobbyists? by eldavojohn · 2012-10-01 04:25 · Score: 5, Interesting

In your mind, where is the heart of today's computer hobbyists. I read Make magazine, I own an Arduino, some Raspberry Pis, a couple XBees, etc. I'm probably too young to remember the glory days of machines you could actually open and tinker with so could you tell me today where I can find the closest thing to that? Or at least where you go to satiate your inner tinkerer?

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Re:Where Are Today's Hobbyists? by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 05:29 · Score: 5, Informative

Back in the days when we bought parts and built our own devices there was great variation. Not many in a single school had that 'build' life. And most of it was constructing kits according to instruction, not creating new things yourself. So if you built your own things from nothing but a goal, you were unusual when young. The same thing is the case today, with the Make crowd, formal and informal. It may not be reduced. It's just that the simplicity of the early days is gone so to us who have lived through it, things are not similar and available to all.
Humans all have similar brains, and the inner tinkerer refers to a slice of our brains. On the average, I believe that it's fairly constant, this slice. If there is less room to build something impressive enough to motivate you, then the creativity looks for other outlets, like outstanding Facebook pages, blogs, YouTube videos, etc.

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Opinions on the Mutations of Tetris? by eldavojohn · 2012-10-01 04:26 · Score: 5, Interesting

I've played a bit of Tetris in my day and was reared on Gameboy Tetris, Tetris 2 on the SNES and Tetris Worlds for the Nintendo 64. I've since played a few other versions and remembered you being an avid submitter to Nintendo Power. So, Evets Kainzow, what's your opinion on the current state of Tetris (if you still play). Have you enjoyed the permutations on tetromino scoring and function in some of the later titles or do you see them as a tainted form of a pure game?

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How do you feel about Apple? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-01 04:29 · Score: 5, Interesting

How do you feel about the way Apple condcuts themselves today? They're the most powerful company ever now and yes they make a pretty good phone they're pretty evil too! Suing competition claiming they can't compete yet they have a huge selection of market share and dedicated user base and Apple has claimed this for decades of lawsuits and it hasn't stopped them from innovating :) Not to mention the incredibly overpriced products and support/repair!

In your opinion, are you happy with the way your baby has matured?

Re:How do you feel about Apple? by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 06:23 · Score: 5, Insightful

I always think first and foremost as a technology consumer and lover. Like all of us who appreciate the quality of Apple products, I have mixed feelings. I grew up with core values of openness and sharing of technology. When I ran dial-a-joke it was illegal to own, use or purchase your own telephone or answering machine. You couldn't connect anything to the phone jack except that which you leased from AT&T. You had little choice and there was no room for outside innovators. We techies all said this was a bad thing. You probably see the parallel.
Let's look at Apple. Apple's real rise from the small market-share Macintosh company to the iProducts of today began with iTunes and the iPod. This turned out to be a 2nd huge business which roughly doubled Apple's 'size'. If you remember, we ported iTunes to Windows. We now addressed 100% of the world's market with this integrated system (iPod/iTunes) and it began the era of Apple that we are now in. So why don't we port iTunes to Android? Did something get closed up? I love Apple products and iTunes and wish it were on my Android products too.
I don't have time to get into this far because I'm in the middle of 5 conference calls today and have a ton of engineering submissions to judge for an award and some iPhones to exchange so I'm sorry if things are going slowly here on Slashdot.

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Re:Why Freemason? by juanfgs · 2012-10-01 04:31 · Score: 5, Funny

As an open source fanatic, freemasonry has always rubbed me a little the wrong way

Would you like him better if he was an OpenMason?

Can Apple survive and/or flourish w/o Steve Jobs? by Lucas123 · 2012-10-01 04:33 · Score: 5, Interesting

The last time Apple lost Jobs, its vision and profitability went down the drain. What's different now?

Closed Source/ Closed Platform by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-01 04:37 · Score: 5, Interesting

In a similar vein to HerculesMO, how do you feel about Apple's transitions to closing their platforms, starting with the iOS products, and most recently, the Mountain Lion restriction on application downloads (which, to be fair, can be disabled). Do you feel differently about this for handhelds/tablets/phones versus more traditional computers? What about Apple's opposition to "jail-breaking" iPods and iPhones? Is that a legitimate concern, or should Apple back off?

capcha: penguin
Is /. telling me to switch to Linux? Because my Linux box is downstairs, and I'm lazy.

Computers today vs. past expectations by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-01 04:39 · Score: 5, Interesting

I'm really curious to know, in what ways do computers today conform to your vision or expectations of computers from the days of the Apple I and II?

I mean, at that time, what did you envision the future of computing to be and in what ways are you surprised or not surprised?

Re:Why Freemason? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-01 04:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Is he a FreeAsInBeerMason, or a FreeAsInSpeechMason?

Education by Killer+Instinct · 2012-10-01 04:42 · Score: 5, Interesting

Woz,
What changes would you recommend to fix the K-12 education system in the u.s. ?
-KI

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Re:Education by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 07:18 · Score: 5, Insightful

The sort of recommendations you hear are often about teaching procedures and outstanding teachers and alternate education approaches. But these recommendations have been the same for hundreds of years so they won't achieve the real change.
Computers offered a real change in the tools of the classroom, but they don't seem to have changed much. The learning is the same, only done via computers, for the most part. I had hoped for more.
I do want to feel a part of the big improvement someday, so I hope that there is some further step with computers. That would be when a computer becomes conscious and caring and becomes the best friend that each student wants to be with. It will look at their faces and speak the way that particular student likes and be a good friend more than a teacher.
One thing that has not changed over time in education is that we all, in a class, get the same material presentation together. The same pages as everyone else on Monday, the same pages on Tuesday, etc. Individuals as we are, we have different lapses along the way. A teacher could back up and explain something to fill in a gap, but each of the 30 students has different 'gaps'. The solution will be the equivalent of one teacher per student.
This opens the door to a student choosing to get only straight A's, and only studying subjects they want to. And there will be more room to teach thinking and creativity and not all the same answer, which is not even their own answer, but out of a book. It's a brave step, but right.
I learned the capital cities of all 50 states. How could anyone in life ever need to know such a worthless thing. The only worth is to show you can memorize it. But today it gets turned into a grade and a determination of what intelligence is. We have to break from that paradigm but can't with today's 30-student classes. Or should I say "day care?"
Schools are short of money because students don't get a vote and votes turn into money. It's a bad consequence of finding education to be a right and that means it has to be supplied by government. Government money follows votes. A family of 5 gets no more votes than a family of 2. Which wants the better school? But the votes by families of 2 are against more money for schools.

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Which of your design tricks are you proudest of? by fgrieu · 2012-10-01 04:46 · Score: 5, Interesting

My favorite is the Apple ][ disk controller, most notably the read synchronization and decoding achieving 5, then ultimately 6 useful data bits per raw 8 bits, using little discrete logic and a small (P)ROM.

Cloud computing by Arumator · 2012-10-01 04:49 · Score: 5, Interesting

What is your feeling about cloud computing and the way it is being hailed as the future of the IT industry?

All Questions All The Time... by doctechniqal · 2012-10-01 04:50 · Score: 5, Interesting

Woz, you no doubt get asked countless questions, by countless numbers of people, some of which you have been asked and have answered multiple times to the point where you're sick of continually having to answer them (or don't even bother). Conversely, I imagine there's something you'd love to talk about if only someone would ask you about it, but no one has. What I want to know is: what question has no one ever asked you, a question that you wish someone would finally get around to asking you and that you would love to respond to, and what is the answer you would give to that question?

Re:Why Freemason? by willda · 2012-10-01 04:52 · Score: 5, Informative

I understand enjoying the comradery and brotherhood of it (I'm an Eagle Scout myself) but what purpose does being a Freemason serve in your life and what do you enjoy most about it?

I am an Eagle Scout as well and a 30 yr Freemason (Past and current Master). Our main objective is not as you said to be more likely to do business with other Freemasons (though that does occur...don't you prefer to do business with people that you know as opposed to strangers?). Our objective is to help make good men even better. I am sure there are probably many men in your community that are masons that you might talk to for better information. We are an organization with secrets, not a secret organization. Dan

Re:Why Freemason? by vlm · 2012-10-01 05:16 · Score: 5, Interesting

We are an organization with secrets, not a secret organization

So you're saying the real organization is secret? OK then.

I'm the first in four generations not to be a mason. And with the advent of the internet there are really no masonic secrets anymore. And the topic is pretty interesting to me so I've struggled thru the Manly P Hall and friends books. The secrets are certain interpretations of some pretty esoteric stories along with some pretty impressive stagecraft and staged drama. Also I guess you could say some "inside jokes" but not really jokes. Also its historically been kind of a foundry / framework / startup for historical conspiracies, which does not mean your local temple is trying to take over the world or ever has. Stating this in the absolutely nicest way possible, its pretty much aesops fables for adults, in that its all about morality plays and ethics lessons but on an adult level. An inherently classist outlook in that the idea that 3rd level cannot even be interpreted until 2nd level is mastered, which depending on your outlook on life is either obvious (in which case you're a good masonic candidate) or horrible (in which case you're a good anti-masonic conspiracy theorist candidate). Probably would make a hell of an anime series.

"Ask a mason" would make an interesting /. interview, but making it more specific to Woz I really donno what to say.

Here's a fun one for "ask a mason" or "ask Woz about masonry". The requirement for belief in a supreme deity or whatever is a simplification of the long form and the long form seems to boil down to if I believe in physics and some philosophy I technically can fit. Analysis? Most opinions are probably going to reflect the responders biases more than being real analysis, but its something I've considered occasionally.

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"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger

Re:New stuff? by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 05:43 · Score: 5, Informative

Same as always my whole life. It's the fun 'toy' aspect of technology. I would take my kids to carnivals and spend $40 throwing darts or $40 tossing ping pong balls. Now we just download an app at home or on the sidewalk and it's free or nearly free and benefits our lives and leads us to love our technology, so the toys we adults have are very inexpensive!

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Re:Why Freemason? by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 05:47 · Score: 5, Informative

A lot of things about me don't get filtered. My wife at the time, in early Apple days, was in Eastern Star. If I became a Freemason I could go to more events with her. I did become a Freemason and know what it's about but it doesn't really fit my tech/geek personality. Still, I can be polite to others from other walks of life. After our divorce was filed I never attended again but I did contribute enough for a lifetime membership. There is nothing wrong with the Freemasons. It's like any group or religion or cult with various rituals. They may make no sense to many but they are fun for those who participate. There's no real political or institutional standing that can impress values on others, but I couldn't say that Freemasonry has explicit values beyond what any member perceives.

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Re:I know you like jokes by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 05:54 · Score: 5, Funny

Too many jokes to have a favorite. Your quote reminds me of a Blue Collar comedy response to the answer "make lemonade." Ron White said he wanted to find the person whose life gave them vodka."

I had favorite jokes in the days before PC but they were mostly Polish jokes. The Polish American Congress, inc. threatened me with lawsuits for defaming Polish people. I asked if it was ok to tell them as Italian jokes instead and they said, "fine."

I told a joke at the Engineering graduation at U. Colorado, Boulder once to point out how people don't think logically. Q: What do you call four Mexicans in Quicksand? A: Quatro cinco (sinko). It doesn't stereotype or demean Mexicans. It's a funny use of words. But I got told that I had offended 400 people.

When I took foreign languages I tried to get to the point where I could make a joke all in that language. Japanese words were so different than ours that I thought I'd never be able to construct a joke that any American would get. Then we learned that the word for umbrella was kasa. The next class day I was walking to class with my son and it started sprinkling. I pulled out my umbrella and said "mi casa su casa." (kasa).

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Re:Where do you think the iPhone is going? by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 06:38 · Score: 5, Interesting

It's wrong to look back. It's not scientific and testable. But I saw for the last few years one small screen in the midst of a lot of large screen and felt myself, as countless others must have, that the larger screens had more value. Blame me for taking the leeway to suggest that this was the one door Apple left wide open. iPhones are not inferior to other smartphones, and the cost is similar. iOS 6 is not inferior to Android. We could all get by with either of them. I never said this sort of thing about Windows. So there has to be some reason that Apple lost so many sales to other products. It may not be screen size as much as the number of players and products in the market. But are we saying the rest of the world has better marketing than Apple?

As an Apple shareholder, what matters is not sales or market share. It's profitability. Apple seems to stand alone in profit market-share. So the course they are taking is a good one. It's hard to guess whether profits would be greater or lesser under hypothetical scenarios.

The app store has changed our lives. We depend on Apple leadership. Most of the software I feel is in apps. You speak of iOS becoming less relevant as though other platforms are as good but I think of it more in terms of the fact that for all major platforms, there are more than enough apps and they are generally the same quality on each platform.

It's better to think constructively about what can be done with our mobile platforms to improve our lives more, rather than trying to throw darts and insults.

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Re:Thank You by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 06:46 · Score: 5, Interesting

So many say it and I feel that logically it's incorrect to thank me. Like in early Apple days I could not understand why anyone would ask an engineer for an autograph. I made it a point to remain an engineer rather than run a company. But your thank you's mean that you are happy with what technology has brought to your life. In that regard I have to thank myself too, ha ha.

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Re:Do you feel like you were dealt... by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 06:51 · Score: 5, Interesting

Our union was very lucky. I think it was luckier for Jobs since I had strong internal philosophies that didn't connect my happiness with business success or money or power. I built projects for myself and the Apple ][ was the 6th of those that Jobs saw (when he got into town) and said we could sell them. We always split the money evenly as far as I knew but money is not my thing in life. My best days were in the lab building things for myself. But I'm so nice that I give almost all my time now to young people and fans that I can help. I love my life the way it is and told that to Jobs in one of our last phone calls before his death.

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Re:3D printers by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 06:54 · Score: 5, Informative

I think 3D printers may be a big factor in the future hobby market. But sometimes such products have application outside of the hobby market, applications which you can't pin down at first. The Apple ][ could do a lot of things but the unseen killer app Visicalc really changed things. Maybe for 3D printers it's low cost and high resolution that will lead to something we can't imagine now. When we started Apple we didn't imagine enough memory to hold a song.

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Re:Where's left to conquer? by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 06:57 · Score: 5, Interesting

I am a technologist and don't like being a sociologist or politician. Words can be abused in those field but our code works or it doesn't work.

At first it seemed that our digital life would make us freer to be masters at getting what we needed solved, due to costs per application. But it led to digital codes which blocked our ability to copy things. The deep value is that you can record any TV show you watch but when they block the digital copying, you have to point a video camera at your TV screen. Of course these digital restrictions are much deeper than that but it seems that the companies and powerful win and the consumers lose in this game of civil rights. I worry that it will get worse, not better, over time.

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Re:Which of your design tricks are you proudest of by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 07:25 · Score: 5, Funny

Mine too. I had never worked with any disk drive of any type nor any operating system. A chance popped up that if I had a working floppy disk in 2 weeks I could go to the city of Las Vegas. Having no idea how they worked I put my head together and thought out a simple scheme with some clever parts (state machine) and it truly was a miracle. Today I have no idea how you create things in such a way. They couldn't have motivated me with money or stock, but getting to Las Vegas was worth it.

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Re:A simple questin by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 07:27 · Score: 5, Interesting

My greatest happiness is in my feelings about all people of this planet. I'm not part of any religion but life is very happy and the greatest experience of life (word play intended). But the worth of my life, especially conflicts and resolution, would not be possible without every single person who plays a role in this game of life. I walk through airports and look at everyone there, smiling, knowing that their existence somehow is part of the greatest thing to me. Even if someone came up and robbed me or killed me, I know that I'd consider that part of this great game of existence.

But this game would be nothing without a lot of jokes!

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Re:When was the last time... by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 07:32 · Score: 5, Interesting

I am so much a pacifist.

But once when I was very young, and I don't remember it directly, there was a bully and he chased me off or hit me. My mom said to fight my own battles. I misunderstood and came up and punched him. I did wind up with a black eye. I did not learn any important life lesson.

I believe in using brain to influence people, not braun.

Since my youth, I can't even remember having animosity toward any person. If we disagree, that's all. I can think my own way but never have to convince others. Dave Mason sang "there ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy, there's only you and me, and we just disagree." That means a lot to me. A lot of my personality and values comes from songs. Dylan sang "you were right from your side, I was right from mine, we're both just one too many mornings, and a thousand miles behind."

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Re:Your influence by SteveWoz · 2012-10-01 07:40 · Score: 5, Interesting

Apple is very complex. I like personal simplicity. I like to do what I'm good at, which is enjoying technology. I don't honestly feel I could do better than anyone reading this at a role in Apple. Jobs had the drive to run things and influence things. If there was something for sure where I'd be a great help to Apple, I'd be there in an instant, as Apple is #1 in my heart.

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