American computer engineer Steve Wozniak, along with the legendary Steve Jobs, managed to revolutionize the world of computers. In 1975, they assembled their first device, vaguely reminiscent of a modern PC, and already in 1980 became millionaires and legislators in the computer industry. Steve Wozniak, whose biography will be described in this article, is a brilliant inventor and co-founder of the great multi-billion dollar company Apple. Unfortunately, they rarely talk about his merits in the field of electronics, often recall his colleague - Steve Jobs. But who knows if Jobs would be a legend now if not for Wozniak.
Childhood and first passion
Stephen Gary Wozniak was born on August 11 in 1950 in the city of San Jose in the western United States. His parents were from Bukovina, his mother was German, his father was a Pole. They moved to the USA after World War II. Stephen's father, Francis Wozniak, graduated from California Institute of Technology and worked on the development of Lockheed's missile guidance system as an engineer. Little Steve often saw his father delving into appliances and trying to help him. So Steve Wozniak discovered his first and main passion - the world of electronics. Then he did not know that he would someday become the father of the computer revolution.
In the meantime, a fourth-grade student, a very young boy, Steve Wozniak rejoices in the victory at the BBC city competition of inventors. He presented to the jury a sophisticated calculator that he put together! Already in his school years, Steve became an employee of Sylvania. And after receiving a certificate of secondary education, he went to Berkeley to continue his studies there at the University of California. It soon became clear that the parents had a catastrophic lack of money to educate their son, so Steve Wozniak was forced to transfer to Den-As University. However, the guy soon left this institution as well.
Carier start
Stephen was a second-year student when he was offered a job at Hewlett-Packard. Without thinking twice, he dropped out and took the place of designer of calculators in an actively developing company. An interesting fact is that then, in 1975, at the disposal of all engineers, of whom there were about eighty people in the company, there was only one computer.
Apple Creation
In 1975, the first Altair-8800 computer appeared on the American market. He could not give 400 dollars for him at that time, but he must have had this “child of progress”! Therefore, he went the other way - he did it himself, using the Motorola microprocessor and several memory modules for this. Wozniak’s creation was several years ahead of the Altair-8800 device, which was already presented to the public, and was a truly amazing invention.
Assessing the work of Wozniak, his namesake and good friend Steve Jobs initiated the development of another computer model - one that would look like a fully assembled PC that would interest computer enthusiasts. To do this, to the invented PC, you had to add a keyboard, monitor and some RAM. Wozniak took the proposal skeptically, but nevertheless agreed. Friends sold their most valuable things (Wozniak - the scientific calculator Hewlett-Packard, and Jobs - a Volkswagen van) in order to be able to buy the necessary components for the future computer. The computer board assembled in the garage will soon become the platform for their first Apple I commercial project.
First sales
In early 1976, the guys received their first order in the amount of 25 PCs from a local electronics dealer, after which Wozniak left his job at Hewlett-Packard and devoted himself completely to his business. In 1976, namely on April 1, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs created, and in 1977 officially registered their company and named it Apple Computer, in honor of Beatles, the favorite group of friends, on whose albums there was always an apple logo.
First success
The simple and compact Apple I computer, created by two Steves in 1976, brought them their first profit. Devices worth $ 666 and 66 cents sold more than 600 units. And the release of the new Apple II model, more convenient and compact, completely turned a small garage company into a joint-stock company. Demand for Apple technology was incredible, very quickly the company won a large share of the computer market. In 1980, Wozniak and Jobs became millionaires.
Achievements
Steve Wozniak became the father of a revolution in the world of computers. It was up to him how users perceive their new computers. The perfectionist Jobs worked on the external design of the devices, but the master Wozniak worked on the convenience of their use. Most programs for Apple computers were written by him. For printers, the release of which soon became one of the areas of the company's work, Wozniak also created most of the software. The programming language Calvin, a computer game called Breakout and a set of virtual structures of the sixteen-bit processor SWEET-16 are also Wozniak's designs.
Two Steve
Although the names of the two Steves were different (Steven and Stephen), they sounded the same. Employees could not name them by name, so they often called their leaders as "Steve" and "Second Steve." Steve Wozniak (whose photo rarely appeared and flickers in periodicals) had many nicknames and pseudonyms. He was called “The Woz”, “iWoz”, and “Wizard of Woz”. A friend and associate of Jobs simply called him "Woz."
Life outside Apple
In 1981, Wozniak, while taking off on his plane to Santa Cruz, was in a plane crash. Fortunately, everything worked out and Stephen did not receive serious injuries. The only thing that bothered him after the accident was amnesia. He did not remember the incident itself, nor his stay in the hospital, nor the simple everyday activities that he dealt with after he was discharged. Steve had to collect piecemeal information from other people. The memory soon returned to him, mainly due to games on the Apple II.
After the crash, Stephen did not return to the company, but devoted all his time to creating a family. He married Candy Clark, whom he liked to call a “superwoman” for her last name, similar to the last name of superman Kent Clark, a well-known US comic book hero.
At the same time, Wozniak returned to the University of California to continue his studies. In 1986, he received a bachelor's degree (field of electrical and computer technology).
For two consecutive years (in 1982 and 1983), Stephen Wozniak sponsored the national rock festivals “The US Festival”, in which Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, U2, Scorpions and other rock legends took part. A feature of these festivals was the exhibition of novelties of world technology.
Freestyle swimming
In 1983, Stephen Wozniak decided to return to Apple as a lead engineer. But in February 1987 he left the company again, this time forever. The reason for this was the disappointment in Steve Jobs's best friend and companion.
After leaving Apple, Wozniak founded several high-tech companies, including the CL-9, which manufactures remote controls, and Wheels Of Zeus, which creates wireless GPS technology. In 2002, Steve joined the Board of Directors of Ripcord Networks Inc. and "Danger Inc.".
In addition, Stephen began active teaching and charity work. He sponsored the Los Gatos technology program, a county in which Stephen's children attended school. In 2004, for his contribution to the development of the personal computer industry, he received a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.
Another creation that Steve Wozniak presented to the world is the iWoz book, which describes the events of his life. It should be read to everyone who is interested in the history and features of creating modern computer technology.