IWoz: Computer Geek To Cult Icon: How I Invented The Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, And Had Fun Doing It (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
If you're reading this, you owe it to a guy named steve. If you're peering at this through a finger-smudged screen, thank Steve Jobs. If you have a crumb-filled keyboard in front of a display, you owe Steve Wozniak.According to his own account in iWoz, everything in his life groomed him for his role in shaping the personal computer. His father was an engineer for Lockheed that instilled him a love of technology and a strong moral compass. He could see from a young age that computers were something great, even though in those days the main way to interact with them was enigmatic switches and lights. He never had the money to play with them directly, so he read about them, learned the logic behind the chips they used, and made a game out of improving the design of each new computer. He did this for years, playing a secret game of making the designers look like fools by tweaking their designs and reducing the complexity and cost of the design without sacrificing function.It was years before his put this to practice with Steve Jobs in the Apple 1 and later the Apple II, but when he did it was breathtaking. He applied all the tricks he had learned in his years to put together the first computer that the average person could use, one that out of the box interfaced with a TV and keyboard. More importantly, the Apple 1 just worked, as soon as you got it, unlike the kit computers of the day like the Altair 8800. After the Apple 1 came out, other companies took notice and started imitating it. This continued on with the wildly successful Apple II, which inspired the IBM PC, the granddaddy of just about every computer in the universe.Early on Steve describes how he decided that it was more important in his life to be happy and have fun rather than be rich and powerful, which explains a lot of the decisions he made in life. He intentionally never held onto his position as the founder of Apple, being more interested in designing technology than steering the fledgling company. This doesn't stop him from offering his criticisms aspects of Apple history, though often this is just to present his side of events. Whether or not he meets his own definition of success is somewhat open to interpretation. He certainly had fun, just like he claims on the cover, but like so many he has never lived up to the innovation he achieved early in life, a problem unique to visionaries like himself, but overcome by his comrade Steve Jobs who returned Apple to its former glory after faltering in the 90s. This book, which is awkward to attempt to start a sentence with, is a love letter to technology, and filled with detailed descriptions of how he overcame obstacles and engineered things from a TV jamming prank machine to the Apple II's fantastic floppy drive. His enthusiasm for these projects after all these years highlights his true ambition. It's not power and fame he seeks, it's fun and the thrill for coming up with an elegant solution to a tricky problem.
I know this one's been out for a while -- We recently watched the Steve Jobs movie. Sadly, it focused on what a schmuck Jobs appears to have been. I was hoping to learn more about the development of the personal computer and of apple as a company. Maybe this book does that? Wozniak looks happy in all the pictures.Reluctantly, I have to agree with reviewers who put the book down because it is written so badly. Truly. It reads as though someone wrote down Wozniak's casual conversation. I wish the second writer had added in historical context and other details. I almost gave up!But then, around page 100, it gets better! I think it is because Wozniak is writing about times that were very exciting for him. He begins to use place names, dates, the names of the other people involved, and speaks with more detail about the projects he worked on. I'm not an engineer; there are readers who have said that his claims about his own inventions and firsts are not true. It would have been great, again, if Gina Smith had rounded out the book with contemporary happenings in electronics and computer engineering.Those were exciting times, though! The best part of the book is when Wozniak talks about using a slide rule, and how revolutionary it was when HP came out with its first home-use calculator. I remember: my dad worked for Grumman in the late 1960s and early 1970s. One Chanukah (and it must have been before 1973, because my parents were still married), he gave our mom a calculator. It was a very nice gift and, as we were told, it was "not a toy." And, then! Did you know Wozniak was the creator of the Atari Breakout game? My best friend had an Atari system in the 70s and I remember playing Pong and Breakout and oh! how much fun it was! It was worth reading the book for these thrilling moments of nostalgia.So, I want give this more stars (maybe 2.5) because I did learn some of what I set out to learn. And, I kinda like the Woz. He's a little bit charming, a little bit annoying (much like the glossary in the back of this book.) I do think that I need to be deliberate and choose a well-crafted story for my next read.
What do You think about IWoz: Computer Geek To Cult Icon: How I Invented The Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, And Had Fun Doing It (2007)?
This book was an interesting read. I wanted to get a different view of Apple, one that didn't center around Steve Jobs and I feel I got that. In fact, I think he did a little too good of a job there. One of the main reasons I wanted to get a different perspective is to see the relationship between Woz and Jobs. This book talks about Jobs, but as it goes on and Apple begins, he is hardly mentioned. I can understand his reasoning behind this, as I'm sure there would be resentment toward the man that took a large part of credit for what you created, but don't omit him because of that. It was refreshing to hear it from a more technical point of view. I'm more of a software guy, but it was nice to learn about how these older technologies instead of the drama of the business world. As for those saying he is some stuck up, cocky prick... Its an memoir, what did you expect?My 3 stars are simply because 1) lack of mention of Jobs, whom I'm sure make more of an impression as Woz let on (although not as much as the media portrays...)2) The writing. I'm not a picky person, and by reading this review you'll know I'm no writer... But this story seemed like Woz was overly enthusiastic. I mean, it really does feel like a child trying to explain an action movie right after seeing it.
—Matt Bibby
A personal memoir, and a important counterpart to all the Svengali-like portrayals of Steve Jobs as the evil genius behind Apple. Because in the beginning there were the Two Steves, each a necessary part of the original Apple, and in this book, Steve Wozniak steps out from behind Jobs' shadow with a grin and a wave.Woz is a study in stereotypes--a brilliant engineer who thinks in electrons, and a socially-inept geek who can't talk to girls. A guy who wants to change the world for the better, and a gleeful early-adopter of cutting-edge technologies just because they are so COOL! He forgives chicanery and donates stock, he blows a bundle on a neo-Woodstock that he recalls with great fondness, he crashes an airplane, he teaches school and invents the universal remote and devotes massive amounts of time, money, and attention to the arts and to his beloved children. He's Thomas Edison, Santa Claus, and Gandhi all rolled into one.Bad things: the voice is difficult for me to read. Probably it sounds just like him, and in real life that would be doable, but on paper it comes across as juvenile and simplistic. Also, the flights of engineering enthusiasm are eye-glazing. Probably not for engineers, though. But I'm not one, and chances are, you aren't either. Eventually, I just skipped over the parts where he describes schematics, and that helped a lot.So, for it me it was a one-timer. But I'm glad I looked in.
—Gayle
For anyone thinking about reading this book, I would highly recommend doing the audio version. While Woz is a engineering genius, he is not an English major. If you are a person who requires perfect grammar, then this book is probably not for you. But, if you like history of technology and are curious about a huge icon in the tech world, then give the book a try. Sure, like most autobiographies and memoirs, it is pretty self congratulatory and a little over the top in some parts. Autobiographies are like that. I think sometimes people want them to be these humble experiences but would you be humble in the retelling of your story. Probably not.
—Kim
