

Apple's Steve Wozniak: 'We've lost a lot of control' - edw519
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/12/08/steve.wozniak.computers/index.html?hpt=C1

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rryyan
> _Despite his frustrations with gadgetry, Wozniak is still a gearhead. He
> says he carries five to 10 cell phones around with him at a given time.
> Sometimes he'll set up half a dozen of them, along with standalone GPS
> units, on his car's windshield, all navigating him to the same spot._

What?

(I have to say, I respect Woz as an engineer, but this kind of odd behavior
reduces his credibility as a popular technology prognosticator for me.)

~~~
ulysses
It doesn't seem that odd to me.

I can see carrying around multiple phones to test the features and usability
against each other.

I can see testing the GPS in multiple phones against one or more dedicated GPS
units.

~~~
electromagnetic
There's many reasons why you would use multiple GPS. I'm sure Woz was being
Woz and testing which works the best by flat out competing them against each
other and his own knowledge.

Plus I remember having a GPS tell me I was at my destination in downtown
Manchester when we were actually 5km from the street address. I had another
tell me to perform a U-turn on a one way street when I missed a turn that
didn't exist.

I don't see it as odd, I'm sure at once one time he was carrying 10 cell
phones to see which ones he actually wanted to keep. IIRC he said he usually
keeps an iPhone and a Blackberry on him at all times, which I'd imagine would
be his main pair, beyond that he'd probably simply be testing newer phones or
different styles to see if they're better.

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tjarratt
I feel that the same could have been said after/during the industrial
revolution. When the tools to enact change become so large that no one person
can build a product (whether that be a vehicle, or a desktop computer), there
will be someone warning that our dependence on technology is increasing.

Not that I don't agree with Woz, but I think it helps put this in perspective.
If the internet or our power grid had some massive failure how easily would
life continue? Would businesses continue to operate? Supply chains for food
and production? These are important questions, in my opinion.

~~~
electromagnetic
> When the tools to enact change become so large that no one person can build
> a product (whether that be a vehicle, or a desktop computer), there will be
> someone warning that our dependence on technology is increasing.

That's not correct, vehicles are regularly made from beginning to end by a
single person (the Ferrari Way). I think what you mean is that an _average_
person can no longer be expected to construct 9/10ths of what we believe we
use during a day. (I'd argue you use a chair, which is still easily
constructed, far more than you use a computer or a television. Our arses
basically migrate from chair, to chair, to bed.)

~~~
trafficlight
Maybe a Ferrari is assembled by one person, but it certainly wasn't
manufactured by one person. So that doesn't really count.

~~~
electromagnetic
Now you're playing technicalities. No one since 0 AD has likely manufactured
something solely by themselves, because a carpenter building a house wasn't
making his own nails and hammers and saws.

One person can easily manufacture a whole vehicle, no question about it. A
chinese man hand-built a (somewhat) replica Lamborghini in his basement; an
Italian man built his own supercar sans the Audi V8 engine; and people
regularly build small engines, and this guy built most of his own V8 bike
engine: [http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/04/15/bmw-
with-694cc-...](http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/04/15/bmw-with-694cc-
homemade-v8-engine/)

So I'm sorry, but it's easily capable. I wouldn't argue automobiles, because
by the simplest definition an automobile is very easy to self-manufacture
given that a vehicle doesn't require windshields, doors, lights, indicators,
anything.

One man today can still easily (with time) construct their own home from
ground up. I helped lay a 30'x30' cement floor with nothing but a shovel,
mixer and barrow. Beyond that the house is easy and I've literally done
everything else from brick laying to electrical and plumbing to siding and
framing.

Like I said, an average person cannot do these things today.

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jamespitts
This quote rocks: "I wanted to accelerate the world's advancement in the
social revolution that it would cause. So I gave away my designs for free."

------
bootload
_"... I didn't design this computer to make a lot of money, I wanted to
accelerate the world's advancement in the social revolution that it would
cause. So I gave away my designs for free. But eventually, Steve Jobs came and
said, 'Why don't we build it for (consumers)?' ..."_

Closest thing I've read by Woz explaining the origin of the Apple business
plan. Replace Woz with a herd of 'Woz-like' engineers and you get Apple now.
Removing Woz meant Apple also removed the freedom it once had.

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scalyweb
Irrelevant to most, but the tangled mess of network cables behind the "Woz" in
the interview really ticks me off. I'd love to have a word with the network
folks there.

~~~
Timothee
It was filmed at the Computer History Museum, so it's like that on purpose.
Though, it doesn't look like this is the one, I know that they have one of
Google's original racks which looks about as messy. (as seen here:
[http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/03/building-a-
computer...](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/03/building-a-computer-the-
google-way.html))

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hydo
I feel compelled to point out that Woz isn't Apple's anymore and hasn't been
for a long time unless I'm completely missing something.

