
How Woz Gets Things Done - robg
http://lifehacker.com/5222989/how-apple-co+founder-steve-wozniak-gets-things-done
======
chanux
What the woz has for startups in that article...

"...I really urge you not to think you can start a whole company and business
with just ideas on paper, because you'll end up owning so few of those ideas.
You have to create a working model, something that you can show people and
demonstrate that it works, and then you can start building a future for it."

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blogimus
You should read his rationale for using Eudora. Here's a snippet:

 _Any feature in the menu list, any action there, can be added as a button. I
changed it so I have a vertical menu bar, so I can have tons and tons of pre-
made buttons saved right where I want them up top, and I learn where those
place are. You can script actions to the buttons, too, so I can quickly copy
messages to my assistants._

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benatkin
I'd like to see them do a "How RMS gets things done" article. What do you use
for email? Emacs. What browser do you use? I don't use a browser. Etc. Etc.
Etc.

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jcromartie
> When we first started with Apple computers, it was my dream that everyone
> would learn to program, and that was how they'd use their computer.

Aside from the GTD fluff, this is a great article about Woz :)

~~~
jasongullickson
I still think this is a valid goal, and would love to explore ways to make it
happen.

~~~
pgebhard
It's all just a degree of abstraction. Someone could say you were
"programming" if you were using Automator. Explain more specifically to what
level you think people should be programming their computers, because I think
it will never happen to the level of writing actual high-level language source
code, ala Python. People like looking at and clicking on/touching/interacting
with pretty pictures/icons. I guess you might mean something that allows
people to piece together actions (functions) to describe some goal they'd
like. For example, "Purchase with CREDIT CARD -> from GROCERY STORE -> LAST
WEEK'S GROCERY LIST -> deliver to HOME ADDRESS -> after TUESDAY CLASS TIME".
Isn't Ubiquity trying to act as something like natural language processing in
Firefox?

~~~
jasongullickson
_It's all just a degree of abstraction._

I disagree in that when learning to program in BASIC on the Apple II, you are
a mere PEEK and POKE away from the hardware; go any lower than that and you
are no longer talking about abstraction (as we refer to it) but hard realities
of electrical engineering. One floor down and you are the common denominator
that defines everything we refer to as a "computer" (in the modern vernacular)
and mastering this will provide you with insight which spans across all
contemporary systems and many in the perceivable future.

Setting the "ground floor" of programming at anything above this level narrows
your scope and greatly increases the potential of your knowledge becoming
obsolete.

Someday this will change, and the basis of future systems will not be rooted
in the hardware models of today, and it will be great because then we'll all
have something new to learn.

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coglethorpe
What I'm most impressed with isn't Woz's obvious technical birlliance, it's
how he's just a decent human being. He presented his ideas to HP before
leaving, rather than letting lawyers sort it out if need be. He sold stock to
employees, rather than to a single wealthy investor. How he just wanted to be
known for designing something great rather than just grab money. Every public
appearance I've seen with him has confirmed that.

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jalammar
If you enjoyed this interview, you're sure to love his book.

iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-
Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It [http://www.amazon.com/iWoz-Computer-
Invented-Personal-Co-Fou...](http://www.amazon.com/iWoz-Computer-Invented-
Personal-Co-Founded/dp/0393061434)

It's a really interesting look into Woz's mind and his life. It's especially
endearing to engineers. I couldn't put it down till I finished it.

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edw519
Nice article. I think a better topic would be, "How Woz Got Things Done." For
a quick read, try Chapter 3 of "Founders at Work", which is well worth the
price of the whole book.

[http://www.amazon.com/Founders-Work-Stories-Startups-
Problem...](http://www.amazon.com/Founders-Work-Stories-Startups-Problem-
Solution/dp/1430210788/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240577673&sr=8-1#)

This is Jessica Livingston's (of YC) interview of Woz. Specifically I love the
way he talked about designing the Apple II. Even though it was hardware, it
totally applied to the design and development of software. Perfectly suited to
natural optimizers (aren't we all) who want to keep their finger on the pulse
of every detail of their project.

This changed the way I treated my own work. No detail is too small and there's
always plenty of room in my personal memory for whatever I need to remember.
It's made a big difference.

~~~
wallflower
Jessica Livingston posted her interview of Woz on the Founders at Work
website. It's one of my favorite in the book because you really get a sense of
the pure hacker/engineering genius Woz is. If you do not already own it,
consider buying the book through edw519's link - it's an amazing trove. I
bought my copy at Powell's Bookstore in Portland.

<http://www.foundersatwork.com/steve-wozniak.html>

~~~
davi
_It's because I could never build anything, I just competed with myself to
come up with ideas that nobody else would come up with._

Avoided local maxima of the at-that-time-doable, while still _making_ \--
completing designs on paper = iterating faster. Iterate more times than
competition on paper, never build anything, then when time comes to build, you
can supersede competition.

This approach may only work for perfectly logical, deterministic systems, like
computers.

~~~
access_denied
This comment is a positive example of what I want to see here on HN. It's not
just commenting or adding an association one had. It's developing the material
further. He really said something. That's good.

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coglethorpe
"...every computer since the Apple I ... had a keyboard..."

One can now change it. "Every phone since the iPhone _didn't_ have a keyboard"
:-)

~~~
access_denied
THis is the kind of joke I could tolerate around HN, because it is not only a
(lame) joke but also makes a point about HUI.

