

Steve Wozniak says would consider return to Apple  - srikar
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-apple-wozniak-idUSTRE7375PU20110408

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sambeau
This is a very typical Woz story. A reporter asks Woz a hypothetical question.
Woz gives an honest answer. Reporter ignores the statistical insignificance of
the hypothetical scenario and reports result as if it has 100% probability of
happening.

This happens to many great thinkers.

Obligatory made-up scenario:

Reporter: "If you were in a plane crash in the Andes and the only food you
could find was bodies of dead passengers would you eat them?"

Thinker: "Hmm.. interesting hypothetical scenario. It is of course impossible
to know what anyone would do in such a situation without experiencing it, but
it is obvious that the logical thing to do is to eat the bodies so you can be
strong enough to seek help. Whether I personally could eat a human is not yet
proven."

Reporter: "Cannibal!!!"

~~~
bcrawford
I've had the opportunity to meet with and talk with Woz before. The man really
can't be anything but honest and he just loves talking - to anyone - about
technology. He's almost the anti-Apple in that respect.

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redstripe
"In this episode, while investigating the 75 year old wreck of a Federation
transport vessel, the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise-D crew discovers the
former Chief Engineer of the Constitution class starship USS Enterprise
NCC-1701, Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), alive in a transporter buffer.
After being cleared by Dr. Crusher, Scott is eager to see the advances in
technology including a tour of the Engineering deck, but quickly finds that
his old knowledge has long been surpassed and his efforts to help are instead
getting in the way of normal operations..."

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_%28Star_Trek:_The_Next_G...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_%28Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation%29)

~~~
jrockway
Indeed, Apple is no longer a tech company, they are now a brand like Coke and
Nike.

~~~
pstuart
<sarcasm> Indeed! Tablets have been around for years and suddenly there's an
Apple logo on one and the fanboys act like it's some sort of technical
advance.... </sarcasm>

~~~
jrockway
Well, uh, tablets _have_ been around for years. And suddenly there's an Apple
logo on one, and the fanbois did act like it was amazing. What was amazing was
putting phone software on a tablet instead of Windows Tablet Edition on a
tablet.

~~~
ugh
So you say that it is amazing but the "fanbois" are somehow wrong in finding
it amazing? I have trouble understanding that.

I'm not aware of any widespread denial of the existance of tablet PCs by
"fanbois", I remember them quite enjoying mocking those tablet PCs, especially
by contrasting them with the iPad. Longer battery life, thinner, lighter, no
keyboard, running no desktop OS, you can get one for $500 – all those features
together are a genuine innovation and they touch on both hardware and
software. That doesn't mean that some or all of those individual components
didn't exist in other products often long prior to the iPad.

You can't build the iPad without knowing what you do. Just look at how Apple's
competitors are still struggling. If making a tablet people want to buy was
just a question of taking existing technology and marketing it right there
would have been credible iPad competitors much earlier.

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jaysonelliot
I'm impressed to see a news article about Apple actually list Ronald Wayne as
one of the original founders.

He might be the fifth Beatle in some ways, but he was there at the start.

~~~
spinchange
Like Monte Davidoff at Microsoft.

~~~
shii
Like Craig at Google.

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rmason
Where I think Woz would be a good fit for Apple would be speaking on college
campuses and indirectly recruting the best talent for Apple.

But the biggest challenge would be for him to stay on message. First time he
disagreed with Jobs in public as an Apple employee it would be very awkward.
For that reason alone I don't think it would ever happen.

Woz is going to be the commencement speaker on May 6th at my alma mater,
Michigan State University. They're planning a livestream of his commencement
address and I will post the URL on here as soon as I receive it.

~~~
yuhong
>First time he disagreed with Jobs in public as an Apple employee it would be
very awkward.

Yea, but the illusion that celebrities are perfect is IMO ridiculous, and
dates back to what I call "legacy" PR based on controlling the message.

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totalforge
Woz went back once before, and at one point his manager actually gave him a
bad review. Good thing it was pre-internet, or the mgr would never live it
down.

~~~
shawndumas
Source?

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garindra
The first question that came to mind: Does his early computing technical whiz
still live up to today's Apple and industry standards?

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famousactress
In a number of ways I think Woz actually seems like an interesting fit for
Microsoft, in terms of compatibility of culture and bringing values to the
table that could move the business forward.

I'd be quicker to buy stock in Microsoft if Woz were signing on, than I would
Apple.

~~~
CamperBob
_I'd be quicker to buy stock in Microsoft if Woz were signing on, than I would
Apple._

I'd be quicker to buy canned goods and ammunition in such a scenario, because
the next thing coming over the mountain will be either zombies or Jesus.

~~~
xiaoma
Thank you for that. I'm not normally a fan of humorous posts on here, but that
was the best laugh I've had all week!

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gojomo
But would Woz join the Google Android team?

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gobongo
Abused housewife says would consider return to husband.

