Stephen Wozniak is not only famous for
his cool last name, but also for being the co-founder of Apple Computers Inc.
Apple computers can be found everywhere- from businesses to homes to libraries.
This is all thanks to two men by the names of Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs.
Stephen Wozniak was born in 1950. Throughout his childhood, he has found great interest in mathematics and computers. At an early age, Wozniak decided that he wanted to become an engineer. He enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley, but later dropped out of the college to work for Hewlett-Packard, a company that made computers and printers..................................... ..... Courtesy of Stephen Wozniak
Among the first of Wozniak's accomplishments was the "blue box." Not really what we'd call an "accomplishment," the "blue box" was an illegal device that, when attached to a telephone, would let the user make long-distance phone calls for free! It was at this time that Wozniak met Steven Jobs, who had just gotten a summer job at Hewlett-Packard. Immediately, the two became friends, and Jobs helped Wozniak to sell these illegal telephone devices.
During his spare time while at Hewlett-Packard, Stephen Wozniak created a computer club for young computer enthusiasts in Palo Alto, California. In 1975, Steven Jobs joined this computer club, even though he wasn't as enthusiastic about computers as the other members. Jobs was more focused on the marketing and selling of computer products. While attending these meetings, Jobs quickly realized that Wozniak was a real engineering whiz. Thus, he asked Wozniak to help him create a new personal computer.
Together, the two men designed and built the Apple I computer. They designed it in Jobs's bedroom, and built it in Jobs's parents' garage. Jobs then convinced an electronic retailer to buy 25 of these computers, and Apple Computers, Inc. was in business.
Wozniak and Jobs sold the Apple I at $666.66 each. Within a year, they had made $774,000 from the sales of this computer! However, the Apple I was mainly geared towards computer hobbyists, not the general public. Thus, Wozniak and Jobs came up with the Apple II, a simple and compact user-friendly computer. The Apple II was an immediate success- partly because of all the applications and software that had been created for it, and partly because of all of its cool components! The Apple II was the best-selling computer for five whole years!
Shortly after the introduction of the Apple II, Apple Computers, Inc. went public. Its opening shares sold for $22, but by the end of the day, the price had risen up seven dollars to $29.
After the huge popularity of the Apple II, the next two Apple products were flops. First, there was the Apple III computer. Although the Apple III might have had the
potential to become a popular computer, it had to be recalled because of design flaws. Thus, it never really made it to the market. Then, Apple introduced Lisa, a very user-friendly computer. Unfortunately, it was priced so high that despite all of its features, it could never have been popular. After all, who would buy a computer for $10,000?!..................
.Courtesy of Stephen Wozniak
Unfortunately, catastrophe struck in 1981. Wozniak's private plane crashed. Wozniak suffered from a concussion and left Apple for a few years. During this time, he got married, and then returned to the University of California at Berkeley to finally graduate and get his degree. Stephen Wozniak returned to Apple in 1983, but after only two years, he resigned. He started a new company that specialized in making wireless remote control devices.
Finally, Wozniak has devoted his life to volunteer work. After closing down his wireless remote control-making company, Wozniak settled down to volunteering at an elementary school, where he became a teacher.
Along with Steven Jobs, Wozniak has played a key role in the personal computer revolution. Because computers are such fundamental parts of our everyday lives, we all should thank these two men for bringing the PC market to where it is today.
