"Steve Wozniak deserved to be considered Apple's number 1 employee. From a technical standpoint, Woz literally was Apple Computer." 1 This line, taken from Accidental Empires, just about sums up what Steve Wozniak was all about. In the early days of computing Wozniak, or "Woz" as he is more popularly known, embodied a new way of thinking, far removed from the world of mainframes and minicomputers that dominated the industry back then. He knew the computer could play a part in the lives of the average householder, and that a new era of more personal computing was on its way. Woz eventually defined what a personal computer should be back in 1977, when he single handedly designed and built the Apple II. The subsequent success of the Apple II sparked the beginning of the personal computer industry and allowed a new generation of computing to emerge. Woz's ideas have influenced the way we live today, and thanks to him we have a world of information at our fingertips.

Born August 11, 1950, Steve Wozniak grew up in Sunnyvale, California, USA. His passion for electronics developed in 4th grade, when his father, an engineer for Lockheed, guided him into some science fair projects. Crazy about mathematics Woz earned his HAM radio license by 6th grade and by the time he reached college was designing and building whole computers. He studied engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, where he first met Steve Jobs, his future business partner in Apple Computers. Around the mid 1970s Woz decided to drop out of college and take a job at Hewlett-Packard, designing calculators. It was around this time he met legendary phone phreaker "Captain Crunch" aka John Draper and developed the "blue box", an illegal device which allowed it's user to make free long distance calls.

In 1975, when personal computers came in kit form and resembled nothing more than a rectangular box with some switches and a few wires, Woz was already thinking in terms of video displays and keyboards. It was during his involvement with the Home Brew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California, that Woz designed and built what would be the Apple I computer. His friend Steve Jobs saw its commercial potential and together they formed Apple Computers, initially selling around 600 Apple Is at a price of $666 each. From here Woz, spurred on by his love of computer games, went on to design the Apple II, which after its unveiling at West Coast Computer Faire in 1977, became the first commercially successful personal computer, and by 1980 Apple Computers was worth $1.2 billion.

On 7th February 1981, Woz crashed his Beechcraft Bonanza single engine aircraft, taking off from Skypark Airport in Scotts Valley, California. He sustained facial injuries and suffered a five-week loss of long-term memory, which forced his temporary departure from Apple. Over the next two years Woz married and returned to college at Berkeley to finish his degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He formed the "UNUSON" (Unite Us In Song) corporation and sponsored two rock festivals, losing a considerable amount of money on both occasions. Eventually he returned to Apple in 1983 but retired in 1985 after he and Jobs received the National Technology Award from President Reagan. On the subject of leaving Apple, Woz is quoted as saying
"I never left. I keep a tiny residual salary to this day because that's where my loyalty should be forever. I want to be an "employee" on the company database. I won't engineer, I'd rather be basically retired due to my family." 2

Retired or not, Woz, in recent times has all but disappeared from public view. He prefers to pursue his passion for teaching kids at the local schools in Los Gatos, California, where he now lives with his wife and family. Not only does he teach them, he also provides them with all the resources they need including hundreds of free laptops, internet access, hardware and software repairs, and funds for almost any computer proposal in the district. His belief is in the encouragement of freethinking and creativity for youngsters, and counselling them against forces of conformity and drugs, which leave them "not the master of their fate." 3 Although sitting on the sidelines, Woz is still keeping his eye on a few companies and wouldn't rule out joining another start up, saying "I really would like a chance to recreate the Apple II fun someday." 4 Perhaps a new revolution in personal computing is just around the corner.

Steve Wozniak has a webpage where you can get in touch with him. Visit WOZ.org.