Stephen Gary Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer. According to him, he has made a whopping $ 100 million in his career, and behind it is a very interesting story. Let’s start from the beginning.
He was born on August 11, 1950 in San Jose, California. He was the son of Francis Jacob Wozniak of Michigan, and Margaret Louise Wozniak born in Kern in Washington. He graduated from Homestead High School in 1968. On one occasion he mentioned that he had a Polish surname, and when he spoke of his origin he said that he was not an expert and did not know other people with the same surname.
In 1969, Wozniak returned to San Francisco Bay after being expelled from the University of Colorado Boulder for breaking into the school’s computer system. Before focusing on Apple, he took a job at Hewlett-Packard, where he designed calculators. During this period he befriended Steve Jobs, his business partner.
The 1970s and 1980s are very important for this famous electronics engineer and great programmer. Together with Steve Jobs, he founded Apple in his parents’ garage. He was not only the co-owner but also a great designer of computers and software. Following the success of “Apple 1”, Wozniak designs “Apple 2”, the first personal computer to display color graphics. The successor to the Apple 2, the Apple 3, which went on sale in 1980, was nowhere near as successful as its predecessor. According to Wozniak, the Apple 3 had 100% hardware errors because it was designed by employees of the marketing department, not engineers. The driver’s apartment in San Jose was filled with monitors, electronic devices and computer games that he developed. The “Apple 1” retails for $ 666.66, and it’s just a coincidence as the developer later explained he didn’t know it had anything to do with the biblical prophecy, and he chose the number because of his affinity towards repeating numbers, yep coincidence.
In 1983, he wanted to revisit Apple products instead of the festival. As other engineers joined the growing company, he felt less and less needed in those projects, so in 1985 he decided to leave the job permanently. According to him, the company started to develop in the wrong direction and he decided to sell most of his shares. In a 2013 interview, Wozniak says another reason for his departure was that Jobs took the project into his own hands when he had a plane crash and was not there. Although he left Apple he never wanted to get him off the employee list, he represented the company whenever he had the opportunity at some important events. They gave him $ 120,000 a month for the job.
After completing his career at Apple, Wozniak enrolled at Berkeley University to complete his studies. At the time, his name was quite familiar so he had to enter under the fake name Rocky Racoon Clark, that name was spelled out at graduation. He remained on friendly terms with Jobs until his death in October 2011.
He taught computer science to children in grades five through nine, as well as their teachers. In 2001, he founded Wheels of Zeus – WOZ to create wireless GPS technology to help every person in their day-to-day business. In 2002, he joined the Board of Directors at Danger the creator of Hip Top. In 2006, Zeus Wheels closed, and Wozniak founded Acquicor Technology, a company that takes over technology companies and develops them. From 2009 to 2014, he was the Chief Scientist at Fusion-io, and since 2014 has been given the same position at Data Primers.
Airplane crash:
The plane crash happened on February 7, 1981. Immediately after takeoff, a plane operated by Wozniak crashed. The plane slowed on its ascent, bounced off the runway and went through two railings and hit an embankment. The pilot, his then fiance Candice Clark, his brother and his brother’s girlfriend were injured. Wozniak sustained several injuries to his face and head. He did not remember the accident, he did not know how to say his name in the hospital, as well as the things he did after his discharge from the hospital. He later said that games with Apple 2 helped him regain his memory.
His acknowledgments and awards:
He has received several awards and honors in his career for his contributions to technology. He was awarded an honorary degree from Santa Clara University, Michigan State University, University of Colorado Boulder 1989, North Carolina State University 2004, Kettering University 2005, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale 2005, ESPOL University in Ecuador 2008, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in June 22, 2011, and many other higher education institutions. In the 2000s he found himself in the home of famous national inventors. The city of San Jose has named its street Woz Way in his honor. Because of his contributions to technology, he received 12 honorary degrees as a Doctor of Engineering. Wozniak has been mentioned and interviewed in the media on several occasions, and has also appeared in various films, series and shows.
Private life Steven Wozniak:
Steven lives in Los Gatos, California. In 2012, he applied for Australian citizenship and said he would like to live in Melbourne in the future. He joined the Masons to spend more time with then-wife Alice Robertson. Wozniak’s second wife was Candice Clark from 1981-1987. They have three children and the youngest child was born after their divorce. After a famous affair with actress Kathy Griffin, he married Janet Hill, who is still his wife today. As for religion, Wozniak says that he is an atheist and does not believe in God. His favorite game is Tetris, and in 1990 he sent his record to Nintendo Power so many times that they stopped printing his records, so he started sending them under the alias “Evets Kainzow”. There are more nicknames. They call him “Woz” then “The wonderful Wizard of Woz” and they say that he is also “Second Steve”, referring to his longtime business partner and friend.
