Steve Wozniak ventures out
Steve Wozniak's patent number 4,136,359—which became the Apple IIe computer, introduced in 1977 for $1,300–helped launch an entire industry. Wozniak left Apple, the company he cofounded with Steve Jobs, in 1981 and returned to college at the University of California–Berkeley. Since then, he has formed a number of small technology companies, promoted music and cultural festivals, and taught fifth graders how to use computers. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000 and is currently helping promote an inventors competition sponsored by the organization. Wozniak spoke recently with U.S. News's Richard J. Newman at Splashlight Studios in New York City.
What was the first thing you ever invented?
The first thing I invented was a TV jammer that let me fuzz up the TV picture in college. I liked to play with the psychology of the people watching TV. They'd move their bodies because they thought that's what would make the TV work. You know, technology has always been hand in hand with jokes and pranks. I also invented the first universal remote control, some arcade games, and I'm now working on GPS tracking tags.
How are things for inventors these days?
I believe strongly in the inventing process. The hard work of invention is having so many details in your head at once. It's stressful, the hours are long, and you're always close but never quite there. New changes in our life usually come from an independent guy in his garage, usually with very little money. It's very hard to predict what's going to come. But independent inventors will always be with us.
Could I do the Apple again? It's getting harder. Labs with ready-to-go equipment are less common, at universities or corporations or even at home. The minute you get an idea, you want to rush home and wire it up. But some of that stuff is getting harder to find.
What kinds of technologies appeal to you today?
The technologies that appeal to me are the ones that are very centered, that make the product a little bit smaller, or give it a little nicer shape, like the iPod.
What would you like to fix about modern technology?
I'd make smart phones smarter. The Treo 650 is the smartest phone, right? But every phone has a computer inside. And everything with a computer inside crashes. If you make the slightest slip on a button you have to go back and start over. It's so difficult to get back where you want.
What do you think about BlackBerries?
I don't like two letters on a button, but I don't use one. Everybody I know who uses a BlackBerry likes it, so to me that means it must be good.
What do you think about "convergence," the idea that all of these computerized gizmos are merging into one or two devices that will handle everything?
My whole life I stood against convergence. I prefer one thing that works on its own. I finally decided last year that a phone and a camera together works. I'm starting to relax my thinking from the old days. But a camera without a flash bothers me on cellphones . . . . A PDA, a phone, a camera: I want to choose each of those on my own. I don't want to choose the camera I want by the cellphone I buy.
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