Libor Kubín The trio of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Gerald Wayne founded Apple Inc. on April 1, 1976. No one knew that a subtle revolution had begun to take place that changed the whole world. That year, the first personal computer was assembled in the garage.
The boy who wanted a computer to change the world
He is nicknamed The Woz, Wonderful Wizard of Woz, iWoz, another Steve or even the brain of Apple. Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950 in San Jose, California. He has been involved in electronics since he was young. Father Jerry supported his inquisitive son in his interests and initiated him into the secrets of resistors, diodes and other electronic components. At the age of eleven, Steve Wozniak read about the ENIAC computer and wanted it. At the same time, he produces his first amateur radio and even obtains a broadcasting license. He built a transistor calculator at the age of thirteen and received the first prize for it in the high school electrical society (of which he became president). In the same year, he built his first computer. It was possible to play checkers on it.
After graduating from high school, Woz enrolled at the University of Colorado, but was soon kicked out. He started building a computer in the garage with his friend Bill Fernandez. He called it the Cream Soda Computer and the program was written on a punch card. This computer could change history. Unless, of course, it short-circuited and burned during a presentation for a local journalist.
According to one version, Wozniak met Jobs Fernandez in 1970. Another legend tells of a joint summer job at the Hewlett-Packard company. Wozniak worked here on a mainframe.
blue box
Wozniak's first joint business with Jobs was started by the article The Secret of the Little Blue Box. Esquire magazine published it in October 1971. It was supposed to be fiction, but in reality it was more of an encrypted manual. He was busy by phreaking – hacking into phone systems and making free phone calls. John Draper discovered that with the help of a whistle packed with children's flakes, you could imitate the tone signaling the dropping of a coin into the phone. Thanks to this, it was possible to call the whole world for free. This "discovery" intrigued Wozniak, and he and Draper created their own tone generator. The inventors were aware that they were moving on the edge of the law. They equipped the boxes with a safety element - a switch and a magnet. In case of imminent seizure, the magnet was removed and the tones were distorted. Wozniak told his customers to pretend it was just a music box. It was at this time that Jobs demonstrated his business acumen. He sold in the Berkeley dorms blue box for 150 dollars.
On one occasion, Wozniak used a Blue box to call the Vatican. He introduced himself as Henry Kissinger and demanded an interview with the Pope, who was asleep at the time.
From calculator to apple
Woz got a job at Hewlett-Packard. In the years 1973-1976, he designed the first HP 35 and HP 65 pocket calculators. In the mid-70s, he attends monthly meetings of computer enthusiasts at the legendary Homebrew Computers Club. The introverted, hairy guy soon develops a reputation as an expert who can solve any problem. He has a dual talent: he manages both hardware design and software programming.
Jobs has been working for Atari since 1974 as a game designer. He makes Woz an offer that is also a big challenge. Atari promises a reward of $750 and a bonus of $100 for every IC saved on the board. Wozniak hasn't slept in four days. It can reduce the total number of circuits by fifty pieces (to an absolutely incredible forty-two). The design was compact but complicated. It is a problem for Atari to mass-produce these boards. Here again the legends diverge. According to the first version, Atari defaults on the contract and Woz receives only $750. The second version says that Jobs receives a reward of $5000, but only pays Wozniak the promised half - $375.
At that time, Wozniak does not have a computer available, so he buys time on the minicomputers at Call Computer. It is run by Alex Kamradt. The computers were communicated with using punched paper tape, the output was from a Texas Instruments Silent 700 thermal printer. But it was not convenient. Woz saw a computer terminal in Popular Electronics magazine, got inspired and created his own. It displayed only uppercase letters, forty characters per line, and twenty-four lines. Kamradt saw potential in these video terminals, commissioned Wozniak to design the device. He later sold a few through his company.
The growing popularity of newer microcomputers, such as the Altair 8800 and IMSAI, inspired Wozniak. He thought of building a microprocessor into the terminal, but the problem was in the price. The Intel 179 cost $8080 and the Motorola 170 (which he preferred) cost $6800. However, the processor was beyond the financial capabilities of the young enthusiast, so he only worked with pencil and paper.
The breakthrough came in 1975. MOS Technology began selling the 6502 microprocessor for $25. It was very similar to the Motorola 6800 processor as it was designed by the same development team. Woz quickly wrote a new version of BASIC for the computer chip. At the end of 1975, he completes the Apple I prototype. The first presentation is at the Homebrew Computers Club. Steve Jobs is obsessed with Wozniak's computer. Both agree to start a company to manufacture and sell computers.
In January 1976, Hewlett-Packard offered to manufacture and sell the Apple I for $800, but was rejected. The company does not want to be in the given market segment. Even Atari, where Jobs works, is not interested.
On April 1, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Gerald Wayne found Apple Inc. But Wayne leaves the company after twelve days. During April, Wozniak leaves Hewlett-Packard. He sells his HP 65 personal calculator and Jobs his Volkswagen minibus, and they put together a start-up capital of $1300.
Sources: www.forbes.com, wikipedia.org, ed-thelen.org a www.stevejobs.info
Very nice; when is the second part?
This is a really nice read….. Thanks :-)
I know, it's a great story, I have a book about iWoz at home and it's really great
Nicely written, thanks.
I recommend watching the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. It discusses the beginnings of Apple (and also Microsoft).
To Honza: Psst, don't reveal! That will be in the second part.
very nice article, thanks
So there is no next part?