-
Early Life
Stephen Gary Wozniak is an American computer engineer and entrepreneur who was born on August 11, 1950. He is credited for partnering with Steve Jobs to create Apple Inc. which is the world’s largest technology company. -
College
From a young age, Wozniak had interests in mathematics and electronics which was put into practice when he attended the University of Colorado (M. Hosch 1). However, he dropped out of the institution after just one year between 1968 and 1969. Later on, he attended a community college in his neighborhood and then went to the University of California. -
Hewlett-Packard
During the early 1970s, Wozniak worked at electronic companies in San Francisco Bay region and Hewlett-Packard Company. -
Woz and Steve Jobs
In 1971, Wozniak teamed up with Steve Jobs to develop the Blue Box which was a device that hacked telephone networks to allow people to bypass paying for long-distance calls. Wozniak worked with Steve Jobs to sell the device to other students in the same high school they attended together. -
Homebrew Computer Club
Wozniak was involved with the Homebrew Computer Club, a San Francisco Bay area group centered around the Altair 8800 microcomputer do-it-yourself kit, which was based on the Intel Corporation 8080, one of the world’s first microprocessors, it was released in 1975. -
Apple
He is credited for partnering with Steve Jobs to create Apple Inc. which is the world’s largest technology company. His work at Apple since its inception in 1976 has accorded him the recognition as one of the most recognized founders of the computer revolution. -
Microprocessor
In 1976, he used a new microprocessor to create a microcomputer for Hewlett-Packard Company but the company turned down his offer to adopt the design (Knuth et al. 5). -
Formation of Apple
Jobs was impressed by Wozniak’s work and decided to establish Apple Computer with him. They set up the company in Job’s family garage and were involved in the selling of microcomputer circuit boards. In 1977, they both created the Apple II which appealed to the majority of customers. -
Floppy Disk
Wozniak went ahead to design and develop new hardware components such as the 3.5-inch floppy disk drive that was used in the Apple II. Besides, he created several hardware and software for the Apple company. -
Plane Crash
Unfortunately, he crashed his airplane in 1981 and suffered traumatic amnesia that kept him out of work to recover. -
Retirement from Apple
In 1985, he retired from Apple after being handed a National Medal of Technology by President Ronald Regan. -
Philantrophy
The following years saw Wozniak doing philanthropy work, especially helping the education of children. Later he donated funds to create the "Woz Lab" at the University of Colorado at Boulder. -
Return to college
He went back to Berkeley to finish his studies but dropped out again. However, in 1987, he was credited for his achievements at Apple and was granted a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. He managed to return to Apple but was not involved in management work henceforth. -
Autobiography
Wozniak published his autobiography, iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It in 2006. -
Fusion-Io
In 2009, he became the lead scientist for Fusion-Io which deals with computer hardware and software. Later on, he decided to work as a full-time employee for the company after serving on the board of directors.