In the mid-1970s, Steve Wozniak built the Apple I and then launched Apple Computer Inc. in 1976 with Steve Jobs. Now, Wozniak has written a memoir, "iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It."
The book, co-written with Gina Smith, a journalist, explains how a super smart kid with a fondness for transistors and diodes transformed business and culture.
Wozniak, 56, is still an employee of Apple Computer, representing the company at industry events, but sees himself primarily as a philanthropist and a teacher -- an Apple spokesman declined to comment on Mr. Wozniak's role -- Meanwhile, his old partner Mr. Jobs declined to write a foreword for the book. "He may have had a lack of time," says Mr. Wozniak. Most recently, Mr. Wozniak helped launch Acquicor Technology Inc. with two former Apple Computer employees.
Wozniak’s book, 'iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon', tells the story of how, after those sleepless nights wiring up Atari's Breakout -- one of the first hit video games in 1976 -- Jobs, the salesman, gave him half of the $700 he said Atari had paid for the work. Only it turns out Atari actually paid several thousand dollars, and he claims Jobs had short-changed his friend.
"Steve can be annoying to people," Wozniak says as he reminisces about the decade the two men spent at Apple.
According to Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell, Atari had offered $100 for each chip that was reduced in the machine. Jobs had little interest or knowledge in circuit board design, and made a deal with Wozniak to split the bonus evenly between them if Wozniak could minimize the number of chips. Much to the amazement of Atari, Wozniak reduced the number of chips by 50, a design so tight that it was impossible to reproduce on an assembly line. At the time, Jobs told Wozniak that Atari had only given them $700 -- instead of the actual $5,000
