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Wozniak's is only not impressive because they left off "invented the personal computer."

by defen 12y ago

NhanH 12y ago
"Invented the personal computer" might be a bit of a stretch to me. Apple I was one of the first (popular?), but iirc it wasn't the very first one of its kind, nor the only one at the time. But even if it was the first and only of its kind. At the time, "invented the personal computer" still wouldn't be anything would be counted as "credentials", let alone "impressive credentials". Someone who has been around the block might correct me if I'm wrong, but personal computer was nowhere near influential, or well known back then as it is now.
- vlunkr 12y ago
  It was the apple 2, also designed by Wozniak that really made them famous, not the first one. It was the first personal computer to hit the market that you could purchase and use without some serious technical knowledge, both is software and hardware. So he may not have technically invented the personal computer, but he built one that was actually marketable. And Apple was worth billions within the first years of their existence, so I would say it was pretty influential. Some people may not like Apple, but it's impossible to deny the massive role they played in the early days. And it really wouldn't have happened without Wozniak, he was the technical genius of the group.
PinguTS 12y ago
You know, that the Altair was before and Woz did his own design just because he couldn't afford the Altair.
- simonh 12y ago
  The Altair was a microcomputer, but not a personal computer. A personal computer is a microcomputer with a keyboard and screen. The Altair was designed to be programmed using binary toglle switches and later an interface card came out to connect it to a teletype terminal. The Apple ][ came with a keyboard and worked with a screen, so it was the first true personal computer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcomputer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcomputer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer
jdswain 12y ago
"Inventing the personal computer" is something that is completely open to interpretation. I've heard Woz say something similar, and if you look at it a certain way then it's easy to agree with him. What he means by that is that the Apple ][ was the first computer that came with everything so you could plug it in and start work. The Altair and other's that people may consider as contenders for the first personal computer required more technical skills, like not coming with a keyboard, or requiring you to do a certain amount of assembly. So by one definition the Apple ][ was the first computer that you could buy, plug together and boot up Basic or VisiCalc and start doing some work. At least with the first Apple ][, Woz designed the whole of the hardware, the ROM, and the first Basic. Later on that Basic was replaced with Microsoft Basic, which caused problems for Apple later on with the Macintosh when it came time to renew the MS Basic license. Steve Jobs did have some influence on the Apple ][, but far less than Woz, he worked on the PCB layout (as far as making it nice and everything line up, not the actual routing), and the case design (designed by Jerry Manock), which was revolutionary at the time. The switch-mode power supply was also unique in a computer at that time, and was not designed by Woz, but by Rod Holt. Woz's disk controller is probably the most impressive piece of design from that period though. It was a very close thing though as the Commodore PET was actually released only a few months later, and was even more easy to set up as it came with a built in cassette drive and display. It's interesting that in most of this history Chuck Peddle, the designer of the PET, gets very little recognition, much less than he should. As well as designing the PET (which led on the the Commodore 64 and others), he was the main designer of the 6502, the processor used in the Apple ][. There's also a story that he met Woz and helped him debug one of his 6502 designs.

Wozniak's is only not impressive because they left off "invented the personal computer."

by defen 12y ago

Wozniak's is only not impressive because they left off "invented the personal computer."

NhanH 12y ago

"Invented the personal computer" might be a bit of a stretch to me. Apple I was one of the first (popular?), but iirc it wasn't the very first one of its kind, nor the only one at the time. But even if it was the first and only of its kind. At the time, "invented the personal computer" still wouldn't be anything would be counted as "credentials", let alone "impressive credentials". Someone who has been around the block might correct me if I'm wrong, but personal computer was nowhere near influential, or well known back then as it is now.

vlunkr 12y ago
It was the apple 2, also designed by Wozniak that really made them famous, not the first one. It was the first personal computer to hit the market that you could purchase and use without some serious technical knowledge, both is software and hardware. So he may not have technically invented the personal computer, but he built one that was actually marketable. And Apple was worth billions within the first years of their existence, so I would say it was pretty influential. Some people may not like Apple, but it's impossible to deny the massive role they played in the early days. And it really wouldn't have happened without Wozniak, he was the technical genius of the group.

PinguTS 12y ago

You know, that the Altair was before and Woz did his own design just because he couldn't afford the Altair.

simonh 12y ago
The Altair was a microcomputer, but not a personal computer. A personal computer is a microcomputer with a keyboard and screen. The Altair was designed to be programmed using binary toglle switches and later an interface card came out to connect it to a teletype terminal. The Apple ][ came with a keyboard and worked with a screen, so it was the first true personal computer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcomputer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcomputer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer

jdswain 12y ago

"Inventing the personal computer" is something that is completely open to interpretation. I've heard Woz say something similar, and if you look at it a certain way then it's easy to agree with him. What he means by that is that the Apple ][ was the first computer that came with everything so you could plug it in and start work. The Altair and other's that people may consider as contenders for the first personal computer required more technical skills, like not coming with a keyboard, or requiring you to do a certain amount of assembly. So by one definition the Apple ][ was the first computer that you could buy, plug together and boot up Basic or VisiCalc and start doing some work. At least with the first Apple ][, Woz designed the whole of the hardware, the ROM, and the first Basic. Later on that Basic was replaced with Microsoft Basic, which caused problems for Apple later on with the Macintosh when it came time to renew the MS Basic license. Steve Jobs did have some influence on the Apple ][, but far less than Woz, he worked on the PCB layout (as far as making it nice and everything line up, not the actual routing), and the case design (designed by Jerry Manock), which was revolutionary at the time. The switch-mode power supply was also unique in a computer at that time, and was not designed by Woz, but by Rod Holt. Woz's disk controller is probably the most impressive piece of design from that period though. It was a very close thing though as the Commodore PET was actually released only a few months later, and was even more easy to set up as it came with a built in cassette drive and display. It's interesting that in most of this history Chuck Peddle, the designer of the PET, gets very little recognition, much less than he should. As well as designing the PET (which led on the the Commodore 64 and others), he was the main designer of the 6502, the processor used in the Apple ][. There's also a story that he met Woz and helped him debug one of his 6502 designs.