Maker of the month : Steve Wozniak

Every month, we will highlight a maker who has made important and interesting things. The idea behind this is to celebrate the people who make and to familiarize you with their work. The maker of the month for march, 2017 is Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computers.

Steve Wozniak a.k.a. Woz is a person who epitomizes the spirit of making. He envisioned and created some of the first personal computers. Computers were considered to be a tool for offices prior to this. Wozniak created a computer board which just needed a keyboard and a television screen to function. It could be plugged and programmed in a home. Wozniak did all the circuit design, assembly and soldering to make this. This computer was Apple I, the first product of Apple Computers.

The product which really made Apple a household name and a big name in the computer industry was Apple II, the successor of Apple I. It was launched in 1977 and was a pioneer for the computers of the future. Wozniak designed the circuit for Apple II and his skills as an engineer made Apple II a huge success. Wozniak made the most out of the limited components which reduced the production cost of the computer while increasing its capabilities. The ideology behind Apple II was summed up by Woz himself, "To me, a personal computer should be small, reliable, convenient to use and inexpensive".

Apple II was designed to be an appliance which can become a part of an average household. It was the first computer which was sold inside a casing and needed no assembly at all. It was also one of the first computers with color graphics and could display upto 16 colors. The operating system was based on BASIC language where the users had to type in commands which the computer will perform. Wozniak included eight slots in the Apple II which could be used to connect peripherals as needed by the user such as hard disks, controllers or networking components. The development of applications such as MacWrite (a word processor) and VisiCalc (spreadsheet program) were instrumental in making Apple II a 'personal' computer.

Wozniak also made a blueblox once which is a device used to hack telephone systems by mimicking the tones of the operator. He has four US patents to his name including the one for "Microcomputer for use with video display" for which he was included in national inventors hall of fame. He has also taught programming to school students and founded CL 9 which made the first universal programmable remote control. Wozniak is a firm believer in the openness of technology and is a true maker at heart.

Mar 06, 2016