"I can't go back"<p>Speaking as a man with friends and loved ones, not an Apple fan (per se), that really got me. Woz gets more than just Apple's direction: he gets what's important.<p>He wants one more dinner with his friend and that's really inspiring. It's hard to think there's a chance you'll outlive the people you love and I, for one, have decided mid-post to go seize those moments rather than type here. Ciao.
What an annoying reporter doing the interview. Ask an open-ended question and let him talk about it, don't constantly interrupt him and put words into his mouth...
> quintessential engineer<p>If you have not yet read JL's interview of Woz in "Founders at Work", I encourage you to read it now. One of the best in her book.<p><a href="http://www.foundersatwork.com/steve-wozniak.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.foundersatwork.com/steve-wozniak.html</a>
Oh Woz, I'd wait in a line for days just to talk to you.<p>Being a technical man, I'm surprised in how he reacted to those 'technical terms' that were mentioned. Listening to this, I felt he knew exactly what Apple was/is and strives to be. If he still elicits respect from the current Apple camp, wouldn't he be a good choice to take over Steve Job's role? If not a CEO, an advisor? I say this not knowing a thing about corporate structure so excuse my ignorance.
Reporter sounds very ersatz. Constantly interrupting, interjecting with "huh", "oh", "yeah", and "ah, interesting". She pretends to know what she's talking about, although it's obvious that she doesn't.<p>Anyways, the parallel to Sony is interesting. Many have mentioned it before, but only time will tell.
I sat next to Woz during the keynote where the iPod with video was introduced (I believe the event where Madonna was called, as I was working on her project at the time).<p>The guy had such enthusiasm for everything around him, especially while Steve was on stage. It was inspiring. He also had time for everyone, which was equally so.<p>I like to think of him as evangelist in chief. I mean, the guy checks in wherever he is on Foursquare and from what I understand is really kind to anyone that says hello.
I for one would love to see Woz back to Apple as an über-advisor. He is half of the company's soul and is the only person who can gather as much respect (and authority to say no) as Jobs could. He also seems to get Apple better than most. I agree completely with his objections on the technical aspects of the 4S presentation - people don't want to know of antenna switching. Just say "you can hold it anyway you want and it won't lose reception". People don't want to know about dual cores - just say it's a much faster processor that enables things that were considered previously impossible and then introduce Siri.
I agree whole heartedly with the conclusion of the article, that "<i>the things that matter to engineers aren't the things that matter to real human beings.</i>"<p>I also noticed immediately at the end of the keynote that there wasn't an explicit mention of "corrected reception" in the new iPhone (there was mention of a new antennae design, but it wasn't explicit and not emphasised). I would have thought that this was an important reason, and perhaps why they opted for the new antennae design that they did - because of the poor reception issues with the "original" iPhone 4.
I don't fear for Apple — I fear for the entire industry. Tonight I got my new toy and of course I wasted a few hours exploring every inch of the iPhone 4s. But the more I did it, the more empty I found myself feeling. It hit me hard that I didn't give a damn about the thing and I was still upset about Jobs. It's the very notion that there will never be another "and just one more thing".<p>Walking home tonight I kept rattling over the many impersonal things he touched and made human. Even if Jobs had just done the Apple II that would would have been enough for one lifetime, yet he did it again and again. And I'm ten years younger than Jobs so my entire concept of technology was shaped by him and now I'm feeling like an orphan. And while he's not eloquent that's what our friend Woz is really saying...
Somewhat off-topic, but in order for Woz to get an iPhone he has to stand in line at an Apple store? Am I understanding that right...or is it just for publicity sake? I would've thought he would have enough connections inside to get a phone long before launch day and certainly not through a retail store.
This is what scares me. Apple is going to become a "good enough" company. The fact is that no one at Apple is going to have both the vision to see what matters, and the clout within the company to actually affect change. As Woz said, the product line for the near future will be fine, but the true test will come when they have to come up with what's next.
Personally I use the best products available to me at any given time. Today they are Apples products, but I'm well aware that tomorrow they may not be. And this could have been the case irrespective of Jobs passing.
Graham Bell died. Edison died. But innovation never died.
As Tim OReilly said, there will continue to be revolutions, and revolutionaries.
Anyone else find it odd that <i>Steve Wozniak</i> has to stand in line to get the latest device from Apple? Is it just that he enjoys the meet & greet, or is he not enough of a living legend for Apple to ship him a complimentary one for free?