The Other Steve

Does anyone remember or know Steve Wozniak?

Steve Wozniak was the cofounder of Apple along with the other Steve we all know. I just completed reading his autobiography iWoz. Wozniak states that he “solely” designed and engineered the Apple I and Apple II from the ground up. But, he credits Jobs for all the sales and marketing of those products. Wozniak was not actively involved in Apple after its IPO success but amply reaped the benefits of co founding the company. What comes across in the book is that Wozniak believed early on that excellence in product design will make people drool over the idea of owing the product. Here is what he has to say about Steve Jobs: “He is really great at looking at new technologies and choosing the right ones, the ones that will succeed”.

One question: When everyone is talking about open platforms and collaboration, Apple still controls both sides of the equation- hardware and software (eg: iPod+iTunes). Is it the perfect way to do things?