Wozniak speaks about his memories at Apple

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak discussed his love of technology, and especially computers, at a Town Hall hosted by USC’s Academic Culture Assembly on Thursday.

“A computer sitting there unused was a crime to me,” Wozniak said.

Wozniak used any computer he could get his hands on — for anything from programming to pranks.

He said some of his favorite jokes included creating San Francisco’s first Dial-A-Joke hotline and calling the Vatican from a blue box he developed with Steve Jobs to make international calls for free.

Despite his love of fun, however, Wozniak said his passion for computers centered on deeper motives.

“My belief was there was a social revolution coming,” Wozniak said. “In education, kids were going to answer questions like out of a book and they were [going to] get graded instantly by a computer. They were going to be using 100 percent of their minds instead of 10 percent of their minds.”

His unwavering belief in the future of computers kept Wozniak dedicated to developing electronics.

“My life was electronics,” he said. “I’d go in to work [at Hewlett Packard] and design electronics all day, then I would go home and have a TV dinner and watch Star Trek, and then what would I do? More electronics.”

This obsession with perfecting digital electronics led Wozniak to develop several projects on his own. He built a home version of the arcade game Pong, created the programming that output the first colors to computer screens and launched the Apple II with Jobs.

Wozniak said his and Jobs’ differences allowed them to work well together.

“He was a little more counterculture, a little more hippie than I was. I admired him for it,” Wozniak said. “But I just loved the word revolution.”

Some of Wozniak’s favorite memories were the days in Apple’s infancy, when it all felt very much like a revolution.

“I liked the startup days, where you were just talking with friends about all these grand ideas. When it becomes a huge company, it just runs itself.”

He still kept a small share in Apple to remain on the payroll and now Wozniak is the only person who has been involved in the company from the beginning.

Looking forward, Wozniak said the same desire he had to improve computers in Apple’s early days motivates him today.

“I always want my machines more and more to understand my human thoughts,” Wozniak said. “But it needs smell. I’m convinced that it is not a human until it can smell me.”

Students in the audience said hearing about Wozniak’s experience was motivating.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to start a business and the experience and wisdom he shared tonight was inspiring,” said Will Roper, a junior majoring in economics.

Others said listening to Wozniak discuss his passion for technology changed their perspective on the field.

“I was on the fence about coming because I’m not a big Apple person, but I am very glad I did because I learned a lot about technology,” said Shaina Eng, a sophomore majoring in public relations.

For all his love for technology, Wozniak closed by reminding the audience the real significance of computers is how people use them.

“It doesn’t do much good to think of something new and great if it doesn’t get to people,” Wozniak said.