Wow.

Jobs had him pegged decades ago. He obviously did the right thing.

Looks like Woz won't be getting a Christmas card from Jobs this year . . .

We always hear the Woz wants to... or does... But I have yet to see just one product or computer or anything come out of him since Apple.

The iPod as it stands now may have peaked, other businesses may come out with seriously competitive products. However, does that mean that Apple is not designing something new, something that will once again change the playing field. What would that be, I have no idea, but I bet that Jobs, Ives, et al have some designs.

There is another thing, replacement iPods. People will by new iPods to replace ones that get lost or if they want to upgrade.

Has Woz done anything but reflect and prognosticate since the plane crash?

I don't know about anyone else out there, but umm, I still use a transistor radio on occasion. I also have two iPods and an older Nano. And I still use them even though I also have an iPhone. And I use the iPhone.

But regardless, Apple has had many successful products. Even, with the rest of the various industries copying and belittling them. The fact remains, Apple will continue to innovate in the same way they always have. The iPod is not the be-all-end-all and it has a product life cycle just like all other products. Woz knows this too, and that's really all he is saying. Quit sensationalizing everything.

Regarding the iPhone, come on, what hacker DOESN'T complain about not being able to get in and mess with the code? This is exactly what I would expect to hear from Woz. To a certain group of people, with a lot of time on their hands, taking things apart is important. As far as I'm concerned, the creative play happens when using the device, not by taking it apart. But that's just me.

Ultimately though, the reason Apple is able to innovate like they do, is that their machines out there in the field aren't all screwed up like Windows boxes are. That's why Apple can say, "Hey, lets add some new video features to the next OS..." and they do, and the features actually work. Microsoft couldn't even successfully deploy Vista without massive turmoil and disappointment, despite years of development. There are just too many different configurations out there. And its only going to get worse. So unless Microsoft comes out with their own computer, their opportunity for OS innovation is pretty much in the toilet. They do however, control the hardware AND software in the Xbox. I hear that thing is pretty cool. Maybe they are yet again, copying Apple.

Apple has a good strategy and to an extent, certain things need to be "locked down". Also, Apple knows Woz very well. I don't think his comments bother them one bit.

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Guest wrote:
We always hear the Woz wants to... or does... But I have yet to see just one product or computer or anything come out of him since Apple.

After he left Apple he designed marketed the first universal remote control, he then decided he wanted to teach kids, so he spent several years designing and molding minds of impressionable kids in California. He also started a bunch of charities designed to help kids learn more about technology. He then decided to design and market GPS enabled devices that were meant for the mass market. He also joined a bunch boards of directors, much like Steve Jobs.

As far as I can tell he does a great deal more than Jobs does, but then he isn't an attention whore.

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daemon wrote:

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Guest wrote:
We always hear the Woz wants to... or does... But I have yet to see just one product or computer or anything come out of him since Apple.

After he left Apple he designed marketed the first universal remote control, he then decided he wanted to teach kids, so he spent several years designing and molding minds of impressionable kids in California. He also started a bunch of charities designed to help kids learn more about technology. He then decided to design and market GPS enabled devices that were meant for the mass market. He also joined a bunch boards of directors, much like Steve Jobs.

As far as I can tell he does a great deal more than Jobs does, but then he isn't an attention whore.

Then explain his constant pooh-poohing of pretty much everything Apple has done recently. Sounds like a person desperate for attention and saying anything to try to stay relevant in the tech world.

Look, I respect the man for co-founding one of the world's most innovative companies, but his time has come and gone. He's a tired old man and just comes off as bitter and cranky that he didn't get to go along for the ride with Steve aboard the rocket he helped build.

Once woz hero. Now an AppleOutsider feeling the cold wind of exclusion.

Not cranky, and not bitter. Happy. And pleased with the fact that he can say anything he wants without having to worry about corporate spin.

I worked with him for a few years at Wheels of Zeus.

Yes, he doesn't really fit in with what is marketed as appropriate behavior for an innovator. But really, if he were one of those people that neatly "fit-in", would there ever have been an Apple? I doubt it. We know what platform those people who "fit-in" went with.

It's easy to sit here at our advanced color computers, and criticize isn't it. When we don't even think about why we have COLOR screens. The Apple I was the first small computer to come with a keyboard and look like a typewriter, the Apple II was the first with sound, color, paddles, BASIC in ROM, etc., etc. Seems second nature to us now doesn't it? So much so that we think it always existed. Well it didn't. Woz made it so.

The media loves to pick apart high profile people and exaggerate everything they say. It makes for interesting reading like the article above. The thing is, Woz just doesn't care. When was the last time you heard some high profile person be honest? Everything said now-a-days is scripted. TV and newspapers are filled with talking robots. Woz is no robot.

Believe me, Woz likes plenty about Apple. But if there's something he doesn't like, he says so, and he doesn't care who knows.

As I see it, the prediction that iPod will fade as the walkman is not necessarily a diss on iPod. After all, why did the Walkman fade? Because the portable CD player took its place. And why did portable CD players fade? Because the iPod issued in the era of MP3 players.

So what is going to make MP3 players fade? I'm sure I don't know. But I didn't see the iPod practically making over the music world either, so I am not the person to ask. But the next cool thing will put iPods on the shelf, just as the iPod put other portable music on the shelf. And it could well be Apple themselves who pt iPod out to pasture with the next cool thing.

Either way, like Tommy Lee Jones said in "Men in Black", I guess I'm gonna have to buy the White Album again...