In 1973, Steve Wozniak decided to build a computer for a bit of fun. He called it Apple I.
Fast forward 30 years and that bit of fun has snowballed to become a billion-dollar company with more than 30 million customers.
I’m not one of those users but I can appreciate a good product and the life story of someone who is a visionary.
I’m probably going to upset every Mac addict out there by saying I just wish they’d accept the geek factor of the whole thing, the way us PC users have. I realise the book’s tagline on the front cover says “computer geek to cultural icon” but give it up guys, embrace your geekiness.
Woz isn’t one to hog the spotlight, in fact he’s kept himself pretty much in the shadows for the past 25 years, but in this book he finally breaks his silence.
He talks about his childhood, phone phreaking, pranks, a life-changing plane crash, his passion for teaching and — of course — how he created a computer that was faster, simpler and sexier than anything else around at the time.
This isn’t just a book for the Mac addict; it’s a book for anyone who wants to know the background to some of our most exciting recent history.