Woz on the iMac

Tim Byars (tbyars@earthlink.net)
Sat, 22 Aug 1998 00:03:17 -0700


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Apple made waves this week with the release of the iMac. The rounded,
retro-futuristic computer would fit nicely in George Jetson's house. No
doubt it fits nicely into the plans of interim Apple CEO Steve Jobs. So
far, the public loves the blue-and-white plastic creation, and so does Wall
Street. Apple's stock price hit a new 12-month high within days of the
release. But what does Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak think about the new
product? After all, he's the other half of the brain trust that toiled away
with Jobs in a Palo Alto garage in 1977. Woz was the technical guru behind
the world's first successful desktop computer, the Apple II. "The iMac
appeals to me because of its all-in-one simplicity," says Woz, who left
Apple in 1985 and now teaches fifth grade in Los Gatos, Calif. About the
computer's streamlined design, he says, "I'm not particularly into looks."
One of iMac's best features, he says, is its lack of a floppy drive. "The
world is becoming server-based," Wozniak says, "and almost all worthwhile
software is available that way or on CDs." As for the financial success of
the iMac, Woz uses a baseball analogy. "Apple needs an occasional home run
to succeed, and it's been a long time," he says. "But expecting a home run
on any single product or expecting a home run on every product is
unrealistic. Apple can succeed with a lot of triples."

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who amongst us hasn't run a large billion dollar a year monopoly? ...Tom Whore

<> tbyars@earthlink.net <> --============_-1308352924==_ma============ Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii"

Apple made waves this week with the release of the iMac. The rounded, retro-futuristic computer would fit nicely in George Jetson's house. No doubt it fits nicely into the plans of interim Apple CEO Steve Jobs. So far, the public loves the blue-and-white plastic creation, and so does Wall Street. Apple's stock price hit a new 12-month high within days of the release. But what does Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak think about the new product? After all, he's the other half of the brain trust that toiled away with Jobs in a Palo Alto garage in 1977. Woz was the technical guru behind the world's first successful desktop computer, the Apple II. "The iMac appeals to me because of its all-in-one simplicity," says Woz, who left Apple in 1985 and now teaches fifth grade in Los Gatos, Calif. About the computer's streamlined design, he says, "I'm not particularly into looks." One of iMac's best features, he says, is its lack of a floppy drive. "The world is becoming server-based," Wozniak says, "and almost all worthwhile software is available that way or on CDs." As for the financial success of the iMac, Woz uses a baseball analogy. "Apple needs an occasional home run to succeed, and it's been a long time," he says. "But expecting a home run on any single product or expecting a home run on every product is unrealistic. Apple can succeed with a lot of triples."

--

who amongst us hasn't run a

large billion dollar a year monopoly? ...Tom Whore

<<> tbyars@earthlink.net <<>

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