[gadders]

Does anyone really care what Woz says these days? Really?

I know he accomplished some cool stuff 30-odd years ago, but why is his opinion still relevant? What technology is he actually working on now?

He just seems to be a reliable semi-controversial rent-a-quote for busy journalists. He's not even that insightful.

I realise this will cost me karma, but whatevs.

[lutusp]

> Does anyone really care what Woz says these days? Really?

It's not so much that Woz is a source of wisdom and insight, it's more that there are few gurus and "experts" in computer science (generally a good thing) willing to offer opinions.

Woz is in the position of being able to take philosophical positions that people won't be likely to argue with, because of his long incumbency in the field of computer technology.

But that's an explanation, not an excuse. In fields that depend on scientific reasoning, there's no justification for accepting the opinions of experts based solely on their position. As Richard Feynman famously said, "Science is the organized skepticism in the reliability of expert opinion."

[gadders]

You know what? If he wrote a 3 page blog post saying "why it would be good business for Apple if iTunes supported Android" (or whatever) I'd be more interested. But all we get are soundbites.

[crusso]

I say this as a big fan of Apple, my Apple II+ and all that Woz created so brilliantly when he was there...

I think that your criticism above is the heart of the matter. If Woz had deep thoughts he were relating that informed in a meaningful way, great.

Instead, he tends to spew out populist geek one-liners without any supporting rationale.

What's disappointing is the way that the tech culture picks it up as an appeal to authority or noteworthy opinion.

[desas]

He doesn't really care about business. From memory he was originally very cautious about monetising the original apple. His perspective isn't "why this would be good business for apple", it's "why this would be cool for me".

[notum]

You have a valid point.

But with that said, I think Woz is a very cool individual that's fun to listen. Does the radical / polar position toward the Apple cult make him that? Perhaps. However his work, albeit 30 years old, is still an inspiration, and his public persona isn't entirely focused on bashing the modern Apple methodology.

I don't know what he's working on now, if anything in concrete, but he's obviously not sitting on his hands :)

[gadders]

I did read this (slightly harsh) article about his work as "Chief Scientist" for Fusion IO:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/25/what_does_steve_wozn...

[mariusc]

First time when I submitted this article the title was :"Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak gives jailbreaking...",like the original link title.I rewrite it because somehow I agree with you.But Wozniak will always remain the Apple's cofounder and his oppinon will metter for some people.

[j45]

it's just me, but when someone accomplished way more than most by todays standards, when there was barely a market, he likely knows a few things, as well as recognizing patterns and cycles that time had afforded him.

[WayneDB]

Why the vitriol? Why should we care what you think? (Seriously...why?)

Roughly half the items that appear on this feed are not news, you know.

(There's an interview with Brian Kernighan on the front page right now. Are you going to complain about that one too? Should we post complaints about every single story that we don't like, that receive a little bit of attention?)

[gadders]

I am a giant asshole.