[enraged_camel]

Woz might have been influential back in the day, but let's face it: he also had zero business sense. If it was up to Woz, they would have given away the computer he had built for free, and he would still be a lowly and unknown engineer working for HP. Jobs was the one who figured out how to monetize Woz's hard work. That's why Apple was founded and led by Jobs.

I'm actually saddened that after 30 years of working for Apple, Woz still hasn't learned that coddling your competitors and giving up your competitive advantages are bad for business.

edit: gotta love the ninja downvotes. Must have touched a nerve. :)

[mnl]

Yeah, despite the fact that without Woz, Jobs would have never taken the home computer business by storm, and probably would have ended his great entrepreneurial vision with at most yet another unremarkable 70's DIY kit, after struggling aimlessly at Atari... This is becoming snobnews.

[enraged_camel]

I don't think my post downplayed Woz's contributions. No one has any doubt that Woz is a very bright individual. What I'm saying is that being smart about engineering does not necessarily translate over to being smart about business. And that's certainly true about Woz. Like most geeks, he's an idealist: he talks about what he wishes the world to be like without thinking about or understanding what that would mean for the company that employs him.

[ubernostrum]

The parent comment didn't downplay any of that.

But honestly, Woz quotes at this point are basically "Preacher Delivers Sermon to Choir, Film at 11". The only people who bother to listen to him are people who already agree with with he's going to say, so whose understanding is being broadened by this? And how are these kinds of stories going to accomplish anything in the wider world beyond HN?