Jobs declines to write foreword to Wozniak's autobiography

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple Computer chief executive Steve Jobs has reportedly changed his mind about writing the foreword to the upcoming autobiography of old pal and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.



"I was a little disappointed -- Steve Jobs had indicated he'd write a forward. But he'd never written a forward before and I said, 'Just write what we were like back then,' Wozniak revealed in an interview with Seattle Times reporter Kim Peterson. "We sent him the book and he said, 'Oh, I saw some excerpts, and I'm going to decline writing the forward.'"



"I don't know why" he declined, explained Woz, "because I'm nice to him, so there must have been something he didn't like."



This isn't the first time that Jobs has taken issue with the publication of a book. Last April he had Apple pull all books released by John Wiley & Sons from the company's retail stores in protest of an unauthorized biography of himself about to be released by the publisher.



Although Woz says Jobs deserves a "great deal" of the credit for Apple's recent turnaround, he admits the two are no longer close friends. "Even when Apple really got started we weren't close friends because he had a different motivation in the company, which was to run a company, and mine was just to be a top engineer that did clever, clever projects," he said. "So we almost never saw each other in the company."



In the same interview, Woz was asked what he thinks about Apple's new Boot Camp software that lets Intel Mac owners dual-boot into the Windows operating system. "I don't think anything of it at all," he responded. "You know, people say a bunch of PC people will now buy Macs. No. What I really want is just a window that I can go back and forth instantly. I don't have to reboot."



Woz says he currently uses Microsoft's Virtual PC when he needs to run Windows. Although he calls it "slow," it doesn't require a reboot to switch between Mac and Windows applications, he explained.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 67
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Nerd fight!
  • Reply 2 of 67
    I have to say I admire Woz's honesty. It's hard for me to believe how he and Steve ever got along at all.
  • Reply 3 of 67
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Woz is a brilliant engineer and programmer. Jobs is a brilliant salesman. Ne'er the twain shall meet. 8)
  • Reply 4 of 67
    I believe that should foreword.



    Probably not nice that my first post is to correct spelling. Well, we all gotta start somewhere.
  • Reply 5 of 67
    Isn't it foreword.
  • Reply 6 of 67
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Alias789

    Isn't it foreword.



    Yes, it is. :-)
  • Reply 7 of 67
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Helgegrimm

    Yes, it is. :-)



    Thanks guys!



    Yeah, Woz misspelled the word and it carried over. Everything has been changed except for his quotes; they were written quotes, so I don't think they should be changed.



    I appreciate it,



    Kasper
  • Reply 8 of 67
    bwhalerbwhaler Posts: 260member
    This story bums me out.



    Everyone knows that Jobs is a tyrant for quality and the best of the best, but I always hoped this was more about being demanding than being a jerk.



    I think no matter what Woz said in the book, Steve should of written the foreward. If he didn't like parts of the book, he could comment that while he didn't agree with everything, Woz was an incredible guy, etc., etc.
  • Reply 9 of 67
    Mr Jobs needs to grow up
  • Reply 10 of 67
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Why does everyone act like a reboot is so friggin' hard?



    It's less than 2 minutes out of your life!



    This guy is brilliant but thinks working "slowly" in VPC is more convinient and easier than simply rebooting?
  • Reply 11 of 67
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BWhaler

    Steve should of written the foreward.



    Whilst we're going on about spelling and such; Steve should have written the foreword. I agree, he comes across as getting bitter about little things. I can't imagine Woz has said anything too bad, but I guess we'll read it for ourselves soon. Would have been nice to see what Steve J had to say though.



    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    Why does everyone act like a reboot is so friggin' hard?



    It's less than 2 minutes out of your life!



    This guy is brilliant but thinks working "slowly" in VPC is more convinient and easier than simply rebooting?




    It depends. If there is one app you want to use on PC and 5 on the Mac, at the same time, it's easier and quicker to run VPC.
  • Reply 12 of 67
    sandausandau Posts: 1,230member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    Why does everyone act like a reboot is so friggin' hard?



    It's less than 2 minutes out of your life!



    This guy is brilliant but thinks working "slowly" in VPC is more convinient and easier than simply rebooting?




    or, if you are like me, you have fast user switching enabled and 'user' sessions working in the background doing other tasks, like downloading files, converting movies, etc.



    A big reboot kills all that. Not quite so useful after all.
  • Reply 13 of 67
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    Why does everyone act like a reboot is so friggin' hard?



    It's less than 2 minutes out of your life!



    This guy is brilliant but thinks working "slowly" in VPC is more convinient and easier than simply rebooting?




    I don't know about you, but when I'm working I have a ton of apps running and various windows configured to the tasks at hand. A reboot destroys this state and requires setting it all up again.



    Dual Booting may work for hardcore gamers or for use as an isolated test system, but if you really rely on your mac you don't want to drop everything to restart in to Windows.
  • Reply 14 of 67
    I'm no fan of Windows but it would be nice if they integrated the fast user switching and Boot Camp. Could that solve the problem of different instructions sets for apps? I'm just asking so don't flame me for my naivete?



    Sorry for being off topic.
  • Reply 15 of 67
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Xool

    I don't know about you, but when I'm working I have a ton of apps running and various windows configured to the tasks at hand. A reboot destroys this state and requires setting it all up again.



    Dual Booting may work for hardcore gamers or for use as an isolated test system, but if you really rely on your mac you don't want to drop everything to restart in to Windows.




    Yeah but if that was the case then until now you couldn't switch into windows and were most likely fine with that.



    Now you want to run tons of apps and downloads and then leave that to run windows while still having the other stuff going on, all at native speeds....isn't that asking a lot?
  • Reply 16 of 67
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Can´t say it surprise me but its still sad.



    They might not be close friends (who wants to be "beer-n-bbq" buddy with Jobs anyway?) but how hard is it to write the foreword to the biography the man who laid the foundation for your company (yes, the Apple II is without doubt the most importent product in Apple history)? Talk a bit about the old days blabla.



    The problem with Jobs is he just have no class. I don´t mean that in a small way. I mean that in a big way.



    But hey, .... him. Just like I can appreciate Bill Gates when he is handing out all his wealth to good causes without wishing to run Windows, I can enjoy my Apple computing without having to like their CEO. Hitler DID build those Autobahns, didn´t he?
  • Reply 17 of 67
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Mr. Jobs doesn't need to grow up. Either you have worked under/around him and have a firsthand impression or you take third hand words as first hand experience.



    Wozniak as a "brilliant" engineer lamentation is getting tiresome.



    This gossip is befitting of The Star or The Inquirer.



    Get over it. Nothing at Apple we see today has any "touch" of Wozniak in it.



    If you want to thank some brilliant engineers than start with the ones that bring you the products you constantly critique.
  • Reply 17 of 67
    jimdreamworxjimdreamworx Posts: 1,095member
    Quote:

    Woz says he currently uses Microsoft's Virtual PC when he needs to run Windows. Although he calls it "slow," it doesn't require a reboot to switch between Mac and Windows applications, he explained.



    Woz hasn't tried Parallels?!?!
  • Reply 19 of 67
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Anders

    Can´t say it surprise me but its still sad.



    They might not be close friends (who wants to be "beer-n-bbq" buddy with Jobs anyway?) but how hard is it to write the foreword to the biography the man who laid the foundation for your company (yes, the Apple II is without doubt the most importent product in Apple history)? Talk a bit about the old days blabla.



    The problem with Jobs is he just have no class. I don´t mean that in a small way. I mean that in a big way.



    But hey, .... him. Just like I can appreciate Bill Gates when he is handing out all his wealth to good causes without wishing to run Windows, I can enjoy my Apple computing without having to like their CEO. Hitler DID build those Autobahns, didn´t he?




    Woz laid the beginnings of the company with the Apple II, technically speaking.



    The investors laid the rest; and without their confidence in the duo, especially in Steve, selling the Apple II most certainly never would have gotten passed the hobby shops.
  • Reply 20 of 67
    hardeeharharhardeeharhar Posts: 4,841member
    [who cares]
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