Steve Wozniak

Steve Wozniak

Awards

IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award

Biography

As co-founder of Apple Computer and developer of the first broadly available personal computers, the Apple I and II, Steve Wozniak’s technical contributions have touched practically every aspect of the consumer electronics market. Wozniak designed the Apple I as a video terminal with a built-in monitor program, which was more user friendly than other computers at that time. Wozniak added a central processing unit, keyboard, color graphics, and a floppy disk drive in the Apple II. It also featured early “plug-and-play” functionality. These computers were accessible to consumers who wanted to just use the hardware and its applications without having to become experts. Wozniak also contributed to the Macintosh, which introduced elements now common in all personal computers and many consumer devices, including graphical user interfaces and pointing devices.

An IEEE Fellow, Wozniak is a speaker with Woz Speaks, Los Gatos, CA, USA.