Filed under: iTS, Cult of Mac, iTunes, Books and Blogs, Stocking Stuffers, The Woz
iWoz on iTunes
iWoz - From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It has made its way into the audiobook section of the iTunes Music Store (iTs link). All 9 hours and 14 minutes of it. Patrick Lawlor does a fine job of narrating it, but he sounds nothing like Woz. And he's no Joey Slotnick, either. That always bothers me when I listen to autobiographies and memoirs. I keep expecting to hear the words straight from the horse's mouth. It's distracting to have it be someone who sounds completely different than what you know the author sounds like. Am I alone in that thinking?
I wonder if iWoz' presence in iTunes is Steve-o's way of making up for that $3,150 he cheated Woz out of?
Anyway, for $15.95, it can be yours - and as the iTunes store blurb reminds us, it also makes a great gift!
Thanks, Steve!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Leonard Nimrod said 9:04AM on 12-08-2006
I'm suprised they are selling the book on the iTS since Jobs had backed out of writing the book's intro because of what WOz said about Jobs in it.
Are we really surprised by how much of a dick he is? He is a textbook sociopath and megalomaniac, that happens to be a great innovator. When he retires, I hope we get another nutjob just like him at Apple.
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Paul said 9:53AM on 12-08-2006
On authors reading their own audiobooks, it's not always a good idea. Any big fan of audiobooks can tall you that it's all in the reading, and even though the author knows the story better than anyone (especially in the case of an autobiography), that doesn' mean that he or she can convey it aloud as well as someone who does that for a living.
Plus, it has to take days to record an unabridged audiobook. That's a huge chunk of time that could be better spent promoting the book, or working on a new one (or taking a well-deserved break).
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Reg said 6:35PM on 12-08-2006
Funny how the amount seems to change with every retelling! There's was even a time I heard Woz say maybe he remembered it wrong anyway. The poor guy did lose half his memory from his plane crash after all.
As to making it up to Woz, I think given that Apple shares made him more millions than he could even put a figure on, after Jobs and Markkula took a company public that he didn't even want to start, kinda made up for it, you know!
If you're interested in a more specifically Mac history, Andy Hertzfield's fascinating 'Revolution in the Valley' is available in a series of podcast readings (for free):
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=154536992
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niclet said 10:58PM on 12-08-2006
I'm totally agree with you Paul. I'm a musician and I have made a lot of "poetry night" following with music the readers. I can tell you that an author is not always the best reader even of his own works. Even more, sometimes they are really boring to ear and don't feel how to "project" their voice. Sure, I don't want to put every author in this, but even if, like BARTHES says, there is nothing like "le grain de la voix" (the [author] voice texture) (sorry for my bad translating), a good reader can make raise quasi any works and this transgression is most important.
Besides, I'm very curious about the iWoz audiobook. Patrick Lawlor, the reader, seem to have made a good job. I thinks I'll try it. It will fit those long winter evenings.
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niclet said 10:12PM on 12-09-2006
Hi,
Well, I'm not accustomed to audiobooks : is it normal that it is so noisy ? Sometimes there's so much hiss, it distract my listening maybe a bad download version. Despite of that, this bio is cool and the "voice casting" is very good, can really see the Woz listening to the reader.
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Josh H. said 10:03PM on 2-14-2007
I recently read this book. It is a great book and i would reccommend it!! WOZ IS THE MAN!!!
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