Apple was kind enough to include a veritable encyclopedia of information with my Apple ][. Inside the big, red manual, you'll find complete step-by-step instructions for setting up the machine, adjusting a tape recorder for optimal use, plenty of programs to get you started, and a handy reference for the hardware inside.

I found the manual easy to read, although given the constraints of typing programs by hand using a typewriter, some code was printed using a dot matrix printer. Mr. Wozniak includes excellent code to help you build your own programs, however, and code for interfacing with the likes of a teletype, should you need printed output. There are critical routines for floating point calculations, which I'm sure some will appreciate.

Apple introduces a little design philosophy in the manual, which is a welcome break from the volumes used to learn the 5100, for example. Rumors on our sister site Engadget say Tandy is working on a consumer machine with BASIC and a human-readable manual as well, but I'll believe that when I see it. Anyway, the Apple ][ manual has some sample code for making actual audio tones using the built-in speaker (a novel idea, by the way). Why use audio in a program? Here's the design philosophy I found interesting:

"Computers can perform marvelous feats of mathematical computation at well beyond the speed capable of most human minds. They are fast, cold and accurate; man on the other hand is slower, has emotion, and makes errors. These differences create problems when the two interact with one another. So to reduce this problem humanizing of the computer is needed. Humanizing means incorporating within the computer procedures that aid in a computer's usage. One such technique is the addition of a tone subroutine."

It's like they want to make the computer more *personal*, somehow.

Once you've seen how to make graphics, sounds and even interaction and I/O in code, the manual wraps up with a thorough examination of the included hardware. This is a hobbyists' machine, after all. The schematics and diagrams will have you fully understanding how the computer addresses memory and controls video, plus many other miracles I can't believe they crammed into such a small package.

This valuable red book of data comes free with your Apple ][, but I wouldn't part with it! You'll find yourself referring to it time and again. Check out the photostat gallery below for a few sample pages.

Gallery: Apple II Manual

Remember the horrible SCOTTEVEST ads featuring Woz that were going around back in October? A lot of people thought they could do better, so many that SCOTTEVEST is hosting the "Woz Green Screen Contest".

The rules are simple. All you need to do is download some of the green screen footage featuring Woz, and use your video editing skills to create an ad that is funnier than the SCOTTEVEST attempts (it shouldn't be hard...). Post your ad on YouTube, and then promote the heck out of it. If it makes Woz and the folks at SCOTTEVEST laugh, and you're getting thousands of hits on YouTube, you may be a winner.

$4000 in prizes (cash and SCOTTEVEST gear) await your entry. Make sure you get your entry in before April Fools Day.

UK newspaper Telegraph recently interviewed Steve Wozniak about the iPod, iPhone and his future wishes for Apple. He discusses, among other things, the gradual end of the iPod's reign.

"The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one," he says. "Things like, that if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while." I've wondered about this myself. How many time can Apple create an iPod model that's adequately unilke previous versions to create incentive to buy? Jonathan Ive is good, but he's not Gandalf. For example, the new nanos are cool, but not cool enough to cause me to abandon my "fat nano."

Towards the end of the interview, Steve suggests that Apple's next product could be an "iWatch," but we're considering that one of his infamous practical jokes.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Steve "Woz" Wozniak is often considered the "God" of Apple. He was the designer of the first ever Apple computers (Apple / & Apple //). At a recent developer forum at Intel, Woz gave a bit of advice to the engineers. He told them that, "the right way of going through life" is pursuing a vision without compromise.

"If you have technical ideas, if you know what you're good at, and you know what you're doing is right ... you have to shut them out," Woz said, in reference to others telling you how to do something.

According to InformationWeek, Woz went on to discuss other topics. He talked about being a successful inventor. While on this topic, he admitted that not having money helps the creativity.

InformationWeek has the full details on the interview.

A very happy birthday to Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak, the co-founder of the company we all know and love. No comments about "third founder" Ron Wayne, please. Woz will be 58 on Monday, the 11th, but we wanted to give you the scoop on some other things going on in his life right now, so we're running his birthday greetings early.

Woz's Segway Polo team, the Silicon Valley Aftershocks, is playing in the annual Woz Cup at SegwayFesT 2008 in Indianapolis this weekend. They're currently at 2nd place in the standings.

Woz also took the time on Friday, August 8, 2008, to get married to WozWife 4.0 at SegwayFesT 2008. You will be happy / uninterested / dismayed to know that he did not marry former gal pal Kathy Griffin - the name of the new Mrs. Wozniak is not being released at this time.

In case you were wondering, the old lanyards for the 1st-gen iPod nanos work with the current 3rd-gen (aka "fatty" or "video") nanos. Apple moved the dock connection and headphone port away from each other in the 2nd-gen nanos, thus ruining the party for a lot of 3rd-party accessory manufacturers. But now all is well again, unless you just despise the look and shape of the new nano, of course.

And before a wiseacre chimes in with "slow news day, huh?" we'll be honest and say, that yes, it IS a slow news day. Apple has an event next week, which generally means a quiet period beforehand. So until someone sends us pictures of Steve Wozniak showing Larry the Cable Guy a magic trick, we're just going to have to deal with a fairly sparse day of posting.

[thanks to moo for the Woz link and Atariboy for the lanyard tip]

Steve's a smooth guy, we know this. Witness his near-flawless execution of the keynotes. Marvel at how he keeps a straight face when asked about secret projects. Not that he always keeps his cool, but I certainly wouldn't want to play poker with the guy. The criminal part? Well, I'm not talking about stock options, I'm talking about crimes Steve has committed in front of us all, or admitted to publicly.

So remember the prank call to Starbucks during the keynote? Word on the street back in my school daze: prank calling is illegal! Of course, there's a right way and a wrong way to prank call (ask the Jerky Boys). Steve was wise to end that call before someone started pouring the coffee...

Now think back to November 2006, when Universal Music Group's CEO made the bold statement that iPod users are thieves, or, at least, their iPods are full of stolen music (I was just holding it for a friend, officer, honest!). Well hey, maybe he's right. I still don't see the Beatles on iTunes, and yet, somehow Steve had them on his iPhone... So Steve, do we get a copy of Limewire on our iPhones or what? You sneaky devil!

Lastly, don't forget Jobsy's hacker roots. OK, Woz was the real hacker, or prankster in this case. Steve's clicker failing provided everyone in the room with a trip down memory lane. Back when the FCC didn't really worry about a couple of college kids jamming the airwaves and wreaking havoc on nerds in the common room... And then there's the association with a certain Captain Crunch, aka John Draper, and tinkering with Woz's Blue box. That was certainly a crime, although one that was apparently never pursued (despite Draper's arrest and conviction). Boy Steve, what other criminals do you hang with today? Are they as smooth as you? I forgive ya, as long as I can call for free on the iPhone by emitting a 2600 Hz tone...

[Asbestos claim: this is tagged as humor, please make a note of it]

Before we dive into the actual story, lets just take a minute to sit back and appreciate just how fantastically bizarre that title is.
...
Ok then! Mac daddy Steve Wozniak has announced that in December 2007, he and Moon man Buzz Aldrin (second person ever to set foot on the Moon) will participate in an expedition to the South Pole in which the intrepid explorers will be conveyed by Hydrogen fuel cell powered H1 Hummers.

The Apple co-founder revealed his plans at Stanford University's AlwaysOn conference. The modern day eco-friendly adventure will be filmed using 3D cameras for use in an upcoming James Cameron film. According to Woz, the team has received significant input from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which runs three of its buses on fuel cells.

[via Cult of Mac]

Who doesn't like the Woz? Communists, perhaps, but other than that I think he is universally liked (unlike some other Steves). As you know Woz has penned a memoir which means that promotion for the book is needed.

BusinessWeek's Hardy Green sat down with Woz and asked him a few questions. Woz assures people that he and Jobs have never fought, and that he still has a very good relationship with Apple.

Read the whole interview for the full scoop.

He just wanted to be an HP engineer, but instead he co-founded the company that introduced the world to personal computers as we know them. That's Steve Wozniak for you, the merry prankster of the computer age and the affable genius behind Apple's earliest creations.

The Mercury News sat down with Woz and spoke to him about the early days at Apple, his relationship with the other Steve (you know, the one that likes turtlenecks), and how he is treated at Apple Stores.

Thanks, jbelkin.

Leander Kahney has some odds and ends at his Cult of Mac blog, stuff that didn't make it into his column. There's the usual hardware debate, you know, the philosophical differences between Woz's hardware beliefs and Jobs' hardware demands. But there at the end, there's something totally different: a little story about Woz that is just wonderful. It turns the tables on a jokester like Woz in a most unexpected way, and is terrific writing in itself (by Gary Wolf actually).

My wife hates for me to read things to her, but this had her spellbound. So here's my recommendation: when you need to tell a funny story, use this one. But don't bungle the ending! It's the best part, and no way I'm telling you what segment of our population tended to prank call him a few years ago... You'll just have to read it for yourself.

David Pescowitz, columnist and Boing Boing coeditor, conducted a great interview of Steve Wozniak in the Fall 2005 issue of Berkeley School of Engineering's Forefront magazine. The interview includes some nifty nuggets of Wozness including why Woz's Berkeley Engineering diploma is made out to Rocky Raccoon Clark.

I'm not sure I agree with Woz's prediction of 2020, however. He notes that if wireless and wired standards sift down to only a few formats, then we'll have less things to hack on and invent. I'm sure by that point we'll have a slew of new formats in non-wired or wireless ways that evenTesla couldn't imagine.

[photo courtesy Forefront and Boing Boing]

Steve Wozniak is the Steve that everyone likes. Sure Jobs gets most of the attention; he's the flashy in your face one. Woz has always preferred to stay in the background with his nose to the grindstone and work hard. This side of his personality makes him a favorite amongst the geeks of the world, so it is no surprise that he was at Gnomedex 4.0 (also known as 'Geek Central).

ITConversations sat down with him in October 2004 and interviewed him, sure it is a little out of date but still worth a listen.