It’s interesting how such different things make people “tick.” Wozniak knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t status or money. Yet he was, and still is, a tinkering prankster. Even Wozniak’s Blue Box, which was able to make free calls anywhere in the world, was mainly developed just to see if he could do it. Once he found the frequency used by an analog phone to represent numbers, Wozniak decided to test his invention.
After calling the pope and claiming to be a representative of then-President Nixon, he was told that the pope was sleeping and to try back later. He did, but still was asked the nature of the call–to which Wozniak replied that it was no big deal and he just wanted to make a confession. Back in the pre-9/11 days, Wozniak also used a fake ID over a five-year period when he flew to places. The ID said he was a laser safety inspector. In the photo, he was wearing an eye patch. This was some of what Wozniak was talking about when he said that people need to have fun with their discipline.
Today, Wozniak is excited to see the maker movement and has been spotted walking around the Maker Faire. He confessed to having a Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and a host of other maker toys. He hopes this new movement will inspire the next generation of pranksters…or engineers. While much of what Wozniak talked about was having fun, it was really about doing the right thing for the right reasons. You could tell he knew what he wanted and what his ethics were at a young age. This is increasingly important as our world becomes more of a global economy.
Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs – jammers, phreakers… (video).
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