According to Steve Wozniak’s website this morning, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) co-founder Steve Jobs never wrote computer code for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and he “didn’t do any original design” for the company. The information was posted by the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) co-founder on Woz.com in response to an emailed question from a fan.
The question, which was not sourced on the site, was from a computer science major who wondered about Steve Jobs’ technical ability. “Does Steve Jobs know how to code? Is he an engineer (i.e. did he know what the heck you were doing when you were building the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)?)” read the question.
Steve Jobs wasn’t an engineer
According to the response from Steve Wozniak, “Steve didn’t ever code. He wasn’t an engineer and he didn’t do any original design.” Wozniak did say, however, that Jobs “was technical enough to alter and change and add to other designs.” Questions about Jobs’ technical ability have dogged conversions about the tech luminary between fans and detractors.
The fact is that in the early days of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Steve Jobs was not involved in the technical choices made at the company. Wozniak says, “I did all of the Apple I and Apple II myself, including the feature choices. I did all of the BASIC myself (it’s in handwriting as I couldn’t afford an assembler).”
Steve jobs did none of the programming and none of the design for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) when it started as a tiny computer company in California. Wozniak left his employment at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) completely in 1987, after several years of minor and sporadic employment in the company.
Apple CEO’s legacy
Steve Jobs is a very difficult man to categorize. He was not a programmer nor a design engineer at the computer company he turned into the world’s biggest. His philosophy and management were, however, incredibly important in making the company what it is today. He leaves few lessons for designers and engineers.
After Wozniak left the company in 1987, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had been transformed into a multinational computer corporation, and it is unlikely that he got his hands dirty writing code in the years that followed. Steve Jobs did work at Atari for a period designing computer games, but it seems unlikely that he actually wrote the code involved given today’s revelation from Wozniak.
