Steve Wozniak Video Review-Link

In this video, Steve Wozniak shared an interesting perspective about how his garage business turned into Apple, the tech giant that it is today. It was illuminating to see how one small idea can evolve into something great. At least back in earlier days of computing, this sort of thing could happen quite often, as emerging technologies could be created with the bare minimum of supplies, resources, and personnel. I believe the fact that he was building the computers for himself was his most significant strength. Not having the supervision, rules, and regulations to follow, Steve was simply allowed to pursue his dream in any manner that he wished. This environment featuring pure creativity and inspiration seemed to really have enabled Steve to fulfill his desires. In the present day, businesses are often large, consisting of stockholders, managers, and are always in the media’s gaze. Many emerging tech companies are start-ups, who either use crowdfunding or outside investors to gain the resources they need. I believe this action limits the creativity and the reduces the quality of the final product.

Although the style of a garage business is favorable to me, I believe something like Windows 7 could not be made merely by a few individuals with limited resources. Operating systems are very complicated. They must have a tremendous amount of coding for the system to work the way it is intended, to be compatible with other vendors and company’s applications, and must also be continuously updated to keep up with emerging technologies. Security threats are another area that needs an immense amount of attention. A small team just could not create an operating system and then manage it in the way it needs to be. It would require a large workforce composed of many different departments such as a help desk, coding, and network architects. However, an idea such as a new form of wearable technology or small appliance can be created in a smaller environment, with the help of programs like Kickstarter.

Many of these companies who create something great, however, end up selling their company to a larger one. Companies such as Pebble, who manufactured some of the first smartwatches, used Kickstarter to do so, and then was later bought out. I wish this garage business style would be more commonly used today. However, I see a steady decline in unlimited creativity in the tech world.

 Wozniak, Steve. (1984). CChronicles. Steve Wozniak (1984 Interview). Retrieved from Link