Steve Wozniak: I don't have broadband at home

[klr]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/us ... dband-home

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak: I don't have broadband at home
Computing guru stuns business forum in Australia by admitting he doesn't have high-speed internet at his California home

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has reportedly let slip an admission that will dumbfound the web generation he helped create – he doesn't have broadband at home.

Wozniak was talking to a business forum in Australia when he confessed to not having access to cable or high-speed internet at his house in Los Gatos, California.

Stunning his audience, he reiterated: "I, Steve Wozniak, don't have broadband at home," News.com.au reported.

According to the news website, the 61-year-old computer engineer went on to explain that it was a case of living in the wrong part of town, with the worst kind of service.

"I live one kilometere out of the main part of town," he told the Perth-based forum.

News.com.au said he continued: "Broadband is a monopoly in my town. That means you can get it from a cable company – but I don't have cable."

Wozniak added that there are "50 companies" trying to sell him DSL, but they would have to go through the local phone company Horizon's wires.

"I've got one of the two worst Horizons in the country. And so I can't get broadband in my house," he reportedly said.

Wozniak is hailed as a tech hero by fans of all things Apple. Having founded the company alongside Steve Jobs, Wozniak created the Apple I and Apple II computers in the mid 1970s.

Despite leaving full-time employment at the firm in 1987, he is still seen as an ambassador of the brand. Last year he queued overnight to make sure he was the first in line in get the iPhone 4S at his local Apple store.

Is broadband availability really that dodgy in the USA?

[Warren Dew]

In some places it is. I just had a multihour outage last night, and I have one of the better providers in this area.

[Azathoth]

Like he couldnt afford to get a dedicated pipe run in if he wanted to. I call bullshit

[Svartalf]

You know how the rich stay rich? they avoid spending... he just does his net stuff at the office.

[Hermit]

Reminds me of the time Bill Gates said "My computer is a 486 laptop with..." Like that's all he uses by way of computers.

It wouldn't surprise me if Wozniak had a very fast satellite connection, and somehow forgot to mention that. As for queuing up for an iPhone 4S at his local Apple store, that would have to be a publicity stunt, and nothing more.

[maiforpeace]

Like he couldnt afford to get a dedicated pipe run in if he wanted to. I call bullshit

I don't live too far away from Los Gatos which is, along with Saratoga the richest part of the South Bay Area - the North Bay Area, of course would be areas like Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

And, the main apple store is on downtown Los Gatos, so for Steve to go stand in line probably is a big party and publicity stunt. I think I remember reading somewhere one of the high end restaurants nearby stayed open all night before the IPhones went on sale. People in line took turns holding each others places and went to the restaurant for drinks and food.

[Rum]

I read Steve Jobs' biography a few months ago. Jobs came over as pretty nasty piece of work in a lot of ways, but Wozniak, who was behind a great deal of the early technology came over as a big niaive softy more interested in ideas and the fun than in the money and kudos. Jobs clearly took advantage of him on several occasions if the book is to be believed. The way Wozniak's personality came over it doesn't surprise me in the least that he simply might not be bothered about broadband at home.

[Robert_S]

You can still post on fora without a broadband connection. What else do you really need?