February 23, 1973: Hitting the Clock Like a Regular Fella

Steve Wozniak may be a well-heeled philanthropist and world-renowned tinkerer, but at one time, he had a Joe job as an engineer in Hewlett-Packard's calculator division. The job was to Woz's liking even though his efforts to join the computer division failed.

Since he wasn't employed in the computer division, Woz's computer-making aspirations were forced to take the form of a serious hobby. Working on his own, Woz managed to develop the computer that became known as the Apple I. Impressed by his own creation and possessing a strong moral compass, Woz approached Hewlett-Packard with his design.

The people at Hewlett-Packard may have been impressed with the design, but they didn't really see how a computer like the Apple I fit into their business so they declined Woz's offer. With legal clear skies Woz was now free to do anything he wished with his creation. It was this month in 1973 that Woz landed the job that kept his computer fascination a part-time hobby.