Zaltair Computer Joke by Steve Wozniak - KK4WW

Computer Zaltair http://www.ourcyberbusiness.net http://www.floydfolks.org & 1-540-808-2880 - PO Box 179 Floyd, Virginia 24091- "Zaltair Computer" A really great practical joke that Steve Wozniak ( designer of the Apple 1 Microcomputer ) pulled of at the First West Coast Computer Faire in April 1977. Steve says in his book "IWoz" that he likes to do practical jokes and have someone else get blamed for doing the joke. In the case of the Zaltair he did a very good job and did not get accused of being the originator of the joke in fact Gary Ingram at Processor Technology was the one accursed of doing the hoax. The hoax was directed toward the Ed Roberts and his Mitts Altair 8800 microcomputer.
Steve called his friend Adam Schoolsky to come help with this hoax. Adam and Steve created the Zaltair handout and printed 8,000 of them for $400. They called in Chris Espinoza and Randy Wiggington -- a couple of teenage friends to help distribute the brochure. Steve told them all that no matter what, they could not admit the hoax to any one.
They started by putting a good number of them out on a table where many vendors were displaying literature. It was discovered that they disappeared very fast so they watched and saw a representative from the Mitts Altair Company was taking them all. It was clear a much more secret way to put them out would be needed. At this point they started to carry them around under their coat and put a few here and there usually putting them a few down in someone else's stack of literature. When Steve Jobs first saw the Zaltair brochure he thought it was real and made the comment that the Apple 2 did not look to bad compared to the other computers. Apple 1 designer Steve Wozniak.

Web site macmothership with lots of Apple information - good resource http://www.macmothership.com


Christies sells Apple 1 for $213,000 http://www.christies.com/features/apple-1-personal-computer-1089-1.aspx


It was a number of years later that Steve Wozniak admitted to Steve Jobs and Mike Scott that he was the one responsible for the Zaltair hoax. They had a good laugh about the whole thing.
I really enjoyed the book "iWoz" and liked the idea that Steve always looked out for folks he was friends with or worked with -- like selling some of his stock to about 40 engineers at Apple for a price he new would make them a lot of money when the company went public. He also gave a reported million dollars to several friends who had helped him in the early days of Apple but were not in on the good buy like the engineers at Apple.
This material is based on information from Steve Wozniaks book "iWoz"
Bill St Pierre Floyd

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• microcomputer
• Vintage
• computer
• Hoax
• Zaltair
• Antique
• Steve_Wozniak
• Apple1
• Microprocessor
• iWoz
• Adam_Schoolsky
• David_Larsen
• Gaynell_Larsen
• KK4WW
• Bugbooks
• LCF_Group
• Floyd_Virginia
• KK4WWW
• J79WWW
• N4USA
• FAIRS
• Dee_Wallace
• KG4VMI
• Steve_Jobs
• bugbook
• electronics
• cellphones
• smart phones
• for_sale_by_owner
• Chantilly
• Festival
• Farm

[lcfgroup]

We are in the Appalachian Music community of Floyd Virginia - I am also making a small museum display of some of my computers available to the public in the Village Green. We are on the "Blue Ridge Parkway" & " The Crooked Road - Virginia's Heritage Music Trail" . A lot of good things here - drop in and see us sometime. Also if you are biker this is a big stop over for riders on the Blue Ridge Parkway - Dave

[lcfgroup]

We have Apple 1 Microcomputers in LCF Group - you can see all 4 in our LCF Group collection at Mike Willegal's ' Apple 1 Registry ' - Folks ask how did you ever get 4 Apple 1's - short answer - I have been involved in teaching, using, collecting & writing about computers at Virginia Tech & other places for over 54 years - started at Remington Rand Univac company in 1967 - I have advertised in various trade magazines ' wanted pre1980 microcomputers for historical collection' for past 40 yrs

[mysciencenow]

haahah

[lcfgroup]

@mysciencenow You are right it was a good hoax and practical joke that worked really well. I don't know what Ed Roberts thought but it did get him a lot phones calls - hope he converted them to sales.

[lcfgroup]

@lcfgroup I have learned from a viewer that the Zaltair article I show in this video is from the book "Digital Deli" page 80. Thank you for the help so we can put in the proper reference to the work.

[mysciencenow]

@lcfgroup i think that it must have gotten alot of people;s attention ....its sort of like a scientific comic book