Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak turns 70 today, and you can celebrate by attending his famous studded virtual birthday party that takes place in just a few hours at 8PM ET. Today’s party also kicks off an “11 Days of Wozdom” social media contest with Woz autographed Apple products as prizes.
However, the celebration is not just an excuse to celebrate a major figure in American technology history. It is also a fundraiser to support Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation (yes, as in the Grammy-nominated singer Jewel). She will host the evenings of festivities, which will feature an enormous number of singers, actors, comedians and other notable celebrities. It’s a seriously impressive (and honestly, rather eclectic) mix, of which the following is just a small example: Carlos Santana, Chris Rock, Emmylou Harris, George Takei, John Sculley, Kristi Yamaguchi, Mark Cuban, Nancy Pelosi, Rafael Nadal, Richard Branson, Shaquille O’Neal, and William Shatner.
Wozniak got his start as an engineer at HP, where he says he was rejected five times for making a personal computer. While at HP, he met Steve Jobs and went on to design Apple’s first computers, the Apple I and Apple II. Wozniak has since become a very public figure, and despite leaving Apple in 1985, he is still closely associated with the company he co-founded (and could even be found waiting outside an Apple Store for the launch of a new iPhone, just like the rest of us). He is also not afraid to speak out against Apple or even other technology companies.
If you want to watch Wozniak’s birthday tonight, you can tune in to the birthday party website, Twitch, as Twitter, and the festivities begin at 8PM ET.
