The Twilight Years of Cap'n Crunch (2007)
online.wsj.com
online.wsj.com
I think his preferences are his own business, but using his reputation to approach a bunch folks much younger than he is and otherwise uninterested, probably had a lot to do with ruining any social capital that he had.
There's a very legitimate discussion that needs to happen about ageism in the industry, but age is not the sole issue in the case of Captain Crunch.
For those unfamiliar, it's really hard to explain just how strange the guy is in print. He's out there.
I have the real story, and the author should have talked to me. After my program Apple Writer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer) replaced Easy Writer and became Apple's default word processor, someone from IBM called me up and asked me to write a word processor for their PC.
I asked "What business terms?" The IBM guy, taken aback that a programmer would switch into business mode so quickly, said, "Okay, you get $100K in royalties, after which we own the program."
I thought for a minute, then said, "100K, okay, umm, that's 15 days of Apple Writer royalties right now. I think you'll need to do better than that." But IBM wouldn't budge, and that ended the negotiation.
Later I heard they offered Draper the same deal and he accepted. Rumor has it that the PC version of Easy Writer was really terrible and didn't last long. Later, Draper supposedly remarked, "They asked for a hundred thousand dollar word processor, and I gave them one."
That's the real reason why older desktop machines are so crappy. That's the reason why IBM wasn't able to compete against their own imitators. And IBM's contemptuous attitude toward their own PC is one of the main reasons Apple was able to introduce the Macintosh to an adoring public. It really was spectacularly better than the original IBM PC.
Yeah, I went all googly-eyed when I read that.
I'll get there though.
I don't know much about programming, so this question might seem a little dumb, but how did you write Apple Writer?
And how did it end up being used in Apple's O/S?
At the time (beginning in 1978) Apple had only one computer for sale -- a small machine called the Apple II that used a very limited processor called the 6502. Both RAM and storage were limited, and the machine had a clock speed of 1 mHz (glacially slow by modern standards).
Also (apart from a version of BASIC that was too slow for serious work), there were no high-level languages, so if you wanted to write a high performance program, you needed to write in assembly language -- one step above object code.
I wrote Apple Writer in assembly language -- a very slow and laborious process, but the resulting program was very fast - much faster than its competition. This was one reason for its success.
> And how did it end up being used in Apple's O/S?
It was actually sold alongside Apple's operating system, it wasn't integrated into it. What happened was that the Apple decision-makers, Steve Jobs in particular, realized they had already saturated the market for hobbyists, and wanted to begin to sell computers to ordinary people, people who intended to use a computer to solve everyday problems like writing and printing documents.
Somehow they heard about a word processor I was writing for my own use, and asked to see it. So, riding my bicycle to the post office with a big manila envelope, I thought, "Hey, maybe they'll like my program. I might make hundreds of dollars." As it turned out, over the next five years I made over six million dollars in royalties.
More details: http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/cottage_computer_programmi...
Also, I have a new goal in life: to write something entirely in assembly language. Maybe I'll make a couple hundred dollars...
I remember back in 2001, seeing Draper speak at University of Illinois about his "CrunchBox" security appliance. I got the vibe that he was just repackaging some open source software on it and putting his name on it.
I never really heard anything more about it after that talk, though - I guess this explained what happened.
This does.
Just seeing what he came up with each year would be far more entertaining than another beach vacation somewhere.
Not a lot of folks think about that now, but someday, maybe sooner than we would like, some icon of computing history is going to get rousted out of a homeless shelter on national TV. I don't look forward to that day, not at all.
"Mr. Draper's unusual behavior, such as shouting at anyone smoking anywhere near him, could wear on fellow workers and employers. 'He was not a self-starter, or associated with all the companies springing up back then,' says Mr. Wozniak. 'But, actually, John is one of the happiest guys I know, no matter what his situation seems.'"
No dude, you're just old, in an industry with entrenched ageism. Just like the other accomplished engineers in the story living in mobile homes, couchsurfing, and living in a bus. Not a lack of skill or relevance, so much as an excess of gray hair.
Imagine the same story if he went for management instead of engineering, he'd be a CEO somewhere, greatly loved for his eccentricity, etc.
FTA: "John was a little strange and Jobs felt better staying away from him," says Mr. Wozniak
Was I the only guy to find that line amusing?
My guess about what made him uncomfortable? John probably wanted Steve to "work out" with him.
Source: I was into phone phreaking in the late 70s and was friends with John for a while. Until one day he asked me to work out with him. And then I found out what he meant. No thanks!
To explain my discomfort, can I just say that there was an obvious sexual aspect to the "workout" and leave it at that?
http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/24/paranoia.id...
Capt Crunch would likely do better if he bathed regularly, washed his clothes, and stopped shouting at people whose behavior he doesn't like (and hapless waiters who bring him substandard bacon). And then there's that pesky criminal record.
Years ago one friend of mine went to a conference Draper was at. During a break he went outside for a smoke, well away from the building. Draper left the building through the same door, saw him smoking, and did his "I'm going to scream at you now" act.
My friend had no idea who he was, and as a result almost punched Draper in the face.
Then there's his criminal record. But to Draper it's all a persecution complex. He doesn't have enough sensitivity as a human being to understand why many people didn't want to work with him at any age.
Maybe if your view of "this industry" stops at Silicon Valley startups. But there has always been a place for older programmers / hackers in the world, and there's a reason the stereotype of the "UNIX Greybeard" exists in the first place.
Personally, If I had money to spend hiring people, I'd hire Captain Crunch in a heartbeat. Hell, I'd hire him to do nothing but sit around and smoke weed all day, and appear at events and what-not, just to support a legend like this. And think about the "geek cred" of being the company that John Draper works for.
It's too bad Capt. Crunch has fallen on such hard times. I wonder what's happened since this article was written?
I realize the need for some techies to look down on people who won't assent to their brand of whatever for a chance to climb the ladder of temporary success. Draper's more widely known and admired than most of you will ever be. So I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. (which probably doesn't involve hanging out with Woz)
I don't see anything in these comments that looks like homophobia. Maybe they deleted it.