Steven Levy

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Steven Levy
Steven Levy Author.JPG
Author Steven Levy at a book signing at Nest Labs in Palo Alto, February 2014
Born1951 (1951) (age 73)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
OccupationAuthor, columnist
Alma mater Temple University (BA)
Pennsylvania State University (MA)
Genrenon-fiction (science-technology, business)
Notable works
Spouse Teresa Carpenter
Children1 son
Website
stevenlevy.com

Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist and editor at large for Wired who has written extensively for publications on computers, technology, cryptography, the internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. He is the author of the 1984 book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution , which chronicles the early days of the computer underground. Levy published eight books covering computer hacker culture, artificial intelligence, cryptography, and multi-year exposés of Apple, Google, and Facebook. His most recent book, Facebook: The Inside Story, recounts the history and rise of Facebook from three years of interviews with employees, including Chamath Palihapitiya, Sheryl Sandberg, and Mark Zuckerberg. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Levy was born in Philadelphia in 1951. He graduated from Central High School and received a bachelor's degree in English [2] from Temple University. He earned a master's degree in literature from Pennsylvania State University. [3]

Career

In the mid-1970s, Levy worked as a freelance journalist and frequently contributed to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Today magazine. [4] [5] [6] In 1976, he was a founding co-editor of the Free Times, a weekly guide to happenings in Philadelphia. He became as senior editor of New Jersey Monthly , and rediscovered Albert Einstein's brain floating in a mason jar in the Wichita office of pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey while reporting a story in 1978. [7] [8]

In the 1980s, Levy's work became more focused on technology. In 1981, Rolling Stone assigned him an article on computer hackers, [9] which he expanded into a book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, published in 1984. He described the "hacker ethic", the belief that all information should be free and that it ought to change life for the better. [10] Levy was a contributor to Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Software Catalog , first published in 1984. He was a contributing editor to Popular Computing and wrote a monthly column in the magazine, initially called "Telecomputing" [11] and later named "Micro Journal" [12] and "Computer Journal", [13] from April 1983 to the magazine's closure in December 1985. [14] In December 1986, Levy founded the Macworld Game Hall of Fame, [15] which Macworld published annually until 2009. [16] Levy stepped away from the technology beat in his second book, on the murderous past of hippie and Earth Day co-founder Ira Einhorn, published in 1988 and adapted into an NBC TV miniseries with Naomi Watts in 1999. [17] [18] [2] Levy's 1992 book about AI called Artificial Life was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology. [19] [20] In 1994, he published the book Insanely Great about the Mac computer. [21]

Levy joined Newsweek in 1995 as a technology writer and senior editor. [3] In July 2004, Levy published a cover story for Newsweek (which also featured an interview with Apple CEO Steve Jobs) which unveiled the 4th generation of the iPod to the world before Apple had officially done so. [22] He continued his coverage of the iPod into a book called The Perfect Thing published in 2006. [23]

In 2014, he co-created the tech blog Backchannel, which was integrated into Wired in 2017. [24] Since 2008, Levy has worked as a writer and editor at large for Wired . [25] At various points throughout his career, Levy has written freelance pieces for publications including Harper's, The New York Times Magazine , The New Yorker , and Premiere.

Personal life

He lives in New York City with his wife Teresa Carpenter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning true crime and history writer. [2] They have a son. [3]

Bibliography

Steven Levy and Adam D'Angelo (left) Adam D'Angelo and Steven Levy in 2011.jpg
Steven Levy and Adam D'Angelo (left)

Books

Essays and reporting

Related Research Articles

Wired is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, its editorial offices are in San Francisco, California, and its business office at Condé Nast headquarters in Liberty Tower in New York City. Wired has been in publication since its launch in January 1993. Several spin-offs have followed, including Wired UK, Wired Italia, Wired Japan, Wired Czech Republic and Slovakia and Wired Germany.

iPod Line of portable media players by Apple (2001–2022)

The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on November 10, 2001, about 8+12 months after the Macintosh version of iTunes was released. Apple sold an estimated 450 million iPod products as of 2022. Apple discontinued the iPod product line on May 10, 2022. At over 20 years, the iPod brand is the longest-running to be discontinued by Apple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Mac G4 Cube</span> Personal computer produced by Apple Inc. from 2000 to 2001

The Power Mac G4 Cube is a Mac personal computer sold by Apple Computer, Inc. between July 2000 and 2001. The Cube was conceived as a miniaturized but powerful computer by Apple chief executive officer (CEO) Steve Jobs and designed by Jony Ive. Apple developed new technologies and manufacturing methods for the product—a 7.7-inch (20 cm) cubic computer housed in clear acrylic glass. Apple positioned it in the middle of its product range, between the consumer iMac G3 and the professional Power Mac G4. The Cube was announced at the Macworld Expo on July 19, 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homebrew Computer Club</span> Computer hobbyist users group in California

The Homebrew Computer Club was an early computer hobbyist group in Menlo Park, California, which met from March 1975 to December 1986. The club had an influential role in the development of the microcomputer revolution and the rise of that aspect of the Silicon Valley information technology industrial complex.

<i>Macworld</i> Magazine and website dedicated to Apple products

Macworld is a digital magazine and website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG.

<i>Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution</i> 1984 non-fiction book by Steven Levy

Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (ISBN 0-385-19195-2) is a book by Steven Levy about hacker culture. It was published in 1984 in Garden City, New York by Doubleday. Levy describes the people, the machines, and the events that defined the Hacker culture and the Hacker Ethic, from the early mainframe hackers at MIT, to the self-made hardware hackers and game hackers.

Katie Hafner is an American journalist and author. She is a former staff member of The New York Times, and has written articles and books on subjects including technology and history. She co-produces and hosts the podcast series Lost Women of Science. Her first novel, The Boys, was published in 2022.

iMac G3 1998–2003 all-in-one computer by Apple

The iMac G3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers that Apple Computer sold from 1998 to 2003. The iMac was Apple's first major product release under CEO Steve Jobs following his return to the financially troubled company he co-founded. Jobs reorganized the company and simplified the product line. The iMac was designed as Apple's new consumer desktop product—an inexpensive, consumer-oriented computer that would easily connect to the Internet.

The Apple community is the users, media, and third party companies interested in Apple Inc. and its products. They discuss rumors, future products, news stories, and support of Apple's products. Apple has a devoted following, especially for the Apple II, Mac, iPod, iPhone, and luminary staff members. The personal computer revolution, mixed with Apple's vertical integration of its products and services, has increased popularity. Apple's corporate policy of extreme secrecy about future products intensify interest in the company's activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Snell (writer)</span> American writer, editor, and podcaster (born 1970)

Jason Snell is an American writer, editor, and podcaster whose professional career has been split between covering technology—heavily focused on Apple Inc.'s Macintosh computers, iPhones, and services—and pop culture. Snell was an early Internet publisher, producing the fiction journal InterText, as well as creating or editing several other early Internet magazines and websites. He served in a variety of editorial positions at IDG during more than 25 years, including as editor-in-chief of Macworld magazine. He finished up his IDG tenure serving as the senior vice president of IDG Consumer & Small Business Publishing (CSMB). He continues to write a weekly column at Macworld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Kotok</span> American computer scientist

Alan Kotok was an American computer scientist known for his work at Digital Equipment Corporation and at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Steven Levy, in his book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, describes Kotok and his classmates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the first true hackers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Tomczyk</span> American businessman and home computer pioneer

Michael S. Tomczyk is best known for his role in guiding the development and launch of the first microcomputer to sell one million units, as Product Manager of the VIC-20 from Commodore. His contributions are described in detail in his 1984 book, THE HOME COMPUTER WARS: An Insider's True Account of Commodore and Jack Tramiel. His role is also documented extensively in numerous interviews and articles. The VIC-20 was the first affordable, full-featured color computer and the first home computer to be sold in KMart and other mass market outlets. Michael joined Commodore in April 1980 as Assistant to the President. He has been called the "marketing father" of the home computer. Michael was also a pioneer in telecomputing, as co-designer of the Commodore VICModem, which he conceived and contracted while at Commodore. The VICModem was the first modem priced under $100 and the first modem to sell one million units.

People's Computer Company (PCC) was an organization, a newsletter and, later, a quasiperiodical called the Dragonsmoke. PCC was founded and produced by Dennis Allison, Bob Albrecht and George Firedrake in Menlo Park, California in the early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac (computer)</span> Family of personal computers made by Apple

Mac, short for Macintosh, is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple. The name Macintosh is a reference to a type of apple called McIntosh. The product lineup includes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro desktops. Macs are sold with the macOS operating system.

The Jargon File is a glossary and usage dictionary of slang used by computer programmers. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab (SAIL) and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, including Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN), Carnegie Mellon University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It was published in paperback form in 1983 as The Hacker's Dictionary, revised in 1991 as The New Hacker's Dictionary.

iPhone (1st generation) 2007 Apple smartphone

The iPhone is the first iPhone model and the first smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. After years of rumors and speculation, it was officially announced on January 9, 2007, and was released in the United States on June 29, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open Compute Project</span> Organization that shares designs of data center products

The Open Compute Project (OCP) is an organization that facilitates the sharing of data center product designs and industry best practices among companies. Founded in 2011, OCP has significantly influenced the design and operation of large-scale computing facilities worldwide.

Robert Alan Saunders was an American computer scientist, most famous for his involvement with Spacewar. Saunders joined the Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) led by Alan Kotok, Peter Samson, and himself. They then met Marvin Minsky and other influential pioneers in what was then known as Artificial Intelligence.

Margot Comstock was co-founder and editor of Softalk magazine, which was influential in the Apple II community, as part of a growing personal computing movement.

References

  1. Levy, Steven (2020). Facebook: The Inside Story. Penguin. ISBN   9780735213159.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ubiquity: An Interview with Newsweek's Steven Levy". ubiquity.acm.org. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "About Steven Levy". Stevenlevy.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2007. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  4. "Honky-tonk Odyssey". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 9, 1976. p. 320. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  5. "South Jersey's Oasis of Soul". The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 17, 1977. p. 292. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  6. "The Poet of Pop". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 30, 1976. p. 305. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  7. "Einstein's Brain". About Steven. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  8. "Parts of Dr. Einstein's Brain Located, Still Being Studied". The Daily Herald. July 27, 1978. p. 14. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  9. "HIPPIE VERSUS NERD". www.bookforum.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  10. Steven Levy. Hackers. p. ix.
  11. Levy, Steven (April 1983). "Telecomputing". Popular Computing . 2 (6). McGraw-Hill, Inc.: 68.
  12. Levy, Steven (April 1984). "Micro Journal". Popular Computing . 3 (6). McGraw-Hill, Inc.: 70.
  13. Levy, Steven (May 1985). "Computer Journal". Popular Computing . 4 (7). McGraw-Hill, Inc.: 38.
  14. Levy, Steven (December 1985). "Computer Journal". Popular Computing . 5 (2). McGraw-Hill, Inc.: 32.
  15. Levy, Steven (December 1986). "The Game Hall of Fame". Macworld . 3 (12). PCW Communications, Inc: 119.
  16. Cohen, Peter (December 29, 2009). "Macworld's 2009 Game Hall of Fame". Macworld . IDG Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021.
  17. "The Unicorn's Secret: Murder in the Age of Aquarius". The Monitor. October 14, 1988. p. 32. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  18. "The Einhorn Revelations". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 6, 1988. p. 564. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  19. "The computer critters". Chicago Tribune. June 14, 1992. p. 316. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  20. "1992 Los Angeles Times Book Prize - Science & Technology Winner and Nominees". Awards Archive. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  21. "Computer's history makes for a lively tale of a mouse". The Boston Globe. January 28, 1994. p. 46. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  22. Levy, Steven (July 24, 2004). "iPod Nation". Newsweek . CXLIV (4). Newsweek, Inc.: 42–50.
  23. "The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness by Steven Levy". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  24. "Speaker Details: LiveWIRED". events.wired.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  25. "Steven Levy".
  26. Wired often changes the title of a print article when it is published online. This article is titled "Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton on the NSA, Safe Sex, and American Exceptionalism" online.