Bill Fernandez In the Spotlight

Largely due to the roles he has played in the history of personal computing in general, and of Apple Computer in particular, Bill is mentioned in over sixty websites and in at least eight books. This page lists a number of these references.

Some Highlights:
(These links all worked in November 2004)

From the "Smart Home Hacks" book by Gordon Meyer

"Bill Fernandez is an avid electronics hobbyist, home automation aficionado, do-it-yourselfer, home handyman, fine-art photographer, martial artist, husband, father, and all-around nice guy. Bill is known for having introduced Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to each other, and for having been Apple Computer's first employee. Professionally, Bill is a consulting user interface architect."

From the "Great Garages" article in Forbes magazine by Michael S. Malone

"In fact, there are only three great garages in the Silicon Valley story, two of which you've ever heard of. The one you don't know belonged to my Sunday school teacher, then mayor of Sunnyvale. It was there that his son, Bill Fernandez, and his son's friend, Steve Wozniak, built the Cream Soda computer -- the machine that might have changed history had it not shorted out during a presentation to a local reporter. It was also in this garage that Woz first met Bill's other friend, Steve Jobs. Later this troika would move to a much more famous garage, belonging to the Jobs family, a few blocks away in Cupertino. There they would found Apple Computer."

From the "Friends of Apple on the Net" web page
(rough translation from the Italian)

"On the web you can find interesting references to the names that have figured in the history of computer science, and in particular of Apple Computer and the Macintosh. We shall highlight a few of these.

The first one is Bill Fernandez, who has designed the user interfaces of many programs and pieces of the Macintosh system, including innovations such as HyperCard, Quicktime (for both Macintosh and Windows), the System 7 Finder, as well as programming for the Apple 2GS and development of crucial hardware such as the Macintosh external disk drive and the AppleTalk PC card."

From the "Significant People at Apple" web page
(in the original French)

"Bill Fernandez employé N°4
Bill et Woz sont des amis d'enfance. En 1971, ils créèrent ensemble leur premier ordinateur qu'il appelèrent "Ice Cream Soda". Bill  présenta officiellement Jobs à Woz. Il fût l'un des premiers employés d'Apple (N°4) et participa à la création de nombreux ordinateurs  comme l'Apple 1, II et les premières versions de Macintosh. Il participa aussi au développement  de logiciels comme Mac OS, HyperCard et QuickTime. Bill quitta Apple en 1993 pour entrer dans la société Ingres Corp en tant que chef de développement d'outils pour des GUI. En 1995, il démissionna pour entrer chez Documentum, Inc.(à Pleasanton) comme architecte en GUI. Bill changea à nouveau de société pour devenir consultant indépendant."

From a brief Biography of Steve Wozniak
(in the original German)

"Im Jahre 1971 schafft es Wozniak zusammen mit einem Freund, Bill Fernandez ,einem Rechner in dessen Garage zu bauen. "Creme Soda Rechner", wie sie ihn nannten, besaß bereits Lampen und Schalter "wie Altair, jedoch 3 Jahre früher". Ihr Rechner ging in Rauch auf, als sie einen Kurzschluß verursachten.... Es war Bill Fernandez, der Wozniak Steven P. Jobs vorstellte."

Books that Refer to Bill Fernandez

Fire in the Valley, the Making of the Personal Computer,
by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine

Steve Jobs, the Journey is the Reward,
by Jeffrey Young

Bit by Bit, an Illustrated History of Computers,
by Stan Augarten

The Mac Bathroom Reader,
by Own Linzmayer

The Little Kingdom, the Private History of Apple Computer,
by Michael Moritz

Apple Confidential,
by Own Linzmayer

Late Night with Mac Hack,
by Doug Houseman

Smart Home Hacks,
by Gordon Meyer

Websites that Refer to Bill Fernandez
(These links all worked in November 2004)

Most of the websites that refer to Bill focus on five themes (described below) which are widely regarded as being of seminal importance in computing history. Websites that refer to these themes are marked for your convenience.
In 1971, years before the personal computer revolution, Bill and his friend Steve Wozniak built a computer of their own design in Bill's garage.
	Bill introduced Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who would later found Apple Computer together.
		Bill was the first person the two Steve's hired after incorporating Apple Computer, so is often referred to as Apple's first "employee" (badge #4) with Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Mike Markkula being the first "employers" (badges 1, 2 and 3, respectively).
			Bill helped create the Macintosh computer, its user interface and peripherals.
				Bill helped create HyperCard; in some ways a predecessor to the world wide web.
C	I	A	M	H	Computer History
x					Forbes.com: Great Garages
x					Timeline of Microcomputers (1971-1976)
x					ThinkQuest : Library : Computer Chronicles: From Stone to Silicon
x					Steve Wozniak
x					Kerlins.net > Bobbi's Research
x					A Chronology of Computer History
x					Education Technology Historical Events
x					eBlue, Sacra Blue News-Magazine Online, Tech Talk
x					Computer Timeline
x					Chronology of Personal Computers (1969-1971)
x					Alan Milstein's History of Computers
x					Timeline of Microcomputers (1971-1976)
x					The History of Computers
x					fire in the valley - chronology: 1970 - 1973
x					Computer Chronicles: Quotes
x					CHRONOLOGY OF COMPUTER, BUSINESS AND ASSOCIATION - 3
x	x				The Mac Observer
x	x				Retro Computing
x					COMPUTER HISTORY 1957-1979
x	x				COMPUTER HISTORY - MICROSOFT VERSUS APPLE
x	x				Apple 2 Mini-History
		x			EDTechTimeline
		x			Apple I
		x			Amazon.com: Editorial Reviews: Apple Confidential 2.0
		x			Limited Edition Photos...
		x			Founders Of Apple Computer Corp
		x			Apple Human Interface Alumni
		x			Apple History, Denver Post
			x		cupertino.de | Archive | Easter Eggs | Hardware: Original Mac
				x	Media History Timeline: 1970s
				x	apple history
				x	PmWiki - People.HyperCardFolks
C	I	A	M	H	Miscellaneous Topics
					Bill presents to a New Mexico legislative committee
					Bill on NMITSA Board of Directors
					Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine to carry interview with Bill Fernandez
					User Interface Links
					Letters to Woz
					Friends of Woz
					Woz re "Pirates of Silicon Valley"
					Quiz #18: Do You Know Me?
					Vintage Computer Festival
					Vintage Computer Show 1997
C	I	A	M	H	In French
		x			Apple
					Les Personnages importants d'Apple
x					La Micro Informatique
					La Conference du Premier Musee Europeen de l'informatique
x					L'informatique dans un garage !
					Bill Fernandez, Steve Wozniak et John Mc Collum
x	x				Biographies : Steve Jobs et Steve Wozniak
C	I	A	M	H	In German
x					Die Historie der Computertechnik
x	x				cupertino.de | Archive | BIOS-Wozniak
	x				Steven Jobs
C	I	A	M	H	In Italian
		x			“Many Years Ago in a Garage”, PDF of magazine article
		x			“Friends of the Apple (on the net)”
x		x			MacSecrets...
C	I	A	M	H	In Japanese
			x		18th anniversary of the 128K Mac
			x		The names inside the Macintosh
C	I	A	M	H	In Russian
		x			Apple History
C	I	A	M	H	in Finnish (?)
	x				NT Rautanen - Apple
C	I	A	M	H	In Czech
	x				Apple History