Steven Levy
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who has written several books on computers, technology, cryptography
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
, the Internet, cybersecurity, and privacy.
Career
Levy is a senior writer for Wired. Previously, he was chief technology writer and a senior editor for NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
. Levy has had articles published in Harper's, Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. He is regarded (along with Walter Mossberg
Walter Mossberg
Walter S. Mossberg is an American journalist who is the principal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal.-Early life:...
) as a prominent and respected critic of Apple Inc. In July 2004, Levy wrote a cover story (which also featured an interview with Apple CEO Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
) which unveiled the 4th generation of the iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
to the world before Apple had officially done so, an unusual event since Apple is well known for its tight-lipped press policy.
Levy has won several awards, including the "Computer Press Association Award" for a report he co-wrote in 1998 on the Year 2000 problem
Year 2000 problem
The Year 2000 problem was a problem for both digital and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits.In computer programs, the practice of representing the year with two...
.
In 1978, Steven Levy rediscovered Albert Einstein's brain
Albert Einstein's brain
Albert Einstein's brain has often been a subject of research and speculation. Einstein's brain was removed within seven hours of his death. The brain has attracted attention because of Einstein's reputation for being one of the foremost geniuses of the 20th century, and apparent regularities or...
in the office of the pathologist who removed and preserved it.
In 1984, he wrote a book called Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution is a book by Steven Levy about hacker culture. It was published in 1984 in Garden City, New York by Anchor Press/Doubleday...
, in which he described a “hacker ethic”, which became a guideline to understanding how computers have advanced into the machines that we know and use today. He identified this Hacker Ethic to consist of key points such as that all information is free, and that this information should be used to “change life for the better”.
Levy received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
and earned a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in literature from Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. He lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with his wife, Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winner Teresa Carpenter
Teresa Carpenter
Teresa Carpenter is a Pulitzer prize winning, bestselling American author. She was born in Independence, Missouri, and lives with her husband Steven Levy in New York's Greenwich Village.-Awards:...
, and son.
Books by Levy
- In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our LivesIn the PlexIn The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives is a 2011 book by American technology reporter Steven Levy. It covers the growth of the Google company from its academic project origins at Stanford to the company that is rolling in billions of long-tail advertising dollars, forms the...
(2011) - The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and CoolnessThe Perfect ThingThe Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness is a book written by Steven Levy, an American journalist. It covers the growth of the idea of Apple's very own iPod, from its origins before its introduction in 2001 to its development to the iPod Nano and the fifth-generation...
(2006) - Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital AgeCrypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital AgeCrypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age is a book written by Steven Levy about cryptography, and was published in 2001. Levy details the emergence of public key cryptography, digital signatures and the struggle between the NSA and the cypherpunks. The...
(2001) - Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything (1994)
- Artificial Life: The Quest for a New Creation (1992)
- The Unicorn's Secret: Murder in the Age of Aquarius (1988)
- Hackers: Heroes of the Computer RevolutionHackers: Heroes of the Computer RevolutionHackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution is a book by Steven Levy about hacker culture. It was published in 1984 in Garden City, New York by Anchor Press/Doubleday...
(1984)
External links
- Steven Levy's website
- iPod: I love you, you're perfect, now change- Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
article on Levy's 2006 book The Perfect Thing - Authors@Google: Steven Levy
- Lebowski Podcast Episode 27 - Steven Levy's Wish List Interview with Steven Levy about The Big Lebowski and his interview with the Coen Brothers.
- Lebowski Podcast Episode 27a - Steven Levy on Technology Chalupa and Steven Levy talk about blogging, twitter, internet security, etc.