Steven Levy

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Steven Levy

Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
journalist

Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
who has written several books on computers, technology, cryptography

Cryptography

Cryptography is the practice and study of hiding information. In modern times cryptography is considered a branch of both mathematics and computer science and is affiliated closely with information theory, computer security and engineering....
, the Internet, cybersecurity, and privacy.

is a senior writer for Wired. Previously, he was chief technology writer and a senior editor for Newsweek
Newsweek

Newsweek is an United States weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally....
. 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 published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an United States magazine that publishes reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published 47 times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans....
, Premiere
Premiere

A premiere is generally "a first performance." This can refer to dramas, films, television programs, and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much Mass media attention....
, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, 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 United States journalist who is the principal technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal....
) as a prominent and respected critic of Apple Inc..

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Encyclopedia

Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American

United States

Journalist

Cryptography

Career

Levy is a senior writer for Wired. Previously, he was chief technology writer and a senior editor for Newsweek
Newsweek

Newsweek is an United States weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally....
. 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 published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"?named for its staid appearance and style?is regarded as a national newspaper of record....
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an United States magazine that publishes reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published 47 times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans....
, Premiere
Premiere

A premiere is generally "a first performance." This can refer to dramas, films, television programs, and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much Mass media attention....
, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, 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 United States journalist who is the principal technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal....
) 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 is an United States businessman and co-founder, Chairman, and Chief executive officer of Apple Inc.. Jobs is the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios....
) which unveiled the 4^th generation of the iPod

IPod

iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and launched on . The product line-up includes the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the video-capable iPod Nano, and the 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 notable computer bug resulting from the practice in early computer program design of representing the year with two digits....
.

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 human brain was removed within seven hours of his death....
in the office of the pathologist who removed and preserved it.

In 1984, he wrote a book called Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, 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 undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years....
from Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr....
and earned a Master's degree

Master's degree

A master's degree provides a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of profession. Within the area studied, graduates possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theory and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, Critical thinking and/or professional application; and the ability to problem solving a...
in literature from Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, Land-grant university, space grant college public research university located in State College, PA, Pennsylvania, United States....
. He lives in New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
with his wife, Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is an United States award regarded as the highest national honor in newspaper journalism, literary achievements and musical composition....
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....
, and son.

Books by Levy

The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness (2006)
Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age
Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age

Crypto: 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....
(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 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, New York by Anchor Press/Doubleday ....
(1984)

External links

- Salon.com
Salon.com

Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. Modern liberalism in the United States politics of the United States is its major focus, but it covers a range of issues....
article on Levy's 2006 book The Perfect Thing