Blue Box, Designed and Built by Steve Wozniak and Marketed by Steve Jobs, circa 1972
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Blue boxes allowed people to make free, illegal, long-distance phone calls. They mimicked the same 2600hz "switching" tone used by telephone operators to connect people, tricking automated systems. In the 1960s, notorious "phone phreakers" infiltrated the telephone network; their actions were comparable to modern-day hackers. Built by Steve Wozniak, this box predates Apple Computer Inc. by four years.
Blue boxes allowed people to make free, illegal, long-distance phone calls. They mimicked the same 2600hz "switching" tone used by telephone operators to connect people, tricking automated systems. In the 1960s, notorious "phone phreakers" infiltrated the telephone network; their actions were comparable to modern-day hackers. Built by Steve Wozniak, this box predates Apple Computer Inc. by four years.
Artifact
Electronic device
Date Made
circa 1972
Creators
Place of Creation
United States, California, Berkeley
Creator Notes
Designed and built by Steve Wozniak and marketed for sale by Wozniak and Steve Jobs.
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
2017.151.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Phenolic
Color
Black (Color)
White (Color)
Silver (Color)
Dimensions
Height: 3.875 in (Blue box)
Width: 2.875 in (Blue box)
Length: 1.875 in (Blue box)
Height: .813 in (Speaker)
Diameter: 1.75 in (Speaker)
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