Damn, this one hit hard. Grew up watching him on ZDTV/TechTV. RIP.
John C. Dvorak has died
71–80 of 340 posts
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#72Credit to him, he always had a bold take. One of the funniest things he used to do was write draft reviews of software simply by looking at the back of the box. He said you could get it like 90% right just doing that, I was a different era. I also remember Leo Laporte constantly trying to take his phone back of him as John was trying to guess his passcode or unlock pattern based on the screen smudges. Didn't agree wi…
> he always had a bold take Often quite literally, in his PC Magazine columns!
His most hilarious predictions that were almost always wrong.
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#73I don't know the man personally, but I was never impressed by his punditry even in the early PC MAG days and it got even worse when he started writing for MarketWatch.
He was always lots of loud platitudes or damnations with more noise than signal or thoughtful analysis. At some point, I just stopped listening and/or reading whenever his name came up.
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#74i have spent nearly half my life listening to the voice of John C. Dvorak on a nightly basis as i went to bed.
literally since i was in college – around 2008 – i started listening to the No Agenda Show. i'd play the podcast in one ear with the other on my pillow with a 30-minute sleep timer and play it over several nights until the next episode came out.
my outlook, my ideology, my perspective on life was partly formed by this man's words.
thanks for everything, John.
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#75For those like me wondering if he's also the creator of the Dvorak keyboard, no but close! > He is a nephew of sociologist August Dvorak, creator of the Dvorak keyboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Dvorak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_keyboard_layout
August Dvorak's father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former roommate.
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#76Oh man, that's an old school name. I miss cranky geeks, to the point where I've gone back to listen to older episodes.
How can you miss cranky geeks when HN is full of them?
We miss each other.
But it’s ok. We’ll meet again at the great Apple Store in Heaven.
In heaven, macOS is GNU-licensed. GPL3+, nothing less.
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#77I remember reading some of his columns growing up and I used to intensely dislike him for his dismissive takes on a lot of products and technologies I thought were important (most infamously, he dismissed the mouse)! Later on, I saw him as one of the regular guests on Leo Laporte's TWIT podcasts, and it totally changed my perception of him. The guy was genuinely hilarious and a real lovable curmudgeon, not a true naysayer.
I hadn't read or heard anything from him in recent years, though I had heard he had a falling out with Leo Laporte. He might have reconciled more recently but I am not sure. I know Leo will genuinely mourn him, as they were friends and colleagues for many years. I really miss him now too!
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#78I remember reading an article by him in the 90s where he claimed e-commerce would never take off because all internet users expect everything to be free.
hahaha that made me smile, well the era of napster and such it wasnt so far fetched i suppose
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#79I'll always appreciate his love for Costco wines.
Re: John C. Dvorak has died
#80I hated that guy so much when I was a fan of Apple. I think maybe he did it on purpose to keep the readership up. I should probably go back and read a few of his rants again with 20/20 hindsight, now that I'm not particularly fond of Apple any longer. I might end up laughing or even agreeing with him.