John C. Dvorak has died • Hacker News Board

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#241

Post by Brian_K_White » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 7:54 AM UTC

CyberDildonics wrote: post #173

Brian_K_White wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Leo will say nothing but nice things about him and express nothing but regret when he talks about this on the next episode. I am not sure John would have done the same.

Why take this to a place of insults and divisive antagonizing?

As a counter to the many comments I saw implying that Leo is mostly to blame for their disagreements and "banned" John. Those "insults and divisive antagonizing" came first, and which I notice you did not object to, curiously.

I liked them both too. And I listened to No Agenda for a while, and my opinion is based on years of hearing and reading them both.

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#242

Post by archerx » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 7:57 AM UTC

This was a very sad thing to wake up too. He sounded alright in the last episode of No Agenda. I wish him, his family and friends the best. I will miss John’s unique brand of charm and insights. I really looked forward to the biweekly episodes + DH unplugged.

Rest in Peace John, I will shed some tears for you today.

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#243

Post by matwood » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 8:08 AM UTC

Interesting reading the different comments here and how they show JCD's appeal across generations. I only read his columns in PC Magazine, and they were always entertaining. I never listened to his podcasts or read his substacks, but it sounds like many of those were just as good.

It's always a weird feeling when people you 'grow up' with pass away. For me, it's a reminder of my own mortality.

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#244

Post by darkwater » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 8:11 AM UTC

giancarlostoro wrote: post #9

For 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

> of the Dvorak keyboard

Ok, I'm going to shame myself in public for this but, I always thought they were "DVORAK keyboards" and they were called this way just like the "AZERTY keyboards", that is, the first 6 letters of the first row were "DVORAK".

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#245

Post by geenat » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 8:13 AM UTC

Always really enjoyed him on TechTV and This Week In Tech. Good chemistry with Leo Laporte- made for some very fun shows.

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#246

Post by ngcazz » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 8:37 AM UTC

RIP. I don't remember him being right often, but I did love some of his opinion pieces all the same, like when he shouted out MorphOS as the best desktop OS out there.

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#247

Post by Markoff » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 8:42 AM UTC

For those who wonder - cause of death: "My source says he succumbed to complications following his double-bypass surgery." –Scott Mace (2nd link)

Google: The overall risk of death during or within 30 days of double coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) is very low, generally ranging between 1% and 2%. This translates to a short-term survival rate of 98% to 99%.

For a 74-year-old patient undergoing an isolated double bypass surgery (CABG), the short-term risk of death within 30 days of the procedure generally ranges from 2.5% to 4%. This translates to a short-term survival rate of roughly 96% to 97.5%.

So seems like pretty bad luck on his side.

I remember him back from 90's from reading PC Mag, didn't left that big of an impression on me besides the familiar thumbnail photo and Czech sounding name.

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#248

Post by basisword » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 8:53 AM UTC

abraxas wrote: post #212

I'm going to post something that contradicts this outpouring of fondness for the late Dvorak. While I did enjoy his friendly curmudgeon act in the days of TWiT, I was very dismayed by him jumping in bed with that paranoid crackpot and I blame him for a lot of toxic ideas that he helped spread in his No Agenda show years. Maybe his earlier act was the mask and the latter John C Dvorak was the real persona. Or maybe th…

I remember him from listening to TWiT in the 00's/10's so I'm out of the loop. Who's the paranoid crackpot?

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#249

Post by teekert » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC

darkwater wrote: post #244

giancarlostoro wrote: post #9

For 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

> of the Dvorak keyboard Ok, I'm going to shame myself in public for this but, I always thought they were "DVORAK keyboards" and they were called this way just like the "AZERTY keyboards", that is, the first 6 letters of the first row were "DVORAK".

Uhm TIL…

Re: John C. Dvorak has died

#250

Post by rbanffy » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 9:05 AM UTC

panzagl wrote: post #93

rbanffy wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Apple Store? Surely you mean Babbage's.

The Weird Stuff Warehouse also didn't close their Heaven branch. I heard they are running a promotion on Tektronix calligraphic display terminals. In heaven, they are still being made and now have fast ethernet connections, as well as serial.