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{{short description|American journalist and radio broadcaster}}
{{Infobox Celebrity
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
| image = John C. Dvorak.jpg
{{use American English|date=October 2022}}
| image_size = 200px
{{Infobox person
| caption = John C. Dvorak, July 2007
| name = John C. Dvorak | name = John C. Dvorak
| image = John C. Dvorak.jpg
| birth_date = ]
| caption = Dvorak in July 2007
| birth_place = ], ], ]
| birth_name =
| death_date =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|4|5}}
| death_place =
| birth_place = ], ], ]
| occupation = columnist, host, vice-president
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| salary =
| death_place =
| networth =
| body_discovered =
| spouse =
| death_cause =
| website = <br>
| resting_place =
<br>
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
<br>
| known_for =
<br>
| education =
<br>
| alma_mater = ]
| employer =
| occupation = Writer, host, podcaster
| spouse = Marolee "Mimi" Dvorak
| children =
| parents =
| relatives = ] (uncle)
| awards =
| signature =
| website = {{URL|http://www.dvorak.org/blog/}}
| footnotes =
}} }}


'''John C. Dvorak''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|v|ɔːr|æ|k}}; born 1952) is an ] writer and broadcaster in the areas of ] and personal computing.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDD143BF936A15757C0A965958260 | work=The New York Times | title=Sound Bytes; 'Take No Prisoners,' A Bold Wordsmith Says | first=Peter H. | last=Lewis | date=1993-04-25 | access-date=2010-05-06}}</ref> He has been a columnist for multiple magazines since the 1980s and has written or co-authored over a dozen how-to books on software and technology. He was vice president of ], and has been a host on ] and ]. He is currently a co-host of the '']'' podcast.
'''John Charles Dvorak''' <ref>{{cite web
| url = https://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=736481
| title = What is John C. Dvorak's Real Name
| accessdate = 2007-05-06
|date= ]
| publisher = answers.google.com
}}</ref> (born ] in ], ]) is an ] ] and broadcaster in the areas of ] and ]. His writing extends back to the ], when he was a mainstay of a variety of ]. Dvorak is also the Vice-President of ] (formerly PodShow) and well known for his work for ].


==Periodicals== ==Early life==
Dvorak was born in 1952 in ], ].<ref name="smart">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?guid=&searchtype=1&DicID=17862&RefType=Encyclopedia |title=John C. Dvorak |encyclopedia=Smart Computing Encyclopedia |publisher=Smart Computing |access-date=2006-04-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060327215246/http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?guid=&searchtype=1&DicID=17862&RefType=Encyclopedia |archive-date=March 27, 2006 }}</ref> He is a nephew of sociologist ], creator of the ].<ref name="pournelle198509">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-09/1985_09_BYTE_10-09_Homebrewing#page/n329/mode/2up | title=PC, Peripherals, Programs, and People | work=BYTE | date=September 1985 | access-date=23 September 2023 | author=Pournelle, Jerry | page=375}}</ref>
Dvorak writes for various publications, including '']'' (two separate columns since ]), '']'', '']'' (]), and '']'' (]). Dvorak has been a columnist for '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''. (The ''MicroTimes'' column ran under the banner '']''.) He has written for the ''], ], ], ]'' and '']'' among numerous other publications.


==Writing career==
His ''PC Magazine'' column is licensed worldwide.
===Periodicals===
Dvorak started his career as a wine writer.<ref>{{cite news|first=Paulina|last=Borsook |author-link=Paulina Borsook |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.02/dvorak.html?pg=1%20&topic=&topic_set= |title=Wired 2.02: Street Myths: John C. Dvorak |publisher=Wired.com |date=1994-02-01 |access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref>


He has written for various publications, including '']'', '']'' (two separate columns since 1986), '']'', '']'' (]), and '']'' (]). He has been a columnist for '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', ''MicroTimes'', '']'', '']'', ''Smart Business'', and '']''. (The ''MicroTimes'' column ran under the banner ''Dvorak's Last Column''.) He has written for '']'', '']'', ''MacMania Networks'', '']'', '']'' and '']'', among numerous other publications.
==Books==
Dvorak has written or co-authored over a dozen books, including '']'' with ] and ''Dvorak's Guide to Desktop Telecommunications'' in 1990. His latest book is '']'' (Prentice Hall PTR, October, ]) with co-authors Wendy Taylor and ].


Dvorak created a few tech ]. In episode 18 of ] (This Week in Tech) he claimed that, thanks to his hosting provider, he "gets no ]."<ref name="TWiT">{{cite podcast
==Awards==
|host = Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, John C. Dvorak, Steve Gibson, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang, Bob Young, Mike Lazazzera
The Computer Press Association presented Dvorak with the ''Best Columnist'' and ''Best Column'' awards, and he was also the 2004 and 2005 award winner of the American Business Editors Association's national gold award for best online columns of 2003 and 2004, respectively.
|date = 2005-08-14
|url = https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/18
|title = This Week in Tech Episode 18
|publisher = ]
|access-date = 2021-06-10
|url-status = live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061115172659/http://www.twit.tv/18
|archive-date = 2006-11-15
}}</ref>


===Books===
He was the creator and lead judge of the ] (] – ]).
Dvorak has written or co-authored over a dozen books, including '']'' with ] and ''Dvorak's Guide to Desktop Telecommunications'' in 1990, ''Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications'' (Osborne McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, California, 1992), ''Dvorak's Guide to OS/2'' (Random House, New York, 1993) with co-authors Dave Whittle and Martin McElroy, ''Dvorak Predicts'' (Osborne McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, California, 1994), ''Online! The Book'' (Prentice Hall PTR, October, 2003) with co-authors Wendy Taylor and ] and his latest e-book is ''Inside Track 2013''.


==Awards and honors==
In 2001, he was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology.
The ] presented Dvorak with the ''Best Columnist'' and ''Best Column'' awards. He was also the winner of the American Business Editors Association's national gold award in 2004 and 2005, for Best Online Columns of 2003 and 2004, respectively.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}


He was the creator and lead judge of the Dvorak Awards (1992–1997).
==Audio and video==
]


In 2001, he received the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology.<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Honorees|url=http://www.techfestival.org/past-honorees/|publisher=Telluride Tech Festival|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017185018/http://www.techfestival.org/past-honorees/|archive-date=2011-10-17}}</ref>
]


He has received the title of ], the highest ] awarded by the ].<ref>{{cite web|title=No Agenda Episode 748 - "Lone Rat"|url=http://748.noagendanotes.com/|publisher=]}}</ref>
Dvorak was on the start-up team for ], appearing on the ] '']''. He also ] a ] show called ''Real Computing'' on ], as well as a television show on ] (formerly ZDTV) called '']''.


In July, 2016, Dvorak and co-host ] won the "Best Podcast" ] for ''No Agenda,'' in the News & Politics category.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.podcastawards.com/ |title=PodCastAwards.com |last=LLC |first=One Technologies |website=www.podcastawards.com |access-date=2016-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100902043416/http://podcastawards.com/ |archive-date=September 2, 2010 }}</ref>
He now appears on ''Marketwatch TV'' and is a regular panelist on '']'', a ] audio program hosted by ] and featuring other former TechTV personalities such as ], ], and ]. As of December 2005, that "TWiTcast" regularly ranks among the top 5 at Apple's ]. Dvorak also participated in the first and only ''Triangulation'' podcast, a similar co-hosted technology discussion program. In March 2006, Dvorak started a new show called '']'' in which he leads a rotating panel of "cranky" tech gurus in discussions of technology news stories of the week.


==TV and online media==
] recently hired Dvorak as Vice President & Managing Editor for a new Mevio TECH channel. He will be managing content from existing Mevio tech programming as well as hosting a new show, named "Tech5", where Dvorak will talk with another tech newsmaker and discuss the latest innovations and news.<ref name="MevioTech">{{Cite web|url=http://pressroom.mevio.com/2007/05/23/podshow-inc-taps-john-c-dvorak-to-launch-podshow-tech/ |title=PodShow, Inc. Taps John C. Dvorak to Launch PodShow TECH|accessdate=2007-05-25}}</ref>
<!-- Deleted image removed: ] -->
<!-- Deleted image removed: ] -->


Dvorak was on the start-up team for ], appearing on the ] '']''. He also ] a ] show called ''Real Computing'', and later 'Technically Speaking' on ], as well as a television show on ] (formerly ZDTV) called '']''.
==Personal==
John C. Dvorak was born in 1952 in ].<ref name="smart">{{cite web
| url = http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?guid=&searchtype=1&DicID=17862&RefType=Encyclopedia
| title = John C. Dvorak
| format = HTML
| work = Smart Computing Encyclopedia
| publisher = Smart Computing
| accessdate = 2006-04-25
}}</ref> He attended the ]<ref>http://www.twit.tv/156</ref>, and has homes in the ] and in ] State. His wife, Mimi Smith-Dvorak, was an occasional writing collaborator.


He appeared on ''Marketwatch TV'' and '']'', a ] audio and now video program hosted by ] and featuring other former ] personalities such as Patrick Norton, ], and Robert Heron. Dvorak was once banned from the show.<ref name="JCD">{{cite web |url=http://nag.billhutchison.org/banned-why-i-was-fired-from-twit/ |title=Unceremoniously fired by Leo for tweeting. The real explanation. |publisher=John C. Dvorak |access-date=15 Dec 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222090850/http://nag.billhutchison.org/banned-why-i-was-fired-from-twit/ |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In March 2006, he started a new show called ''CrankyGeeks'', where he led a rotating panel of "cranky" tech gurus in discussions of technology news stories of the week. The last episode (No. 237) aired on September 22, 2010.
== Criticism of Apple ==


In 2007, Mevio hired Dvorak as vice president and Managing Editor for a new Mevio TECH channel, where he manages content from existing Mevio tech programming. He also hosted the show "Tech5", where he discussed the day's tech news in approximately five minutes; it ended production in late 2010.<ref name="MevioTech">{{cite web|url=http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2008/04/24/podcasting-is-dead-long-live-uhsomething-like-podcasting/ |title=Podcasting is dead. Long Live… uh…Something Like Podcasting |access-date=2017-04-24 }}</ref> He co-hosts a podcast with Mevio co-founder ] called '']''. The show is a conversation about the week's news, happenings in the lives of the hosts and their families, and restaurant reviews from the dinners Dvorak and Curry have together when they are in the same city (usually San Francisco). Curry usually has more outlandish opinions of the week's news or world events, while Dvorak plays the ] in the dialogue.
Dvorak has been a long time critic of ], even goading readers with a Mac-bashing column in '']'' magazine.


Since early 2011, Dvorak has been one of the featured "CoolHotNot Tech Xperts," along with ], ], ], ], Dave Whittle, Steve Bass, and Cheryl Currid, at , He shares his "Loved List" of favorite consumer electronics, his "Wanted List" of tech products he'd like to try, and his "Letdown List" of tech products he found disappointing.<ref name="CoolHotNot">{{cite web|url=http://www.coolhotnot.com/techxperts/ |title=CoolHotNot Tech Xperts Team |access-date=2011-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902024737/http://www.coolhotnot.com/TechXperts |archive-date=2011-09-02 }}</ref>
On ] ], on what he called "a sad day for Mac bashers," Dvorak wrote favorably of his experiences using a Mac. He said that compared to a PC, the Mac "gets the job done, albeit more elegantly" and that "the interface is slicker than the PC's." He noted, "I sense that the OS is more solid than Microsoft Windows, but I cannot say why exactly." As for making recommendations for others, he stated that he would rather provide customer service for "most people" by "recommend a Mac with its higher price but lower hassle factor."<ref>{{cite web
| last = Dvorak
| first = John C.
| date = ] ]
| url = http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2162397,00.asp
| title = Me and My Mac
| format = HTML
| publisher = '']''
| accessdate = 2007-07-25
}}</ref>


Dvorak hosted the show ''X3,'' which, like the defunct ''Tech 5'', was a short tech-focused cast. Unlike ''Tech 5'', it was in video format, with two co-hosts. The last update was 24 June 2012.<ref name="X3 Episode List">{{cite web|url=http://x3show.mevio.com/?selectedTab=show-episodes#show-episodes/|title=X-3 Episode List|access-date=2013-03-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023034314/http://x3show.mevio.com/?selectedTab=show-episodes |archive-date=2012-10-23 }}</ref>
This was a significant change from his earlier comments.


Since September 2009, Dvorak has hosted the ''DH Unplugged'' podcast with personal money manager Andrew Horowitz.
In 1984 he criticized Apple's inclusion of a ] with their computers, saying “There is no evidence that people want to use these things.” In 1999, he ridiculed the ] as “‘girly’”,<ref name="g4-1">{{cite web
| last = Dvorak
| first = John C.
| date = ] ]
| url = http://www.g4tv.com/techtvvault/features/12865/The_iBook_disaster.html
| title = The iBook disaster
| format = HTML
| publisher = '']''
| accessdate = 2006-04-25
}}</ref> saying, “It looks too juvenile— something a kid, a little girl, would like. Something you'd get at Toys 'R' Us.” For this he was slammed not only by Mac aficionados, but also by female computing pundit ] for reinforcing gender stereotypes. In 2005 he suggested that recent good press about Apple was due to media bias, writing “With 90 percent of the mainstream writers being Mac users, what would you expect?” He later predicted that Apple would release a Video iPod in spite of Steve Jobs' denials, suggested that the Mac brand should be discontinued, predicted that Apple would switch to ] ], and suggested that Apple might be switching over to ] and abandoning their ] to save money.<ref name="pcmag">{{cite web
| last = Dvorak
| first = John C.
| date = ] ]
| url = http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1923151,00.asp
| title = Will Apple Adopt Windows?
| format = HTML
| publisher = ''PC Magazine''
| accessdate = 2006-04-25
}}</ref>


He is a co-founder, with ] and the late ], of the web site , where he is also a columnist.<ref name="aNewDomain.net Bio">{{cite web|url=http://anewdomain.net/2012/08/24/john-c-dvorak-4/|title=aNewDomain.net Bio|access-date=2013-09-12|archive-date=September 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911230509/http://anewdomain.net/2012/08/24/john-c-dvorak-4/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On ] ], he explained to ] that he would bait Mac users in order to increase traffic to his website.<ref></ref>


In September 2015, ] infamously "banned" Dvorak—his long-time friend and frequent guest—from ] for comments Dvorak made on Twitter. In reply to Dvorak's comments that Laporte was biased, Laporte told Dvorak "you won't ever have to worry about it again",<ref name="JCD"/> insinuating that he never wanted Dvorak back on TWiT. Dvorak returned to TWiT on December 23, 2018.<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/698 |title=This Week in Tech 698 - A Christmas Miracle |publisher=TWiT.tv |date=2018-12-23 |access-date=2021-06-10}}</ref>
Dvorak has also been outspoken on ]'s ], partially due to the public praise the iPhone received before it reached retail stores. In an op-ed piece for ] Dvorak said that Apple could not compete with existing mobile phone companies ] and ].<ref name="iPhone">{{Cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/apple-should-pull-plug-iphone/story.aspx?guid=%7B3289E5E2%2DE67C%2D4395%2D8A8E%2DB94C1B480D4A%7D&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo|title=Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone|accessdate=2007-05-25|publisher=MarketWatch|year=2007|author=Dvorak, John}}</ref> He did criticize how he was singled out as an "iPhone basher," because he pointed out that people were making judgment on a product they haven't even used yet. However, after the release of the iPhone, he said that it was a nice device.<ref name="Retract">{{Cite web|url=http://www.crankygeeks.com/2007/07/episode_72_kevin_and_alex_from.php|format=Video|year=2007|title=CrankyGeeks Episode 72|author=Dvorak, John}}</ref>


==Criticism of new technology==
==Trivia==
{{Trivia|date=June 2007}} {{undue weight|section|date=May 2022}}
On February 19, 1984, in an article in '']'', Dvorak listed the ] as a reason the ] computer might not be successful: "The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a ‘mouse’. There is no evidence that people want to use these things."<ref></ref><ref></ref> In 1987 he revisited the article and recanted, writing "The Mac mouse is great. I've been converted."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2011/08/08/1987-reliving-the-past-and-the-mac/comment-page-1/|title=Reliving the Past and the Mac}}</ref>
* Dvorak created a few tech ] — in episode 18 of ] (This Week in Tech) <ref name="TWiT">{{cite visual

| crew=Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, John C. Dvorak, Steve Gibson, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang, Bob Young, Mike Lazazzera
In 1985, following ] leaving Apple, Dvorak wrote, "Maybe when the smoke clears, we will have heard the last of Steve Jobs as guru, seer, visionary and hapless victim too ... He'll go the way of ], electric ] knives, ], ], and the three-tone paint job. Let's hope so."<ref>{{Cite book|title = InfoWorld|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58|publisher = InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.|date = 1985-10-07|language = en}}</ref>{{Rp|58}}
| year=2005

| url=http://www.twit.tv/18
In 2005, Dvorak wrote "Creative Commons Humbug", an opinion piece criticizing ] licensing.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.joegratz.net/archives/2005/07/19/dvorak-on-creative-commons-humbug/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201165731/http://www.joegratz.net/archives/2005/07/19/dvorak-on-creative-commons-humbug/ | archive-date=1 December 2008 | title=Dvorak on Creative Commons: "Humbug!" | date=19 July 2005}}</ref>
| title=This Week in Tech Episode 18

| medium=TV-Series
In his 2007 article for ] regarding the ], Dvorak wrote, "If smart, it will call the iPhone a 'reference design' and pass it to some suckers to build with someone else's marketing budget. Then it can wash its hands of any marketplace failures. It should do that immediately before it's too late."<ref name="iPhone">{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-should-pull-the-plug-on-the-iphone |title=Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone - John Dvorak's Second Opinion |publisher=MarketWatch |access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref> Although he later admitted having been wrong about its success, he criticized Apple's ] when it first appeared in 2010, stating that it was no different from other previous tablets that had failed: "I cannot see it escaping the tablet computer dead zone any time soon."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358684,00.asp |title=Apple's Good for Nothing iPad |publisher=PCMag.com |date= 2010-02-02|access-date=2010-02-02 |first=John C. |last=Dvorak}}</ref>
| location=California

| distributor=]
In 2018 on Medium,<ref name=5gfired>{{cite web | url=https://medium.com/@dvorak/5g-got-me-fired-ce407e584c4a | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018161836/https://medium.com/@dvorak/5g-got-me-fired-ce407e584c4a | archive-date=18 October 2018 | title=5G Got me Fired | work=Medium | date=26 September 2018}}</ref> he claimed he was fired from ''PC Magazine'' because of an article he wrote questioning the safety of ].<ref name=problem5g>{{cite web | url=https://in.pcmag.com/opinion/124983/the-problem-with-5g | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910192050/https://in.pcmag.com/opinion/124983/the-problem-with-5g | archive-date=10 September 2018 | title=The Problem With 5G | work=PCMag | date=22 August 2018}}</ref>
}}</ref> he claimed that, thanks to his hosting provider, he "gets no ]".

* Dvorak is a noted collector of ]s and has been a ] at various international events. He started his career as a wine writer.<ref></ref>
==Personal life==
* Dvorak appeared as ] version of himself with ] in the ''Up in Smoke Video Podcast'', a mini sitcom about a cigar shop.<ref>CigarVideoPodcast.org </ref>
Dvorak married Mimi Smith-Dvorak on August 8, 1988.<ref></ref> He is listed as a minister of the ].<ref></ref> He said on show #600 of ''No Agenda'' that he occasionally posts online under the pseudonym Mark Pugner.<ref></ref>
* Dvorak, while at CNET Central, used to make a habit of throwing "mediocre" CDs he was reviewing at the camera. On ''Cranky Geeks'' he throws cue cards at the camera.
* Dvorak said on ] that the ] is heading towards a ] in 2009, based on a cycle.
* Dvorak is known to be a heavy promoter of his ] at dvorak.org/blog. He uses the phrase "dvorak-dot-org-slash-blog" frequently. This has led ] to refer to him as "Mr. Dvorak... dot-org-slash-blog" on TWiT - for example in .


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist|30em}}


== External links == ==External links==
{{wikiquote}} {{wikiquote}}
{{Spoken Misplaced Pages|En-dvorak.ogg|2005-12-11}} {{Spoken Misplaced Pages|En-dvorak.ogg|date=2005-12-11}}
* {{Official website|http://www.dvorak.org/blog/}}
* with commentary on news articles, observations on industry trends, and links to web pages of interest.
* * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804094138/http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,1874,3574,00.asp |date=August 4, 2008 }}
* *
* *
*
*
* *
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830225724/http://www.crankygeeks.com/ |date=August 30, 2006 }}
* Zinfandel On the Web (abandoned)
* *
*
*]
*
*

{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 17:59, 5 December 2024

American journalist and radio broadcaster

John C. Dvorak
Dvorak in July 2007
Born (1952-04-05) April 5, 1952 (age 72)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Occupation(s)Writer, host, podcaster
SpouseMarolee "Mimi" Dvorak
RelativesAugust Dvorak (uncle)
Websitewww.dvorak.org/blog/

John C. Dvorak (/ˈdvɔːræk/; born 1952) is an American writer and broadcaster in the areas of technology and personal computing. He has been a columnist for multiple magazines since the 1980s and has written or co-authored over a dozen how-to books on software and technology. He was vice president of Mevio, and has been a host on TechTV and TWiT.tv. He is currently a co-host of the No Agenda podcast.

Early life

Dvorak was born in 1952 in Los Angeles, California. He is a nephew of sociologist August Dvorak, creator of the Dvorak keyboard.

Writing career

Periodicals

Dvorak started his career as a wine writer.

He has written for various publications, including InfoWorld, PC Magazine (two separate columns since 1986), MarketWatch, BUG Magazine (Croatia), and Info Exame (Brazil). He has been a columnist for Boardwatch, Forbes, Forbes.com, MacUser, MicroTimes, PC/Computing, Barron's Magazine, Smart Business, and The Vancouver Sun. (The MicroTimes column ran under the banner Dvorak's Last Column.) He has written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, MacMania Networks, International Herald Tribune, The San Francisco Examiner and The Philadelphia Inquirer, among numerous other publications.

Dvorak created a few tech running jokes. In episode 18 of TWiT (This Week in Tech) he claimed that, thanks to his hosting provider, he "gets no spam."

Books

Dvorak has written or co-authored over a dozen books, including Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of the Osborne Computer Corporation with Adam Osborne and Dvorak's Guide to Desktop Telecommunications in 1990, Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications (Osborne McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, California, 1992), Dvorak's Guide to OS/2 (Random House, New York, 1993) with co-authors Dave Whittle and Martin McElroy, Dvorak Predicts (Osborne McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, California, 1994), Online! The Book (Prentice Hall PTR, October, 2003) with co-authors Wendy Taylor and Chris Pirillo and his latest e-book is Inside Track 2013.

Awards and honors

The Computer Press Association presented Dvorak with the Best Columnist and Best Column awards. He was also the winner of the American Business Editors Association's national gold award in 2004 and 2005, for Best Online Columns of 2003 and 2004, respectively.

He was the creator and lead judge of the Dvorak Awards (1992–1997).

In 2001, he received the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology.

He has received the title of Kentucky Colonel, the highest title of honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

In July, 2016, Dvorak and co-host Adam Curry won the "Best Podcast" Podcast Award for No Agenda, in the News & Politics category.

TV and online media

Dvorak was on the start-up team for CNET Networks, appearing on the television show CNET Central. He also hosted a radio show called Real Computing, and later 'Technically Speaking' on NPR, as well as a television show on TechTV (formerly ZDTV) called Silicon Spin.

He appeared on Marketwatch TV and This Week in Tech, a podcast audio and now video program hosted by Leo Laporte and featuring other former TechTV personalities such as Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, and Robert Heron. Dvorak was once banned from the show. In March 2006, he started a new show called CrankyGeeks, where he led a rotating panel of "cranky" tech gurus in discussions of technology news stories of the week. The last episode (No. 237) aired on September 22, 2010.

In 2007, Mevio hired Dvorak as vice president and Managing Editor for a new Mevio TECH channel, where he manages content from existing Mevio tech programming. He also hosted the show "Tech5", where he discussed the day's tech news in approximately five minutes; it ended production in late 2010. He co-hosts a podcast with Mevio co-founder Adam Curry called No Agenda. The show is a conversation about the week's news, happenings in the lives of the hosts and their families, and restaurant reviews from the dinners Dvorak and Curry have together when they are in the same city (usually San Francisco). Curry usually has more outlandish opinions of the week's news or world events, while Dvorak plays the straight man in the dialogue.

Since early 2011, Dvorak has been one of the featured "CoolHotNot Tech Xperts," along with Chris Pirillo, Jim Louderback, Dave Graveline, Robin Raskin, Dave Whittle, Steve Bass, and Cheryl Currid, at CoolHotNot's web site, He shares his "Loved List" of favorite consumer electronics, his "Wanted List" of tech products he'd like to try, and his "Letdown List" of tech products he found disappointing.

Dvorak hosted the show X3, which, like the defunct Tech 5, was a short tech-focused cast. Unlike Tech 5, it was in video format, with two co-hosts. The last update was 24 June 2012.

Since September 2009, Dvorak has hosted the DH Unplugged podcast with personal money manager Andrew Horowitz.

He is a co-founder, with Gina Smith and the late Jerry Pournelle, of the web site aNewDomain.net, where he is also a columnist.

In September 2015, Leo Laporte infamously "banned" Dvorak—his long-time friend and frequent guest—from TWiT for comments Dvorak made on Twitter. In reply to Dvorak's comments that Laporte was biased, Laporte told Dvorak "you won't ever have to worry about it again", insinuating that he never wanted Dvorak back on TWiT. Dvorak returned to TWiT on December 23, 2018.

Criticism of new technology

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On February 19, 1984, in an article in The San Francisco Examiner, Dvorak listed the mouse as a reason the Macintosh computer might not be successful: "The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a ‘mouse’. There is no evidence that people want to use these things." In 1987 he revisited the article and recanted, writing "The Mac mouse is great. I've been converted."

In 1985, following Steve Jobs leaving Apple, Dvorak wrote, "Maybe when the smoke clears, we will have heard the last of Steve Jobs as guru, seer, visionary and hapless victim too ... He'll go the way of pet rock, electric carving knives, silly putty, Tiny Tim, and the three-tone paint job. Let's hope so."

In 2005, Dvorak wrote "Creative Commons Humbug", an opinion piece criticizing Creative Commons licensing.

In his 2007 article for MarketWatch regarding the iPhone, Dvorak wrote, "If smart, it will call the iPhone a 'reference design' and pass it to some suckers to build with someone else's marketing budget. Then it can wash its hands of any marketplace failures. It should do that immediately before it's too late." Although he later admitted having been wrong about its success, he criticized Apple's iPad when it first appeared in 2010, stating that it was no different from other previous tablets that had failed: "I cannot see it escaping the tablet computer dead zone any time soon."

In 2018 on Medium, he claimed he was fired from PC Magazine because of an article he wrote questioning the safety of 5G.

Personal life

Dvorak married Mimi Smith-Dvorak on August 8, 1988. He is listed as a minister of the Universal Life Church. He said on show #600 of No Agenda that he occasionally posts online under the pseudonym Mark Pugner.

References

  1. Lewis, Peter H. (April 25, 1993). "Sound Bytes; 'Take No Prisoners,' A Bold Wordsmith Says". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
  2. "John C. Dvorak". Smart Computing Encyclopedia. Smart Computing. Archived from the original on March 27, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2006.
  3. Pournelle, Jerry (September 1985). "PC, Peripherals, Programs, and People". BYTE. p. 375. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  4. Borsook, Paulina (February 1, 1994). "Wired 2.02: Street Myths: John C. Dvorak". Wired.com. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  5. Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, John C. Dvorak, Steve Gibson, Robert Heron, David Prager, Roger Chang, Bob Young, Mike Lazazzera (August 14, 2005). "This Week in Tech Episode 18" (Podcast). TWiT.tv. Archived from the original on November 15, 2006. Retrieved June 10, 2021.{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. "Past Honorees". Telluride Tech Festival. Archived from the original on October 17, 2011.
  7. "No Agenda Episode 748 - "Lone Rat"". No Agenda.
  8. LLC, One Technologies. "PodCastAwards.com". www.podcastawards.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  9. ^ "Unceremoniously fired by Leo for tweeting. The real explanation". John C. Dvorak. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  10. "Podcasting is dead. Long Live… uh…Something Like Podcasting". Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  11. "CoolHotNot Tech Xperts Team". Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  12. "X-3 Episode List". Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  13. "aNewDomain.net Bio". Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
  14. "This Week in Tech 698 - A Christmas Miracle" (Podcast). TWiT.tv. December 23, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  15. Jan. 1984: How critics reviewed the Mac - Fortune
  16. 2004: The Mac Meets the Press - Apple Confidential 2.0
  17. "Reliving the Past and the Mac".
  18. InfoWorld. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. October 7, 1985.
  19. "Dvorak on Creative Commons: "Humbug!"". July 19, 2005. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008.
  20. "Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone - John Dvorak's Second Opinion". MarketWatch. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  21. Dvorak, John C. (February 2, 2010). "Apple's Good for Nothing iPad". PCMag.com. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  22. "5G Got me Fired". Medium. September 26, 2018. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018.
  23. "The Problem With 5G". PCMag. August 22, 2018. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018.
  24. DHUnpplugged #245:Blame It On The Polar Vortex | DH Unplugged
  25. John Dvorak - Universal Life Church Ministers
  26. No Agenda Episode 600 - "Seven Proxies"

External links

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