Listeners recall decades of unfiltered tech banter
Dvorak co-hosted the No Agenda podcast with Adam Curry, turning weekly episodes into a running commentary on media and gadgets that outlasted many of the trends he covered.
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The show itself keeps rolling forward
Upcoming episodes will feature remembrances from family and friends, though details on how the format might shift without its founding voice remain unclear.
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I'm heartbroken
Another great, gone too soon
In the 80s and 90s I would race to open PC Magazine and go directly to JCDs column…
… and then I would race to watch TWIT when he was on
… and Thursday and Sunday I would catch up on No Agenda with JCD and @adamcurry
A big IN THE MORING to you @THErealDVORAK — see you on the other side.
@adamcurry sorry for your loss
@ScottAdamsSays@om@JoshuaBaer and now JCD
Enjoy every sandwich 🥪
It goes by so fast
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of John C. Dvorak, our beloved husband, father, and cherished host of the No Agenda Show at the age of 74.
More to follow.
Rest in Peace John C. Dvorak. This wonderful tribute below describes his recent and very successful podcast. For decades starting at the advent of microcomputers, Dvorak was a leading advocate for the empowerment and business of computing. His writing was truly a voice of the PC generation.
The first book of his I read was "The Rise and Fall of Osborne Computer" which is the ultimate story of pre-PC microcomputer travails and hubris, one that meant a lot to me because I too was Osborned.
I began reading him regularly with the weekly trade magazine InfoWorld and his monthly columns in the OG PC Magazine where he synthesized, reviewed, and commented on the weekly goings on of the PC era. He documented the rise of the PC, Mac, Windows, and the roller coaster that was OS/2 and the companies and people doing it all. Many times we'd meet at the cafeteria for lunch and a Dvorak column would be a topic of conversation. Running into him at COMDEX was an exhausting rapid fire debate, which I had in the early 1990s regarding the fate of OS/2 at a Microsoft Systems Journal magazine party.
He also wrote many books for using the PC and early software. He continued to write over a dozen books over two decades. His name literally meant PC, though no relation to the turn of the century keyboard layout.
Below is a classic column written after attending COMDEX in November 1985. If you've seen Halt and Catch Fire then this would be contemporaneous with that pitch perfect depiction. This was a special COMDEX because Windows 1.0 was already two years late and was finally about to ship—I was in college and received the disks in January. I just smile ear to ear reading this. You can just feel the wide lapels, big eye glasses, cigarette smoke, and polyester.
Thank you John for all you wrote and all you shared. May his memory be a blessing.
I am very saddened by the passing of my good friend John C. Dvorak.
We talked a few weeks ago and reminisced.
John reached out to me in my garage in the early 1980s and remained friends for the decades.
Rest in peace my good friend.
Dvorak once told me “if you want to be on TV make sure the camera pays attention to you.”
For those not old enough he had the last page in InfoWorld that everyone read back in the 1980s and 90s.
His voice and humor will be missed.
Grok has more about what he did: https://grok.com/share/bGVnYWN5_41b9ed68-10bc-443e-9d8c-bb273942ec06
John C. Dvorak was one great friend. He introduced me to the world of PC users and changed my life. He encouraged me to stay independent and not give in to the “easy life”. I listened and what a journey. I have his last voicemail he left in his classic “Hey Brian, it’s DVORAK!”.
There is a hole in the universe today. But heaven has a cranky, brilliant man shaking things up.
Gratitude to my buddy John C. Dvorak who helped introduce some of crazy ideas I dreamed up in my garage.
He called me a garage hot-rodder breaking speed records & rules in the 1980s.
My brother and I took the IBM PC-AT from 6mhz to 40mhz+ in the 1980s.
I never left the garage.
@THErealDVORAK God speed JCD! Thank you for so many hours of your wit and sarcasm. I have learned a lot listening to you and Adam. Prayers for your loved ones...you will be greatly missed. Big hugs Mimi.
John told me “do not drink that! Send it to auction!” So when Mimi called and told me the sad, sad news on Monday I knew it would be a great way to honor him.
Weirdly he and I became good friends the last 5 or 6 years with many expensive dinners, long calls in the evenings and sending emails back and forth. I will dearly miss him and his cranky ways. RIP JCD.
@THErealDVORAK RIP JCD -- You will be sorely missed. May the gift of your knowledge, crankiness, and all, carry us survivors through the void you've left behind.
@THErealDVORAK I got to know of him back when he was editor of InfoWorld and wrote the awesome Inside Track column. I’ve followed him since the 80’s. Rest in peace, sir
@THErealDVORAK I’m tearing up reading all the comments on X. John C. Dvorak had such a huge impact on so many people. Praying for Mimi and John’s family. I hope they know how much of an impact he had on people.
@THErealDVORAK Absolutely devastating to our community but special condolences and consideration to Mimi, the Dvorak family and Adam. I don't know how Mimi and Adam will be able to do tomorrow's show. I'm gonna lose it listening to it.
@THErealDVORAK Will always be my favorite.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwTkkyMRSXA