Recently I've been thinking about the nerds/hippie dichotomy from that book. Really missing the anti-authoritarian streak that was so formative in the early computer industry.
This goes back a LONG way for me. I really enjoyed his Notes From The Field column in InfoWorld, which was both reliably funny and reliably interesting, from around 1987-1995.
Okay, bunch of memories came back of getting PBS's online presence going on AvantGo (one of the predecessors to "mobile web") and getting I, Cringely's column hosted on it...
Heads up, the link to "The Internet's Own Boy" says it's unavailable because whoever uploaded it changed the setting to private. Which is a shame, because it's a good bio.
For Triumph of the Nerds, Bob spent hours interviewing a few of us at ARDI, my Macintosh emulation company. Mat's is the only voice that made the cut. Our fridge got more air time than I did, but I'm juggling and riding a unicycle for a few seconds. "Those were fun days."
Nice to see Bob back, especially after the gut punch of Cleve Moler's death.
They’re “triumph of the nerds”really good. Really gets to the pivotal points in business.
The story of how MS got the operating system contract told by Gates/Balmer and the IBM executives. (MS at the time didn’t have an operating system, just software)
Also includes the Apple tour of Xerox research told by Steve Jobs and some of the xerox folks.
Worth a watch.
Transcripts if you want to read: (part 2 is the IBM entering the business)
I would love to see a follow-up series that covers the dot com bust, the revival of Silicon Valley’s tech industry thanks to mobile and cloud tech, and the modern AI boom, starting with deep neural networks ran on GPUs and culminating with large language models.
Oh, nice! I have been wondering what was going on with Cringely for years. I was worried it was a health issue and am relieved to hear that that seems to not have been the case.
Skimming through his posts he was also “back” to writing in 2023. Looks like he wrote 2 things then. Maybe he’ll do a longer run this time, maybe a good half dozen posts before another 3 year break?
Including all the mentally unwell people/trolls in the comments who have become obsessed with Bob's Minecraft server project that did not work out.
Their righteous indignation will valiantly carry forth forever! Let them never stop obsessing! "But it matters!" "It's really important!" "He's a liar, and boy our society is collapsing because of liars!". Urghh. They are in the comments here too, riding high white horses.
Sure, it's interesting there are still people out there who want to put him in his place or whatever. I think most people understand that's why you don't lie about the things like I've just learned this guy has. Especially if you depend on your name for your livelihood. or in this case, it's a pseudonym?
Maybe they should get over it but IMO everyone should pick their battles carefully, and just because it looks like they aren't doesn't mean it's worth your time. It's Mr. Cringely's cross to bear.
You can choose not to join the Internet outrage machine. That's a personal choice you can make.
You can choose instead to just enjoy the work and shrug at the terrible injustices and unbelievably bad behavior the trolls want to manipulate you to be mad about, multiplying their power. You don't have to obey the trolls when they instruct you that "this person is a liar!", and "what about the minecraft server!".
It’s simply inexcusable (and criminally fraudulent in many jurisdictions) to lie about your academic credentials—especially when it involves other people’s money.
For clarity, he has a master's degree, not a Ph.D.
Via NYTime Nov. 16, 1998 article "Compressed Data; Stanford Gave Writer A Start, but Not a Ph.D." -
"The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that Mr. Stephens had not been a professor at Stanford University and had not earned a doctorate there, as he had claimed."
"A university spokeswoman said that Mr. Stephens had worked as a teaching assistant and earned only a master's degree."
To clarify, I simply made a (minor) recall mistake on a website's comment section which was rapidly (within 1 hour) corrected. There is no legal tort case for fraud or defamation given the (minor) inaccuracy and lack of redressable harm or injury.
Mr. Cringely, on the other hand, overtly lied (for years in widely published writings, videos, and in public corporate filings) about having a PHD which is legitimately even worse than lying about having an MS.
I wouldn't be here if I hadn't somehow obtained and read Accidental Empires as a kid. Still no empire of my own though :(
Recently I've been thinking about the nerds/hippie dichotomy from that book. Really missing the anti-authoritarian streak that was so formative in the early computer industry.
This goes back a LONG way for me. I really enjoyed his Notes From The Field column in InfoWorld, which was both reliably funny and reliably interesting, from around 1987-1995.
Okay, bunch of memories came back of getting PBS's online presence going on AvantGo (one of the predecessors to "mobile web") and getting I, Cringely's column hosted on it...
Edit: some of these are still up there!
http://feeds.pbs.org/pbs/cringely/pulpit-audio
It's always fun when an old relic pops up in ye olde RSS reader. His feed would have been one of the originals I started following 25 years ago or so.
Dang we're getting old ey?
Not old. Experienced.
I’m not going to be able to find the reference in my head, but I thought there had been a couple Bob’s over the years.
The descent into IBM hiring/etc is when I sort of last stopped reading.
https://apple.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_X._Cringely
I absolutely loved his "Triumph of the nerds" trilogy. It's my childhood!
Me too!
I have a list of similar content here:
https://github.com/superjamie/lazyweb/wiki/General-Tech-Ente...
Haven't updated it in a long time but hope you find something nice.
Heads up, the link to "The Internet's Own Boy" says it's unavailable because whoever uploaded it changed the setting to private. Which is a shame, because it's a good bio.
EDIT: There's a version of it here: https://youtu.be/3Q6Fzbgs_Lg?si=Sjlu7QOiQJ5e-1ZJ
Thanks for the catch!
Thank you for sharing this! Its always fun to realize when either friends or fellow nerds happen to share a MASSIVE intersection of entertainment.
You're missing Dealers of Lightning, a great book about Xerox PARC
That is a good one! The book is already listed. As far as I know there is no video?
For Triumph of the Nerds, Bob spent hours interviewing a few of us at ARDI, my Macintosh emulation company. Mat's is the only voice that made the cut. Our fridge got more air time than I did, but I'm juggling and riding a unicycle for a few seconds. "Those were fun days."
Nice to see Bob back, especially after the gut punch of Cleve Moler's death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACt6xsMt5Uk&t=456s
I used love watching these over and over again as a kid, taped off TV on VHS, now both up in excellent quality on IA.
Triumph of the Nerds (1996) - https://archive.org/details/triumph_of_the_nerds
Nerds 2.0.1 - A Brief History Of The Internet (1998) - https://archive.org/details/nerds-2.0.1-a-brief-history-of-t...
They’re “triumph of the nerds”really good. Really gets to the pivotal points in business.
The story of how MS got the operating system contract told by Gates/Balmer and the IBM executives. (MS at the time didn’t have an operating system, just software)
Also includes the Apple tour of Xerox research told by Steve Jobs and some of the xerox folks.
Worth a watch. Transcripts if you want to read: (part 2 is the IBM entering the business)
https://www.pbs.org/nerds/transcript.html
Looks like it is better quality than the dvd I have. Says upscaled to 4k but not sure if from original.
I would love to see a follow-up series that covers the dot com bust, the revival of Silicon Valley’s tech industry thanks to mobile and cloud tech, and the modern AI boom, starting with deep neural networks ran on GPUs and culminating with large language models.
Neat, maybe he can do a followup on how OrangeDAO X Press Start Cap Fellowship Program for new Web3 entrepreneurs is going.
Oh, nice! I have been wondering what was going on with Cringely for years. I was worried it was a health issue and am relieved to hear that that seems to not have been the case.
Link to actual post: https://www.cringely.com/2026/05/21/im-writing-again/
From reading that it seems that he and his crew are working on an AI chip?
I have to warn you that it might just be sarcasm.
Michael Swaine tried to restart a few years ago as well. Not easy being the same you 20+ years later.
Same skill, same desire, same willingness. But the same energy is difficult to find.
I loved Swaine's Flames from DDJ. Shame I missed his revival.
Skimming through his posts he was also “back” to writing in 2023. Looks like he wrote 2 things then. Maybe he’ll do a longer run this time, maybe a good half dozen posts before another 3 year break?
He's best known for Triumph of the Nerds but I really liked Plane Crazy, where he tries to build an airplane while basically having a breakdown:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164814/
<insert minecraft server kickstarter joke>
If I am not mistaken he had predicted that IBM will go bankrupt, did that prediction come true?
Including all the mentally unwell people/trolls in the comments who have become obsessed with Bob's Minecraft server project that did not work out.
Their righteous indignation will valiantly carry forth forever! Let them never stop obsessing! "But it matters!" "It's really important!" "He's a liar, and boy our society is collapsing because of liars!". Urghh. They are in the comments here too, riding high white horses.
Sure, it's interesting there are still people out there who want to put him in his place or whatever. I think most people understand that's why you don't lie about the things like I've just learned this guy has. Especially if you depend on your name for your livelihood. or in this case, it's a pseudonym?
Maybe they should get over it but IMO everyone should pick their battles carefully, and just because it looks like they aren't doesn't mean it's worth your time. It's Mr. Cringely's cross to bear.
You can choose not to join the Internet outrage machine. That's a personal choice you can make.
You can choose instead to just enjoy the work and shrug at the terrible injustices and unbelievably bad behavior the trolls want to manipulate you to be mad about, multiplying their power. You don't have to obey the trolls when they instruct you that "this person is a liar!", and "what about the minecraft server!".
I don't know what you mean by obeying trolls. Just forget it.
Projects fail all the time. It happens.
It’s simply inexcusable (and criminally fraudulent in many jurisdictions) to lie about your academic credentials—especially when it involves other people’s money.
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I cannot fathom why his comments section isn't moderated. Principles?
[dead]
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For clarity, he has a master's degree, not a Ph.D.
Via NYTime Nov. 16, 1998 article "Compressed Data; Stanford Gave Writer A Start, but Not a Ph.D." -
"The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that Mr. Stephens had not been a professor at Stanford University and had not earned a doctorate there, as he had claimed."
"A university spokeswoman said that Mr. Stephens had worked as a teaching assistant and earned only a master's degree."
https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/16/business/compressed-data-...
Thanks for your research and correction of my error.
Oh this guy who lied about another guy's Master Degree. No thank you.
How do you like them apples?
To clarify, I simply made a (minor) recall mistake on a website's comment section which was rapidly (within 1 hour) corrected. There is no legal tort case for fraud or defamation given the (minor) inaccuracy and lack of redressable harm or injury.
Mr. Cringely, on the other hand, overtly lied (for years in widely published writings, videos, and in public corporate filings) about having a PHD which is legitimately even worse than lying about having an MS.
Can HN be a bit better than to sneer about transgressions that go back nearly three decades and had no real victims? I would have hoped so.
[flagged]
This reading like an em-dash enthusiast wrote it.
Two emdash phrases in 4 paragraphs is hardly excessive.
I just discovered this and I want to learn more about the AI job you guys are doing! I’ll subscribe!