John C. Dvorak obit

John C. Dvorak, Veteran Tech Journalist and ‘No Agenda’ Podcaster, Dies at 80

The cultural commentator also was known for his influential PC Magazine column ‘Inside Track.’ 

He was not on the list.

John C. Dvorak, the longtime technology journalist, cultural commentator and co-host of the No Agenda podcast, died unexpectedly on July 20 in Albany, California, a family spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.

Dvorak also wrote the influential , long-running column Inside Track for PC Magazine, was a contributor to the 1995-99 CNET Central series, hosted radio shows including NPR’s Technically Speaking and authored more than a dozen books, ranging from tech history titles to “how to” guides.

He and Adam Curry hosted the No Agenda podcast since its October 2007 debut. An episode last week — No. 1,888 — celebrated his legacy with stories and anecdotes from his family and friends.

“John loved doing the show, loved the feedback, good and bad,” a statement from the podcast read. “He was not a man known for affection, but he had a deep appreciation for you all. He enjoyed entertaining you, challenging you, debating you and most of all meeting you. He enjoyed reading your emails and letters more than he would ever admit.”

Born in Fresno, California, on April 5, 1946, Dvorak earned his bachelor’s degree in History from UC Berkley, where he also studied computer science as a graduate student.

He penned a witty column about PCs called Inside Track that started at InfoWorld magazine — it was one of about 20 columns he was writing at the time — before he moved to PC Magazine in August 1986 with considerable fanfare.

Survivors include his wife, Mimi; his children, Jae (and her husband, Brennan) and John (and his wife Jessie); stepson Aric and his wife, Danell; four grandsons; and a nephew, Oscar- and Emmy-nominated nominated producer Dana Brunetti (The Social Network, Captain Phillips, House of Cards).

The family is anticipating the arrival of a granddaughter in October.

“To those who knew him personally, John was far more than his public work,” his family noted. “He was a beloved husband, devoted father, proud grandfather and a loyal friend. Those closest to him will remember a man defined by his strong convictions, his exceptionally sharp wit and an enduring curiosity about the world around him.”

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. Dvorak helped develop the game Dvorak On Typing.

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 managed 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-hosted a podcast with Mevio co-founder Adam Curry called No Agenda. The show was 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 were in the same city (usually San Francisco). Curry usually had more outlandish opinions of the week's news or world events, while Dvorak played the straight man in the dialogue.