But during one of those last long nights of working to finish-up DOS 2.0, something happened. I have heard this story from two people, each of whom was a friend of Allen’s and in a position to know. Each told me the same story the same way. I am not staking my reputation on the accuracy of the story, but I am saying I have it from two good sources. Paul Allen certainly won’t confirm or deny it, so I’ll just throw it out for you to consider.Isn't that the Dan Rather school of journalism? I can't prove it but I'll print it anyway. Then later on in the article he says:
My reason for bringing up this topic at this time is because it will all shortly be back in the news as Microsoft goes to court later this year in what might well be its last-ever anti-trust trial. Remember those 19 states and the District of Columbia that settled over time for software vouchers and promises from Microsoft to no longer do evil? Well only Iowa remains, represented by a lawyer from Des Moines named Roxanne Conlin whom I have met. Roxanne is not in any way impressed with Microsoft vouchers, no matter how many there are. Looking for real money for the people of Iowa, Ms. Conlin is about to dredge-up all this old news and put a new spin on it.Roxanne Conlin (opensecrets.org), Democrat connected, trial laywer and PBS pushing stories about how bad and evil Bill Gates/Microsoft are?!?
I'm not a fan of Gates or his products but this just doesn't look right.
Personally, it never quite felt right to me the way Paul Allen disappeared from the MS picture.
This fits, and it fits with Bill Gate's diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome.
It's nothing new with this pack, they're completely devoted to anything "open source" or anti-patent, as championed by that radical leftist Richard Stallman who is behind 75 percent of all open source software and works closely with the UN to spread it in place of US commercial products like Windows.
Here's his site, if you want a glimpse at his political notes and articles, search for his picture somewhere if you truly want to see how whacked out some of these leftists are.
http://www.stallman.org
Don't cut Rather slack. Rather did not spread a rumor. He told a lie. He bore false witness. He said he had verified evidence of wrong doing. He didn't.
Probably a reasonably take.
"In 1998, it was revealed that Cringely had falsely claimed a Ph.D. from Stanford University. When confronted with these charges, Cringely told a reporter: "A new fact has now become painfully clear to me: you don't say you have the Ph.D unless you REALLY have the Ph.D."" (Source here.)
Add to that the PBS connection and well, it figures.
The author has an interesting history. His real name is Mark Stephens. There is no Robert X. Cringely. Several different people have written a column under that pseudonym for InfoWorld magazine over the years, and Stephens was the longest lasting of those Cringelys. Infoworld sued him for continuing to use the name after they fired him. He is still permitted to use the name, except when writing for computer publications.
As for why PBS would hire him... He is still not rich, after having lived a good portion of his life rubbing shoulders with people who became exceedingly rich. He claims to have been employee number 12 at Apple, and is said to have refused Steve Jobs' offer of Apple stock, preferring to earn $6/hour instead. This gives him the perfect anti-capitalist temperament for PBS -- so perfect that they did not dump him when it was disclosed that he had only been a TA at Stanford, and not a professor as he had claimed.