Robert X. Cringely

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert X. Cringely is the pen name of both technology journalist Mark Stephens and a string of writers for a column in InfoWorld, the weekly computer trade newspaper published by IDG.

1 Stephens as Cringely
2 Stanford
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Stephens as Cringely

Stephens was the third author to contribute to Infoworld under the Cringely pseudonym, the first two being Rory J. O'Connor and then Laurie Flynn. During his lengthy tenure (1987-1995), the character of Cringely changed dramatically (morphing from a private eye type to a slick, womanizing tech insider), and became an increasingly popular tech pundit after authoring the book Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition and Still Can't Get a Date (1992, ISBN 0-88730-855-4).

After a financial disagreement in 1995, Stephens was dismissed from Infoworld, and was promptly sued by IDG to prevent him from continuing to use the Cringely trademark. A settlement was reached out of court that allowed him to use the name, so long as he did not contribute to competing technology magazines. As a result, Stephens' writing as Robert X. Cringely regularly appears in publications such as The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, Upside, Success, and Worth. Stephens has also appeared as Cringely in two documentaries based on his writings: Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires and Nerds 2.0.1.

Stephens' Cringely currently writes an online column for the PBS website called I, Cringely: The Pulpit, and has launched a new internet television show NerdTV. InfoWorld continues to print its Robert X. Cringely feature, Notes From the Field, with a new and unknown writer.

[edit] Stanford

Stephens earned a bachelor's degree from the College of Wooster in Ohio^[1] in 1975.

In 1998, it was revealed^[2]^[3] ^[4] that Stephens had falsely claimed to have received a Ph.D. from Stanford University and to have been employed as a professor there. Stanford's administration stated that while Stephens had been a teaching assistant and had pursued course work toward a doctoral degree, he had never held a professorship nor had he been awarded the degree. Stephens then stated that while he had received a master's degree from the department of communications and completed the classes and tests required for the Ph.D., he acknowledged that he failed to complete his dissertation. Asked about the resulting controversy, Stephens 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." ^[5]

[edit] Notes

^ "The Double Life of Robert X. Cringely" by Liesl Schillinger, Wired Magazine, December 1998
^ "Stanford Says Cringely Never Completed Doctorate" by Laura Evenson, San Francisco Chronicle, November 11, 1998
^ "Compressed Data; Stanford Gave Writer A Start, but Not a Ph.D.", by Lisa Napoli, New York Times, November 16, 1998, Late Edition - Final, Section C, Page 5, Column 3
^ Resume of the nerd" by Rob Morse, San Francisco Examiner, November 13, 1998
^ "PBS analyst falsely claims Stanford Ph.D" by Marni Leff, Stanford Daily, November 11, 1998