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Forbes' Dan Lyons Hates Groklaw, Wants to Be BFF with Linux
Anastasia Beaverhousen writes "In what many will consider either a total change of heart (or complete BS), Forbes columnist Dan Lyons was caught on video by Linux.com (also owned by Sourceforge) at a recent conference professing his undying love for Linux. The words, "pry it out of my hands at gunpoint" were even used at one point. 'After wading though some of the Lyons vs. PJ mire while writing this brief piece, I found myself wondering, "Aren't we all supposed to be grown-up journalists, or bloggers, or whatever? Aren't Linux and Free Software supposed to be about love and harmony and making the world a better place? Can't we, please, smile on our brother, everybody love one another, right now?" In any case, old-hippie sentiments aside, Dan Lyons says that despite the many attacks on him as a supposedly anti-Linux attack dog, he loves Linux. And uses it. And that he has trouble understanding why anyone would think he doesn't love Linux. '"
Early in the SCO saga, Forbes magazine essentially swallowed the story that Linux was pwn3d by SCO through direct copying, derivative works, etc. Dan Lyons was the man behind the pen at Forbes. Of course the concept of value addition without $$$ was foreign to Forbes, so it made sense in their little world that Linux must be stolen. Dan and PJ from Groklaw.net said some less than flattering things about each other, and the rest is history.
Lyons did eventually apologize.
Let us not become the evil that we deplore.
He's probably better known these days as the guy who writes the "Fake Steve Jobs" blog. He wrote it anonymously for more than a year, picking up a not-inconsiderable audience (including both the real Steve Jobs and Bill Gates), until his identity was uncovered this past summer. Forbes rolled writing FSJ into his portfolio, and he has a Fake Steve book coming out this month.
Read my blog.