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.
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-...