Tom's Hardware sale?

[mattwilco]

Anyone else hear the rumors about the sale of THG? I heard that they were offered somewhere around 10-15mil.I wonder if they will now start producing good articles with new management. I wonder what AnandTech would pull in if it were sold.

 

[JEDIYoda]

links please...

 

[mattwilco]

Woops, should have checked the website again. The Inquire claims to have confirmed the sale.
Linkage

 

[blackangst1]

Hopefully the new ownders will be a whole lot LESS Intel biased.

 

[spittledip]

Originally posted by: mattwilco
Anyone else hear the rumors about the sale of THG? I heard that they were offered somewhere around 10-15mil.I wonder if they will now start producing good articles with new management. I wonder what AnandTech would pull in if it were sold.

I like Tom's... Their articles are just as good if not better than Anand's stuff. I just like the forums better here

 

[spittledip]

Originally posted by: blackangst1
Hopefully the new ownders will be a whole lot LESS Intel biased.

How long ago was that? While AMD had the crown, they made sure that people knew it. I saw no Intel bias over there. I have heard several people state that, but I have never read anything over there that seemed Intel-biased.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Tom made the mistake of saying something unflattering about America about 7 years ago, and because of that every patriot on this forum now hates him.

 

[Red Dawn]

Anand bought the site.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Anand bought the site.

LOL i hope you're joking!

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: spittledip

Originally posted by: blackangst1
Hopefully the new ownders will be a whole lot LESS Intel biased.

How long ago was that? While AMD had the crown, they made sure that people knew it. I saw no Intel bias over there. I have heard several people state that, but I have never read anything over there that seemed Intel-biased.

I think Tom's "bias" is define by which company, Intel vs AMD, part, video card(?), platform, etc you support.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Tom made the mistake of saying something unflattering about America about 7 years ago, and because of that every patriot on this forum now hates him.

Rightfully so. I met Tom once and I was far from impressed. It had nothing to do with "patriots", it had to do with decency. I was less than impressed with the guys from HOCP also FWIW.

 

[ProfJohn]

What does Tom from Myspace have to do with computer hardware?

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
What does Tom from Myspace have to do with computer hardware?

:laugh:

 

[BarneyFife]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
What does Tom from Myspace have to do with computer hardware?

This about sums up your reading comprehension skills.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Tom made the mistake of saying something unflattering about America about 7 years ago, and because of that every patriot on this forum now hates him.

Rightfully so. I met Tom once and I was far from impressed. It had nothing to do with "patriots", it had to do with decency. I was less than impressed with the guys from HOCP also FWIW.

I never met Tom before, but a friend of mine did about 8-9 years ago, and the guy was a pompous ass, and that was before his site really hit it big (although even back then, he was one of the top tech sites). I can't imagine what he's like know.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Tom made the mistake of saying something unflattering about America about 7 years ago, and because of that every patriot on this forum now hates him.

If you were around the old UBB AT forums, you may know I had my own direct run ins with Tom Pabst over this issue.

In May, 1998, I had a previous positive experience with him when I e-mailed him a comment about one of his articles, and he thanked me for my suggestion:

How to Get All 66 MHz Slot 1 CPUs Running 100 MHz

Thomas Pabst

May 14, 1998 13:00
Feedback

In the first hours after posting this article I received several mails suggesting nail varnish instead. Indeed it may be an even better idea, since it's easy to apply and also easy to remove. Harvey Rubens also pointed out that adhesive tape can contain aggressive chemicals which could damage the contacts. He suggested the following:

One possible solution is "anti-corona dope," that red paint you see in high voltage electronic equipment as an insulating paint. You could try fingernail polish or a paint used for model aircraft. Any such paint should be allowed to dry completely to prevent scratching of the paint or accidental contamination of adjacent terminals on insertion.

Another possibility is the tape used to splice analog recording tape and cassettes. This tape is very thin and is formulated specifically to prevent the "bleeding" I mentioned, because, in the early days of recording, this was a very big problem.

In June, 1998, Tom posted an article on his site regarding his visit to an American manufacturer of cooling products in which he said he was glad that the company didn't seem to share some very negative charateristics of many American businesses. I e-mailed him that I didn't think he intended to say anything as offensive as actual his words were. German is his first language, and I suggested it may have been due to his less than complimentary translation to English of his thoughts. I wrote:

From: Harvey Rubens [mailto:hrubens@jlmnet.com]
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 1998 2:17 AM
To: tom@tomshardware.com
Subject: I question the wisdom of your statement.

Hi, Tom,

I haven't written since I was able to contribute some assistance with respect to running any P2 @ 100 MHz FSB, but at least you'll know this is from a friendly source.

For what it's worth, I have several German friends, so I have first hand knowledge of some "very particular German ways," not all of which are particularly attractive or becoming when viewed without knowing the person or the cultural environment that molds their behavior. In fact, when I read your writing, quite often, I have to stop and translate your German-English back into a more coloquial pattern to understand your intent, rather than the superficial meaning of your words.

I am writing because I take particular exception to your statement, "It's not the pure aspect of money making found so often in the US..." I have encountered money grubbing assholes from many countries, including the U.S. and Germany. I have also met brilliant and delightfully creative people from all over the world.

Please recall that I offered my help in good faith, in the past. Also, when you were unfairly attacked on some BBS's, I came to your defense, unsolicited, with nothing to gain but a statement of the truth. I hope you didn't mean to be as totally offensive to Americans in general as your words state. I also hope that your better nature will allow you to post a brief apology to your American readers. They did not ALL do anything to you to deserve such a slap.

Thank you for considering my request.

Regards,

Harvey Rubens
hrubens@jlmnet.com

P.S. I will not repost any part of this communication without your specific permission.

He replied:

Subject: RE: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 23:56:05 +0200
From: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com>
To: <hrubens@jlmnet.com>

Sorry Harvey,

I was afraid that people could understand me this way.

I do admit that over here I'm not the only one who learned that the most important thing in the US is called 'US Dollar'. Why did the US watch thousands of Kurds being killed by Saddam after the Gulf war, why could the US not sign a treaty against land mines, .... Moral ...?

There are indeed a whole lot of assholes over here as well. It honors you that you are upset about my statement and I fully appreciate it. However, I have made my experiences and I'm writing about it. There are a lot of people who want to get me over to the US. You may guess why I don't ever want to live there, ... maybe because I don't want to get shot by a 11 year old boy ...

I will still consider apologizing to all the ones who were slammed wrongly, but please tell me why self reflection is so unpopular in your country.

I do care about your opinion and this is why I replied straight after reading your mail. It is true, I am not a fan of US business morals but I still know that I owe the US citizens a whole lot. Please assist me so that I can do things right in the future. Maybe you understand what my problem is, in case you're not already seeing red in anger about my negative statements.

Warmest regards,

Tom

His first reply sounded friendly and and understanding enough so I replied:

Subject: Re: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 17:21:14 -0700
From: Harvey Rubens <hrubens@jlmnet.com>
To: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com

Tom,

Sorry Harvey,

> I was afraid that people could understand me this way.

Here is an example of what I meant when I said that I did not always understand the direct meaning of your German-English:

Your exact choice of words in your first sentence does not really make sense. Did you mean to say,

"I was afraid that people WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND me this way," or

"I THOUGHT (or HOPED, or BELIEVED) that people would understand me this way?"

> I do admit that over here I'm not the only one who learned that the
> most important thing in the US is called 'US Dollar'.

If we start going through history, we could blast each other forever for the actions of our respective governments, past and present. I was born in 1941 into an American Jewish family. I don't know how old you are, but when I was a child, people around the world, including my Polish and Lithuanian relatives, were suffering because of the actions of your countrymen. Do you think I should assign that mentality to every German I meet in 1998? I think I would be keeping myself from knowing too many good people.

[/i]> Why did the US watch thousands of Kurds being killed by Saddam
> after the Gulf war, why could the US not sign a treaty against land
> mines, .... Moral ...?[/i]

Same question. Same answer. Greedy people have been subverting the best interest of the public with money throughout history. Greed for money. Greed for power. Greed for no rational reason or motive whatsoever.

Who speaks for all those nice folks who have had hot radioactive waste shipped across Germany with recently revealed leaks that your government and power companies have known about for years? Same old scheisse! For some strange reason, I doubt that you either knew about it or participated in it. By the way, what country paid for the rebuilding of Germany and Japan, as well as all of western Europe, after World War II?

> There are indeed a whole lot of assholes over here as well. It
> honors you that you are upset about my statement and I fully
> appreciate it. However, I have made my experiences and I'm writing
> about it. There are a lot of people who want to get me over to the
> US. You may guess why I don't ever want to live there, ... maybe
> because I don't want to get shot by a 11 year old boy...

OK -- So you can get blown to hell and back by some Arab terrorist in a cafe, instead. Or you can go to Japan and get gassed in the
subway. Or you can try to open an honest business in Moscow and get the scheisse kicked out of you if you don't pay off the Russian
Mafia AND the government. The point is that stupidity knows no limits, and greed is attracted to the biggest prizes. Right now, many of those prizes happen to be in the U.S. Relative to our personal integrity (yours or mine), why this is so is of no consequence. That is just the way it is. What matters is who you believe yourself to be and how you conduct yourself in realizing
your own best view of yourself.

> I will still consider apologizing to all the ones who were slammed
> wrongly, but please tell me why self reflection is so unpopular in
> your country.

Do I sound like I have never engaged in self reflection? I'm afraid you have allowed your prejudices to keep you far too sheltered from seeing a broad spectrum of real Americans. For example, did you know that Paul Newman, the famous actor, owns a successful food company that makes high quality products, and that, every year, he donates every bit of profit to charity? My father ran a very successful business that sent me and my four sisters through college. He was a loved and respected man. If you want to know more about us, come over for a visit not related to business. We are a richly diverse culture with both our strengths and our weaknesses. If you allow your "particularly German" rigidity of thought to blind you to that, I think you are sadly mistaken, and you are cutting yourself off from some very rewarding personal experiences.

> I do care about your opinion and this is why I replied straight
> after reading your mail. It is true, I am not a fan of US business
> morals but I still know that I owe the US citizens a whole lot.

Since the U.S. is one of the largest markets, if not THE largest market, for personal computers, you're damned right that you owe a debt to U.S. citizens, especially if you want to continue to earn a living from us. The English expression that describes your comments is "biting the hand that feeds you."

> Please assist me so that I can do things right in the future.
> Maybe you understand what my problem is, in case you're not already
> seeing red in anger about my negative statements.

I am, in fact, "seeing red with anger." The best way I can relieve that anger is to try to convince you how deeply wrong you are about
"most Americans." If I succeed, I will feel much better about it. If I fail, I will not think all Germans are as blind as you are at this moment, but I will have directed my anger to its source.

I will close with two observations:

1. Your comments in your e-mail reveal a deep misunderstanding of Americans, in general. You should do more than "consider" an apology. You should do it immediately in bold type on your home page.

2. I know you are aware that people say you have "an attitude problem." The fact is that your public statement expressed an attitude that was unfairly insulting to an entire nation full of people that was based on absolute ignorance. The fact that you explain yourself and ask my assistance suggests that I may be right about your better nature. I hope so. However, you have some serious learning to do and some bridges to rebuild.

I look forward to your replies, both public and private.

Regards back to you,

Harvey Rubens
hrubens@jlmnet.com

Then, he went ballistic in an anti-American rant:

Subject: RE: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 03:50:46 +0200
From: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com>
To: <hrubens@jlmnet.com>

Harvey,

The fact that I replied to your email doesn't mean that I just assigned you to be my father. Your Nationalism is typical for your countrymen. A country without history and definitely without culture. The lack of style can be found in many people over here too, so I will let you off with that. I have indeed big problems of taking your shouting seriously. A person who claims he is able to self reflect has no answer to the fact that Americans are STUPID enough to still go and play John Wayne, letting anyone run around with a weapon??? Is that 'just a law' or a serious neurosis??? If in your wonderful country 10 year old kids run around with guns and kill others, then it's maybe about damn time to start self-reflecting, isn't it? German HISTORY doesn't have anything to do with the pathetic foreign policy of your CURRENT government. So please try to see the truth in front of your eyes and stop excusing yourself with old mistakes of others.

Americans are world famous for being the most ignorant and arrogant people around. You guys think that you have the greatest technology - haha, the mobile phone system is a good proof, or the fact that you guys are still sending checks for payment = middleage, but you wouldn't notice it!! You don't see how much you suck, because once some US citizens leave your country they run around completely BLIND. US troops are using dollar bills and the whole US system anywhere outside the US, opposite to ANY other army in the world. Why? Because the poor boys wouldn't know how to handle foreign currency, culture or food - THAT'S American! Vietnam proved best how much you guys are able to understand foreign culture. A country where the highest cultural achievement is Micky Mouse and Hollywood. These two may be perfect for making your beloved $$$, but they are as superficial as each of you guys.

Americans have the problem that they think the are infallible, most advanced, simply the greatest. In real your social system sucks, you are crime nation number one in the western world and except of a few well educated people you don't even know how any other country outside the US is spelled. When I went to the US for the first time, I was shocked how dirty and bad organized everything was. What's great about the US? The average ego, that's it.

I am biting the hand that feeds me? I tell you something! I don't give a damn! I am not creeping for money. Money means ****** to me. That's one of the serious differences between us. If people can't handle the truth then they shall go, buy some guns and kill a few neighbors, that should make every American feel better again.

So there you are. This is what I think and with me a lot of very well educated and intelligent Europeans, in fact it's the majority of the
educated people over here. Believe it or not, but the great thing about the US is its ability to market itself. People who can look behind the scenes are horribly disappointed. So please go ahead and feel well being American, the nation who threw two nuclear bombs, and the nation that feels great to still produce land mines, killing innocent kids and women. Wow!! I am soo impressed!

You know what the difference to us Germans is? We know at least that we did something wrong, you guys still run around and are proud of all the bullshit you've done to the world. And please do me one favor, don't carry on and tell anybody there would be such a thing as American culture. It's impossible, maybe you even find out yourself.

It's sad, but your crazy nationalism has leaded you to have a stupid behavior. Please inform yourself properly before you make comments as in your email. We weren't buddies or anything and you have certainly gone too far. I respected you, but you took advantage of my politeness.

Have a great day

Thomas

I replied:

Subject: Re: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 00:21:07 -0700
From: Harvey Rubens <hrubens@jlmnet.com>
To: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com>

Tom:

> The fact that I replied to your email doesn't mean that I just
> assigned youto be my father.

That is probably a good thing. I think that what you need, right now, is the kind advice of a good father. Given your insufferable arrogance, if it were my misfortune to be your father, I would most certainly deny it.

Since we aren't "buddies or anything," I shall assume that you do not mind if I quote you, so long as I do so accurately.

Have your own nice day,

Harvey

The dialog continued, and I eventually wrote him again to say, if he didn't post an apology on his site, I would post his messages on the web. He replied to say he didn't take it seriously, and he was going to bed.

There were more e-mails. I posted all of them on AT and several other forums.

Tom posted an item on his site calling me a liar and claiming that anyone could falsify the headers from his e-mails. I've still got the originals with the complete headers, including time stamps and IP and routing data if he still wants to argue the point. :laugh:

I haven't posted about this for a long time, but as long as others were referring to his anti-American statements, you may as well have the complete original story.

 

[colonel]

I'll check it out, I started to build my computers in 1999, I got all the info about the first Athlon from Tom.

 

[daniel49]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Tom made the mistake of saying something unflattering about America about 7 years ago, and because of that every patriot on this forum now hates him.

If you were around the old UBB AT forums, you may know I had my own direct run ins with Tom Pabst over this issue.

In May, 1998, I had a previous positive experience with him when I e-mailed him a comment about one of his articles, and he thanked me for my suggestion:

How to Get All 66 MHz Slot 1 CPUs Running 100 MHz

Thomas Pabst

May 14, 1998 13:00
Feedback

In the first hours after posting this article I received several mails suggesting nail varnish instead. Indeed it may be an even better idea, since it's easy to apply and also easy to remove. Harvey Rubens also pointed out that adhesive tape can contain aggressive chemicals which could damage the contacts. He suggested the following:

One possible solution is "anti-corona dope," that red paint you see in high voltage electronic equipment as an insulating paint. You could try fingernail polish or a paint used for model aircraft. Any such paint should be allowed to dry completely to prevent scratching of the paint or accidental contamination of adjacent terminals on insertion.

Another possibility is the tape used to splice analog recording tape and cassettes. This tape is very thin and is formulated specifically to prevent the "bleeding" I mentioned, because, in the early days of recording, this was a very big problem.

In June, 1998, Tom posted an article on his site regarding his visit to an American manufacturer of cooling products in which he said he was glad that the company didn't seem to share some very negative charateristics of many American businesses. I e-mailed him that I didn't think he intended to say anything as offensive as actual his words were. German is his first language, and I suggested it may have been due to his less than complimentary translation to English of his thoughts. I wrote:

From: Harvey Rubens [mailto:hrubens@jlmnet.com]
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 1998 2:17 AM
To: tom@tomshardware.com
Subject: I question the wisdom of your statement.

Hi, Tom,

I haven't written since I was able to contribute some assistance with respect to running any P2 @ 100 MHz FSB, but at least you'll know this is from a friendly source.

For what it's worth, I have several German friends, so I have first hand knowledge of some "very particular German ways," not all of which are particularly attractive or becoming when viewed without knowing the person or the cultural environment that molds their behavior. In fact, when I read your writing, quite often, I have to stop and translate your German-English back into a more coloquial pattern to understand your intent, rather than the superficial meaning of your words.

I am writing because I take particular exception to your statement, "It's not the pure aspect of money making found so often in the US..." I have encountered money grubbing assholes from many countries, including the U.S. and Germany. I have also met brilliant and delightfully creative people from all over the world.

Please recall that I offered my help in good faith, in the past. Also, when you were unfairly attacked on some BBS's, I came to your defense, unsolicited, with nothing to gain but a statement of the truth. I hope you didn't mean to be as totally offensive to Americans in general as your words state. I also hope that your better nature will allow you to post a brief apology to your American readers. They did not ALL do anything to you to deserve such a slap.

Thank you for considering my request.

Regards,

Harvey Rubens
hrubens@jlmnet.com

P.S. I will not repost any part of this communication without your specific permission.

He replied:

Subject: RE: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 23:56:05 +0200
From: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com>
To: <hrubens@jlmnet.com>

Sorry Harvey,

I was afraid that people could understand me this way.

I do admit that over here I'm not the only one who learned that the most important thing in the US is called 'US Dollar'. Why did the US watch thousands of Kurds being killed by Saddam after the Gulf war, why could the US not sign a treaty against land mines, .... Moral ...?

There are indeed a whole lot of assholes over here as well. It honors you that you are upset about my statement and I fully appreciate it. However, I have made my experiences and I'm writing about it. There are a lot of people who want to get me over to the US. You may guess why I don't ever want to live there, ... maybe because I don't want to get shot by a 11 year old boy ...

I will still consider apologizing to all the ones who were slammed wrongly, but please tell me why self reflection is so unpopular in your country.

I do care about your opinion and this is why I replied straight after reading your mail. It is true, I am not a fan of US business morals but I still know that I owe the US citizens a whole lot. Please assist me so that I can do things right in the future. Maybe you understand what my problem is, in case you're not already seeing red in anger about my negative statements.

Warmest regards,

Tom

His first reply sounded friendly and and understanding enough so I replied:

Subject: Re: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 17:21:14 -0700
From: Harvey Rubens <hrubens@jlmnet.com>
To: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com

Tom,

Sorry Harvey,

> I was afraid that people could understand me this way.

Here is an example of what I meant when I said that I did not always understand the direct meaning of your German-English:

Your exact choice of words in your first sentence does not really make sense. Did you mean to say,

"I was afraid that people WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND me this way," or

"I THOUGHT (or HOPED, or BELIEVED) that people would understand me this way?"

> I do admit that over here I'm not the only one who learned that the
> most important thing in the US is called 'US Dollar'.

If we start going through history, we could blast each other forever for the actions of our respective governments, past and present. I was born in 1941 into an American Jewish family. I don't know how old you are, but when I was a child, people around the world, including my Polish and Lithuanian relatives, were suffering because of the actions of your countrymen. Do you think I should assign that mentality to every German I meet in 1998? I think I would be keeping myself from knowing too many good people.

[/i]> Why did the US watch thousands of Kurds being killed by Saddam
> after the Gulf war, why could the US not sign a treaty against land
> mines, .... Moral ...?[/i]

Same question. Same answer. Greedy people have been subverting the best interest of the public with money throughout history.
Greed for money. Greed for power. Greed for no rational reason or motive whatsoever.

Who speaks for all those nice folks who have had hot radioactive waste shipped across Germany with recently revealed leaks that your
government and power companies have known about for years? Same old scheisse! For some strange reason, I doubt that you either
knew about it or participated in it. By the way, what country paid for the rebuilding of Germany and Japan, as well as all of western Europe, after World War II?

> There are indeed a whole lot of assholes over here as well. It
> honors you that you are upset about my statement and I fully
> appreciate it. However, I have made my experiences and I'm writing
> about it. There are a lot of people who want to get me over to the
> US. You may guess why I don't ever want to live there, ... maybe
> because I don't want to get shot by a 11 year old boy...

OK -- So you can get blown to hell and back by some Arab terrorist in a cafe, instead. Or you can go to Japan and get gassed in the
subway. Or you can try to open an honest business in Moscow and get the scheisse kicked out of you if you don't pay off the Russian
Mafia AND the government. The point is that stupidity knows no limits, and greed is attracted to the biggest prizes. Right now, many of those prizes happen to be in the U.S. Relative to our personal integrity (yours or mine), why this is so is of no consequence. That is just the way it is. What matters is who you believe yourself to be and how you conduct yourself in realizing
your own best view of yourself.

> I will still consider apologizing to all the ones who were slammed
> wrongly, but please tell me why self reflection is so unpopular in
> your country.

Do I sound like I have never engaged in self reflection? I'm afraid you have allowed your prejudices to keep you far too sheltered from seeing a broad spectrum of real Americans. For example, did you know that Paul Newman, the famous actor, owns a successful food company that makes high quality products, and that, every year, he donates every bit of profit to charity? My father ran a very successful business that sent me and my four sisters through college. He was a loved and respected man. If you want to know more about us, come over for a visit not related to business. We are a richly diverse culture with both our strengths and our weaknesses. If you allow your "particularly German" rigidity of thought to blind you to that, I think you are sadly mistaken, and you are cutting yourself off from some very rewarding personal experiences.

> I do care about your opinion and this is why I replied straight
> after reading your mail. It is true, I am not a fan of US business
> morals but I still know that I owe the US citizens a whole lot.

Since the U.S. is one of the largest markets, if not THE largest market, for personal computers, you're damned right that you owe a debt to U.S. citizens, especially if you want to continue to earn a living from us. The English expression that describes your comments is "biting the hand that feeds you."

> Please assist me so that I can do things right in the future.
> Maybe you understand what my problem is, in case you're not already
> seeing red in anger about my negative statements.

I am, in fact, "seeing red with anger." The best way I can relieve that anger is to try to convince you how deeply wrong you are about
"most Americans." If I succeed, I will feel much better about it. If I fail, I will not think all Germans are as blind as you are at this moment, but I will have directed my anger to its source.

I will close with two observations:

1. Your comments in your e-mail reveal a deep misunderstanding of Americans, in general. You should do more than "consider" an apology. You should do it immediately in bold type on your home page.

2. I know you are aware that people say you have "an attitude problem." The fact is that your public statement expressed an attitude that was unfairly insulting to an entire nation full of people that was based on absolute ignorance. The fact that you explain yourself and ask my assistance suggests that I may be right about your better nature. I hope so. However, you have some serious learning to do and some bridges to rebuild.

I look forward to your replies, both public and private.

Regards back to you,

Harvey Rubens
hrubens@jlmnet.com

Then, he went ballistic in an anti-American rant:

Subject: RE: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 03:50:46 +0200
From: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com>
To: <hrubens@jlmnet.com>

Harvey,

The fact that I replied to your email doesn't mean that I just assigned you to be my father. Your Nationalism is typical for your countrymen. A country without history and definitely without culture. The lack of style can be found in many people over here too, so I will let you off with that. I have indeed big problems of taking your shouting seriously. A person who claims he is able to self reflect has no answer to the fact that Americans are STUPID enough to still go and play John Wayne, letting anyone run around with a weapon??? Is that 'just a law' or a serious neurosis??? If in your wonderful country 10 year old kids run around with guns and kill others, then it's maybe about damn time to start self-reflecting, isn't it? German HISTORY doesn't have anything to do with the pathetic foreign policy of your CURRENT government. So please try to see the truth in front of your eyes and stop excusing yourself with old mistakes of others.

Americans are world famous for being the most ignorant and arrogant people around. You guys think that you have the greatest technology - haha, the mobile phone system is a good proof, or the fact that you guys are still sending checks for payment = middleage, but you wouldn't notice it!! You don't see how much you suck, because once some US citizens leave your country they run around completely BLIND. US troops are using dollar bills and the whole US system anywhere outside the US, opposite to ANY other army in the world. Why? Because the poor boys wouldn't know how to handle foreign currency, culture or food - THAT'S American! Vietnam proved best how much you guys are able to understand foreign culture. A country where the highest cultural achievement is Micky Mouse and Hollywood. These two may be perfect for making your beloved $$$, but they are as superficial as each of you guys.

Americans have the problem that they think the are infallible, most advanced, simply the greatest. In real your social system sucks, you are crime nation number one in the western world and except of a few well educated people you don't even know how any other country outside the US is spelled. When I went to the US for the first time, I was shocked how dirty and bad organized everything was. What's great about the US? The average ego, that's it.

I am biting the hand that feeds me? I tell you something! I don't give a damn! I am not creeping for money. Money means ****** to me. That's one of the serious differences between us. If people can't handle the truth then they shall go, buy some guns and kill a few neighbors, that should make every American feel better again.

So there you are. This is what I think and with me a lot of very well educated and intelligent Europeans, in fact it's the majority of the
educated people over here. Believe it or not, but the great thing about the US is its ability to market itself. People who can look behind the scenes are horribly disappointed. So please go ahead and feel well being American, the nation who threw two nuclear bombs, and the nation that feels great to still produce land mines, killing innocent kids and women. Wow!! I am soo impressed!

You know what the difference to us Germans is? We know at least that we did something wrong, you guys still run around and are proud of all the bullshit you've done to the world. And please do me one favor, don't carry on and tell anybody there would be such a thing as American culture. It's impossible, maybe you even find out yourself.

It's sad, but your crazy nationalism has leaded you to have a stupid behavior. Please inform yourself properly before you make comments as in your email. We weren't buddies or anything and you have certainly gone too far. I respected you, but you took advantage of my politeness.

Have a great day

Thomas

I replied:

Subject: Re: I question the wisdom of your statement.
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 00:21:07 -0700
From: Harvey Rubens <hrubens@jlmnet.com>
To: "Thomas Pabst, CEO & Editor in Chief" <admin@tomshardware.com>

Tom:

> The fact that I replied to your email doesn't mean that I just
> assigned youto be my father.

That is probably a good thing. I think that what you need, right now, is the kind advice of a good father. Given your insufferable arrogance, if it were my misfortune to be your father, I would most certainly deny it.

Since we aren't "buddies or anything," I shall assume that you do not mind if I quote you, so long as I do so accurately.

Have your own nice day,

Harvey

The dialog continued, and I eventually wrote him again to say, if he didn't post an apology on his site, I would post his messages on the web. He replied to say he didn't take it seriously, and he was going to bed.

There were more e-mails. I posted all of them on AT and several other forums.

Tom posted an item on his site calling me a liar and claiming that anyone could falsify the headers from his e-mails. I've still got the originals with the complete headers, including time stamps and IP and routing data if he still wants to argue the point. :laugh:

I haven't posted about this for a long time, but as long as others were referring to his anti-American statements, you may as well have the complete original story.

harvey: I have a machine with a slot one in it that I covered the pin with scoth tape.
its a 300A overclocked to 450.
I'll let you know when she blows

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: daniel49
harvey: I have a machine with a slot one in it that I covered the pin with scoth tape.
its a 300A overclocked to 450.
I'll let you know when she blows

The trick was for P II 300's with a 66 MHz FSB. You didn't need to mask the pin of a Celly 300A. They were all unlocked, and 90% of them did 450, including mine.

 

[daniel49]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: daniel49
harvey: I have a machine with a slot one in it that I covered the pin with scoth tape.
its a 300A overclocked to 450.
I'll let you know when she blows

The trick was for P II 300's with a 66 MHz FSB. You didn't need tho mask the pin of a Celly 300A. They were all unlocked, and 90% of them did 450, including mine.

wouldn't run at 450 on this one without covering pin....although the bios had some oddball settings for higher speeds
stock was 66 for the fsb then I think there was a 70 something and and 80 something which they would run at but I was advised not to use those.
covering the pin as you know fooled it into thinking it was 100 mhz fsb with a multiplier of 4.5
also tried it with a 333 but as you know they had a multiplier of 5 and the system was just too unstable at 500 mhz.

this was original story i worked from
http://www.tomshardware.com/1998/12/15/overclocking_special/page6.html

by the way what kind of music did you play, I read somewhere you were a musician.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: daniel49
wouldn't run at 450 on this one without covering pin....although the bios had some oddball settings for higher speeds

This is P&N. It must have been Clinton's fault. :laugh:

by the way what kind of music did you play, I read somewhere you were a musician.

Click the link in my sig. :music:

 

[daniel49]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: daniel49
wouldn't run at 450 on this one without covering pin....although the bios had some oddball settings for higher speeds

This is P&N. It must have been Clinton's fault. :laugh:

by the way what kind of music did you play, I read somewhere you were a musician.

Click the link in my sig. :music:

nice sound, is it all you after some mixing a group or what?:thumbsup:

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: daniel49
nice sound, is it all you after some mixing a group or what?:thumbsup:

Thanks. It's all me singing and playing a keyboard with some good voices and a drum machine with mixing help from my friend, Don, who mixes music for major TV shows, using ProTools on his home setup.

 

[daniel49]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: daniel49
nice sound, is it all you after some mixing a group or what?:thumbsup:

Thanks. It's all me singing and playing a keyboard with some good voices and a drum machine with mixing help from my friend, Don, who mixes music for major TV shows, using ProTools on his home setup.

ok dropping it before I hijack the thread

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Tom made the mistake of saying something unflattering about America about 7 years ago, and because of that every patriot on this forum now hates him.

Rightfully so. I met Tom once and I was far from impressed. It had nothing to do with "patriots", it had to do with decency. I was less than impressed with the guys from HOCP also FWIW.

I never met Tom before, but a friend of mine did about 8-9 years ago, and the guy was a pompous ass, and that was before his site really hit it big (although even back then, he was one of the top tech sites). I can't imagine what he's like know.

I had similar opinions. It's sad that people in that industry have to act that way. I used to do computer hardware reviews and I have met some of the people in that area. There are a lot of nasty attitudes and elitism. Working in i-banking I'd probably say that some of the people I met at CES and other shows were/are worse than some bankers. That says quite a bit, especially when I have to deal with some pretty big arses.