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I'm honestly sort of confused why we care what he's doing at all. There are other accused murderers and other fugitives in the world. Why is McAfee a big deal o

I'm honestly sort of confused why we care what he's doing at all. There are other accused murderers and other fugitives in the world. Why is McAfee a big deal outside the fact that there's a well-known company with his name on it?

pseudonym 14y ago
The same reason Hans Reiser's court case kept popping up on and off. The fact that they're in the tech industry brings the odd sense of connection to them, for better or worse, that makes people be interested-- or, at least, makes media outlets think that people will be interested. And yet this article is on the front page of Hacker News, so I guess the media's thoughts on the matter are justified :)
jacquesm 14y ago
> the fact there's a well-known company with his name on it? That's a good part of it, the guy has name recognition on par with most household cleaning products. Then there is the little detail that he actually is - or was - half decent programmer and even in illegality he shows his entrepreneurial drive. It's the same kind of fascination that got the tech press running around Hans Reiser the way they did when Nina disappeared. This is what drives tabloid sales, people love a good story and McAfee is giving them just that. I'm not even sure if the facts of the matter will be a decision point from here on, the eyeballs industry probably hopes he will on the lam for a long time so they can milk this for what it is worth. The worst that could happen from their point of view is that he gets arrested or worse, that he really does get killed (they may try to go for the conspiracy angle if that happens to extend the time they can spin this). It's a sad affair in many ways. McAfee used to be named right along Bill Gates at some point and now you're just as likely to find him associated with Hans Reiser (like in this comment for instance).
Dylan16807 14y ago
Are those fugitives powerful men/women that have history of crazy ventures, plausible conspiracy theories, and constant communication with the world? If so please link their blogs too.

pseudonym 14y ago

The same reason Hans Reiser's court case kept popping up on and off. The fact that they're in the tech industry brings the odd sense of connection to them, for better or worse, that makes people be interested-- or, at least, makes media outlets think that people will be interested. And yet this article is on the front page of Hacker News, so I guess the media's thoughts on the matter are justified :)

jacquesm 14y ago

> the fact there's a well-known company with his name on it? That's a good part of it, the guy has name recognition on par with most household cleaning products. Then there is the little detail that he actually is - or was - half decent programmer and even in illegality he shows his entrepreneurial drive. It's the same kind of fascination that got the tech press running around Hans Reiser the way they did when Nina disappeared. This is what drives tabloid sales, people love a good story and McAfee is giving them just that. I'm not even sure if the facts of the matter will be a decision point from here on, the eyeballs industry probably hopes he will on the lam for a long time so they can milk this for what it is worth. The worst that could happen from their point of view is that he gets arrested or worse, that he really does get killed (they may try to go for the conspiracy angle if that happens to extend the time they can spin this). It's a sad affair in many ways. McAfee used to be named right along Bill Gates at some point and now you're just as likely to find him associated with Hans Reiser (like in this comment for instance).

Dylan16807 14y ago

Are those fugitives powerful men/women that have history of crazy ventures, plausible conspiracy theories, and constant communication with the world? If so please link their blogs too.