Stephen Manes

Who is Stephen Manes?

Stephen Manes is the author of the 2011 nonfiction book Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear: Inside the Land of Ballet. Its subject, the workings of a ballet company, marked a significant departure for an author best known for his journalism on technology and his books for children.

Manes wrote the "Digital Tools" column that appeared in every issue of Forbes from August 1998 until February 2007, when he announced a six-month "break" after his review of Windows Vista. He did not return. From April 1995 to December 2008, he also wrote the "Full Disclosure" column anchoring the back page of PC World. Manes was also co-host and co-executive editor of the public television series "PC World's Digital Duo," a program he helped create.

Manes was previously the Personal Computers columnist for the Science Times section of The New York Times and a regular columnist for InformationWeek. He has been on the technology beat since 1982 as a columnist and contributing editor for PC Magazine, PC/Computing, PC Sources, PCjr, and Netguide. The now defunct Marketing Computers named him one of the four most influential writers about the computer industry and called him "a strong critical voice."