RIP Guy Kewney

This morning I learned of the sad passing of an industry legend and colleague, Guy Kewney. I first met Guy when I started out in tech publishing at PC Magazine in 1992. He always had time to help explain things to an inquisitive newcomer, and reading his columns in the magazine quickly helped me fill in some of the background to this puzzling new world I had entered at such a late stage of my career.

Guy was hit hard by redundancy when PC Mag was bought by VNU in 2000, although he continued his contributions on a freelance basis until its eventual closure in 2002, after which he continued to write for the PC Mag ebook that I edited until 2005.

I eventually became his commissioning editor on PCW (he was the only person to write for it from its launch in 1978 to the last issue in 2009), and as others have pointed out, his work was almost always late but invariably worth waiting for. On his best days, his unique style often took you on a journey around seemingly irrelevant topics, before eventually tying them up in a surprising and unexpected way.

He was extremely personable, keenly intelligent and a lovable eccentric. His service to the industry should not be underestimated, having inspired many people with his writings since the 1970s.

We'll miss you Guy, farewell.