Tech Guru Takes Mass Approach

The New Yorker profiles columnist and technology prophet Walt Mossberg, whose word has decided the fate of many a digital revolution. Mossberg's mantra is that technology should be easy and elegant, and he tells Ken Auletta that companies like Mac and Microsoft still have a ways to go in satisfying him.

With his trademark consumer-oriented columns, the digital guru commands a rumored million-dollar salary from the Wall Street Journal, an army of bloggers racing to respond to his pronouncements, and the awed respect—and occasional deference—of anybody trading in technology. "Walt is a brand," Google's Eric Schmidt says. (More Walt Mossberg stories.)