At least there were no fake denials.

Daniel Lyons, a 46-year-old senior editor with Forbes magazine, came clean after the New York Times unmasked the anonymous blogger behind “The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs” on Sunday.

In his latest post, the author fessed up to creating the popular faux blog in a post titled, “Damn I am so busted, yo.” By the time Lyons returned to his home outside Boston that evening, his site that averages 31,000 page views a day had exceeded 476,000.

“Oh my freaking God,” Lyons said after logging on.

The blockbuster confession from the little-known author closes the chapter on a real-life whodunit that has baffled Silicon Valley for months. Guessing the true identity of the self-worshiping “Fake Steve Jobs” had become a parlor game played with iPhone-like intensity, particularly in recent months.

Here was a modern-day Mark Twain satirist skewering self-obsessed Silicon Valley elites by pretending to be one of the world’s most famous and powerful businessmen.

Everyone wanted to know who had dubbed Apple customers “iTards,” rival Bill Gates “Beastmaster,” ponytailed Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz “My Little Pony,” influential Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Mossberg “Goatberg,” and Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive and an Apple director “Squirrel Boy.”

Speculation centered on plugged-in Apple journalists like Leander Kahney of Wired News and Andy Ihnatko of Macworld, former Apple employees, even Jobs himself. In recent weeks, someone even hacked into the Fake Steve Jobs’ e-mail account, tracing his IP address to Boston. Lyons unwittingly made that easy by using Jobs’ real-life information to set up the account, one well-placed Silicon Valley source blabbed.

These futile attempts to decipher the acerbic prose of the Fake Steve Jobs only increased the readership and the influence of Silicon Valley’s latest satirical sensation.

Most amused of all was the real Fake Steve Jobs, who came up with the motto, “Dude, I invented the friggin iPhone. Have you heard of it?” and lines like “suing me is like suing God” from his rented, wood-paneled office upstairs from a nail salon in a Boston-area office park.

Some of Lyons’ sources - and even his bosses and some of his colleagues from his day job as a business magazine writer - commented to Lyons how much they enjoyed the parody. Even more entertaining: Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Jobs himself both admitted to reading the blog.

Indeed, the Fake Steve Jobs had a following of mouthy Microsoft employees but not a single e-mail from anyone identifying themselves as an Apple employee, showing just what kind of power the real Steve Jobs exerts.

Not shy were the Sun Microsystems employees who told Lyons about their CEO’s nickname then anonymously supplied him with “My Little Pony” videos and pictures.

Jobs “takes himself very seriously, which makes him ripe for parody,” Lyons said of Jobs. “He’s a spiritually gifted guy, a visionary leader and a bona fide genius who has a real dark side that fuels his brilliance. He has these two sides at war inside him which makes him complicated, interesting, intriguing and also really funny.”

Lyons hit on the idea of becoming Jobs’ online alter ego after some prominent chief executives began blogging. Wouldn’t it be funny if they could blog their minds?

At first, Lyons experimented with Digg’s Kevin Rose and Google’s Sergey Brin, but could fake neither well. Fourteen months ago, Lyons started «fakesteve.blogspot.com». It soon became a Silicon Valley must-read for its mordant take on the high-tech mecca, the companies, their leaders and Jobs himself. Whenever Lyons tried to stop blogging as Fake Steve Jobs, his readers would beg him to post again.

The truth, Lyons said, is that he was the one having the most fun. Blogging as Jobs was addictive. “When I was writing, I would imagine Steve Jobs reading it and laughing,” Lyons said. At the Wall Street Journal’s “D” conference earlier this year, Jobs admitted that the blog postings were “pretty funny.”

Not laughing this weekend: Lyons’ wife, an Ivy League academic. He had just whisked her and their 2-year-old twins to Maine for a long overdue, weeklong vacation when Lyons was unexpectedly unmasked by Brad Stone, a San Francisco technology writer with the New York Times, himself expecting twins but expressing little regret for disrupting the family vacation.

Lyons, who had to leave his family behind and return to Boston to deal with the fallout, said he was surprised the secret did not come out sooner. All of his friends, many Forbes staffers, even the private-equity dealmakers at Elevation Partners, all had known for months. And a book based on the diary is due out in October from Da Capo Press, a publisher willing to risk Jobs’ wrath.

In the end, professional sleuthing unmasked the Fake Steve. Last year, Lyons’ agent, in shopping around a novel about Fake Steve, a satire that imagines Jobs coping with the real-life stock-option backdating scandal, described the author as a published novelist for a business magazine. Lyons writes and edits technology articles for Forbes and is the author of two works of fiction. The similar writing style was the giveaway for Stone.

Unlike the author of “Primary Colors,” the political roman a clef penned in 1992 by Joe Klein, then a Newsweek writer, Lyons had already come out to his bosses. Now that the secret’s officially out, «fakestevejobs.blogspot.com», will be sponsored by Forbes.com but will uphold its snarky style, Lyons said.

Will the revelation of his identity prove to be a spoiler? Lyons isn’t sure. He’s hopeful that all the high-tech CEOs, venture capitalists, open-source fanatics and others he lampooned won’t hold it against him. One blogger already pointed out that Lyons wrote a Forbes’ November 2005 cover story “Attack of the Blogs,” that, in part, took aim at “an online lynch mob” of bloggers who anonymously bash companies.

But Silicon Valley pundit Paul Saffo says the blog captures the cheeky, authority-challenging Silicon Valley spirit in all of its glory.

“What I love about this is that it’s a new kind of satire in a new medium, but it’s the same old Silicon Valley we have come to know and love over the years,” he said. “This means the soul of Silicon Valley is very much alive.”

Fake Steve Jobs already has had a profound effect on the blogosphere, spawning an online universe of fake celebrity blogs and on Monday a “Fake Brad Stone” blog proclaiming “I am the best journalist. Ever,” in an homage to the Fake Steve Jobs tone.

In an e-mail interview, the anonymous blogger posing as Stone said outing the Fake Steve Jobs puts him on a “whole new level,” on par with Watergate, the Pentagon Papers and the NSA wire-tapping scandal combined.

“The problem is, some people aren’t seeing my achievement for the wonderful triumph of investigative reporting that it is. Some people have convinced themselves that revealing Fake Steve ruined the fun for everyone, that what I’ve done is like telling all the children that Santa Claus is just a fat man in a suit. That’s why I started the blog: To remind people what a huge revelation this is, and how my story quite possibly changes the world as we know it.”

The Fake Steve Jobs may not change the world. But he will undoubtedly sell some books.

The true test of the real-life Jobs’ world-changing influence will be if Lyons breaks down and shells out $600 to replace his Blackberry with an iPhone.

“I guess if I am doing the blog, I should have one,” he said.
Excerpts from “The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs”

Nov. 30, 2006

You cannot believe the crap we are going through to make this Beatles licensing deal work out. … We’re having a few issues with Paul, or Sir Paul, as we have to call him. Friggin Ringo is good to go; he’d sell his toenail clippings on eBay if it would make him a buck. The real hassle of course is Yoko. … I’ve been back and forth to New York … about a thousand times already. And things are not going well. Case in point: We’re drinking green tea on the floor of her living room and she’s insisting that when we put the music up on iTunes that the band must be called “John Lennon and the Beatles” and she must be listed as a member of the group. Her big tactic is just to repeat things over and over in this monotone voice, to wear you down…

Dec. 12, 2006

You have to understand how we do things at Apple. We think different. So, por ejemplo, as they say in the Netherlands, we don’t start with the phone, or the software. We start with the ads. We’ll spend months doing storyboards, writing slogans, making fake billboards that we put up in one of our windowless warehouses. I realize this is the reverse of how most companies do it. Just about everybody else starts with the product. … Not here. At Apple, advertising is a pre-thought. And if we can’t come up with a good ad, you know what? We probably won’t do the product. It’s why we’re different.

May 11

Some 17-year-old high school kid in Okemos, Mich., has done a study that suggests iPods can interfere with your pacemaker and, I guess, cause you to have a heart attack. … Fact is we’ve known about this for quite some time. And we’re happy about it. We even cranked up the voltage on our new models. Thing is, we really don’t want old people using iPods. Ruins the image. Every time I see some elderly person wearing an iPod and power-walking at the mall I just want to scream. If we could find a way to make iPods interfere with fat people we’d do that too.

July 31

IPhone is getting way too popular. The wrong kind of people are buying them. … We figured we could keep things under control using our usual overpricing strategy. Who in their right mind was going to shell out 600 bucks for a friggin phone, right? Especially if it lacks all sorts of features that people really want. Just to be doubly sure we put it on the AT&T network and gave it an unbearably slow wireless connection so that Web browsing is practically impossible.

Wednesday

Frigtards at AT&T stores won’t sell iPhones. … They’re pissed because they don’t get as big a commission as they do on other phones. And because they have to compete with Apple stores selling iPhones too. … This is one huge reason why we stayed out of the phone business for as long as we did. I can’t stand the kind of morons who work in the typical cell phone store. It’s like they give people an IQ test and an EQ test and those who fail move on to the next round; then they sift out anyone who’s polite or helpful or doesn’t have a criminal record or a serious drug problem; whoever’s left gets the job.

Sunday

(I)f anyone can think of a cool way to use the name “Brad Stone” (all or part) as a verb, let me know.

Maybe this:

brad, v.i.:

1. To bust a fellow filthy hack without mercy and spoil the fun for everyone, in a quest for personal aggrandizement.

2. To urinate in a pool.

E-mail Jessica Guynn at jguynn@sfchronicle.com.

(09-27) 07:56 PDT Los Angeles (AP) —

Homebuilder KB Home swung to a loss in the third quarter and warned Thursday that the beleaguered housing market is likely to worsen next year.

The Los Angeles-based company, one of the nation’s biggest home sellers, reported a loss of $35.6 million, or 46 cents per share, for the period ended Aug. 31, compared with profits of $153.2 million, or $1.90 per share, in the year-ago period.

KB took pretax charges of $690.1 million and $107.9 million to write down the value of unsold inventory and joint-venture holdings. Those were partially offset by a gain of $438.1 million from the sale of KB’s stake in its French subsidiary.

Excluding the French operations, the company reported a loss of $478.6 million, or $6.19 per share, from continuing operations.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 72 cents per share. Those estimates typically exclude one-time charges and gains.

KB shares rose 30 cents to $24.39 Thursday, though shares had already fallen around 4 percent on Wednesday.

Third-quarter revenue fell 32 percent to $1.54 billion from $2.28 billion last year. That surpassed Wall Street’s estimate of $1.5 billion.

KB also said it was able to use the proceeds from the sale of its French operations to pay off $650 million in debt.

However, unit deliveries fell 28 percent to 5,699 and the average selling price dropped 7 percent to $267,700.

The third-quarter cancellation rate of 50 percent was lower than the 60 percent rate in the prior year third quarter, but well above the 34 percent rate in the second quarter of this year.

KB’s financial results were released the same day the Commerce Department reported dismal figures for new home sales.

New-homes in August fell to the lowest level in seven years, a stark sign that the sudden scarcity of credit is aggravating an already painful housing slump.

Sales of new homes dropped by 8.3 percent in August from July, the Commerce Department reported, driving down sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 795,000 units. That was the lowest level since June 2000, when sales clocked in at a pace of 793,000.

The Los Angeles homebuilder said it expects the market to worsen through 2008 as rising foreclosure rates increase the supply of homes on the market, leading to lower prices.

“At this time, we see no signs that the housing market is stabilizing and believe it will be some time before a recovery begins,” said President and Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger in a statement.

“The oversupply of unsold new and resale homes and downward pressure on new home values has worsened in many of our markets,” Mezger said.

The company’s backlog, or homes under contract yet to be delivered, fell during the quarter. As of Aug. 31, the figure stood at 11,880 units, down from 17,198 units in the year-ago quarter.

Diminished backlog reflects a negative year-over-year net order comparison during the past several quarters and also lower average selling prices, the company said.

Net orders for the third quarter fell 6 percent to 3,907, compared with last year’s orders during the same period.

At the close of the quarter, KB had $646 million in cash and a ratio of debt to capital of 45 percent, the company said.

KB was the latest builder to report sagging sales and earnings during the third quarter.

On Tuesday, Miami-based Lennar Corp. reported a third-quarter loss of more than $510 million due to falling sale prices and home deliveries. The company also said it had cut its work force by 35 percent and warned it expected further job cuts.

___

On the Net:

KB home:

«www.kbhome.com»/

(09-27) 07:53 PDT NEW YORK, (AP) —

Oil and other petroleum futures rose Thursday amid supply concerns sparked by a decline in crude inventories at a key Oklahoma terminal and the confrontation between the West and Iran.

“This is basically fear of a fundamental supply disruption,” said Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co.

The U.S. is trying to raise support for new U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programs. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nuclear issue is “closed,” and has vowed to defy any U.N. sanctions.

Many traders are betting the West will take action against Iran before the end of the year, and worry that such a move Д either economic sanctions or a military strike Д will result in the disruption of oil supplies from the Middle East, Gheit said.

“I think we probably built in a dollar or two of (Iran-related) premium here in the last 48 hours,” said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Fla.

Also stoking concerns about crude supplies was a slight decline in oil inventories at the New York Mercantile Exchange crude delivery point of Cushing, Okla., last week. That decline was about the only element of Wednesday’s inventory report by the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration that was supportive of prices, analysts said. But it was enough to spark a late rally on Wednesday and to boost oil prices again on Thursday.

Analysts said a number of tropical weather systems were not affecting prices, as none are forecast to disrupt critical gas and oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico.

November light, sweet crude rose $1.17 to $81.47 in morning trading Thursday on the Nymex, while October gasoline rose 2.65 cents to $2.0539 a gallon.

Crude prices peaked near $84 a barrel last week before falling for several sessions. Prices settled below $80 Tuesday and dipped below $79 on Wednesday before rallying late in the day. Analysts are divided on oil’s future direction. Gheit, for instance, argues that there are no fundamental reasons for $80 oil. He sees oil’s true value as being closer to $60 a barrel.

Cordier, on the other hand, thinks bullish sentiment will boost crude prices to near $85 a barrel.

Most analysts agree that oil prices will begin a seasonal decline within the next month.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 3.84 cents to $2.221 a gallon, while natural gas for November fell 23 cents to $6.816 per 1,000 cubic feet. The government on Thursday reported that natural gas inventories rose by 74 billion cubic feet last week, slightly more than expected. Natural gas inventories are higher than they were one year ago.

In London, November Brent crude rose $1.22 to $78.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

At the pump, meanwhile, the average national price of a gallon of gas fell 0.2 cent overnight to $2.811, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Some analysts expect gas prices to rise further to catch up with oil’s recent gains. Others argue that gas prices won’t rise nearly as much as oil prices have, because gasoline futures have lagged oil’s advance.

In addition to the supply concerns, energy traders continue to be encouraged by positive economic reports, analysts say. Energy investors are closely monitoring whether the problems affecting the subprime lending industry will spread, causing a wider economic slowdown and affecting demand for oil and gasoline.

The Commerce Department on Thursday said the economy grew at a 3.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter, less than expected but much faster than the first quarter’s 0.6 percent growth rate.

“As long as we don’t have horrid numbers coming out, people think we’re going to weather this,” Cordier said.

Investors are keeping an eye on a number of tropical weather systems dotting the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and central Atlantic Ocean. But none of the systems appear to directly threaten gas and oil production.

“If we can get through the next week, 10 days, then this is going to go down as one of the most quiet hurricane seasons,” said Cordier.