Farewell to an old friend - and culture!

Tomorrow I will not post in deference to the passing of an old friend. I could not be more serious when I say that this friend was and still is, part of a culture to which I strongly subscribe. He was with me during some of the toughest years I have ever experienced in business, was a partner to my employees and produced outstanding work.

In his own way, he was an industry icon. Colourful, reliable, funky and fun, he was popular with employees and admired by clients whenever they dropped into our humble offices. But most of all, he reflected our organisational culture and all the systems that underpinned it in those days. Breakthrough ideas, innovative communications. That's how we liked to think of ourselves and that's why we loved our iMAC (pictured here as last seen at home).

Yes, my last MAC is being sold tomorrow - appropriately through a contemporary channel, ebay. We'll get about 50 bucks for him - small and sad change for a machine that set a new trend in computer design - blasting the beige boxes off desktops and making the office more fun. Try as I might, I could not convince my wife and daughter that iMAC could become a collectable and be worth a lot more in the future. My wife just doesn't like things that are out of date (the impertinence!) and my 11-year-old daughter just can't wait to get a new laptop, which will most likely be a Windows machine.

In fairness to my daughter, she does have fine taste. She would prefer an MacBook, but at double the price, she ain't gettin' one! The old public sector employee view cuts in... if Dad can't have one, neither can you!

Thankfully, the most likely buyer on ebay appears to be a guy who has just bought a pink version of the iMAC, so clearly my mate is passing on to a good home - perhaps an iMAC heaven even. The buyer's even willing to courier it interstate at a cost that will no doubt exceed what he pays for the machine.

In recognition of my allegiance to MACs, I have added the Apple web address to my list of fave websites, with an appropriate descriptor. I have to go now, other work to do on my HP Pavilion! *shame*