I'm always stunned that hardware and software companies simply say, "We no longer support . . . " It's a real shame the phrase "product support" gained supremacy over "customer service." Somehow saying, "We don't offer customer service on . . . " sounds a lot worse than "no longer supporting." Somehow the public just accepted this. I call them up and say, "I was customer service. I'm your customer and I've been a loyal customer, and so I need to talk with someone who knows about your products." That always throws them off. Then they say, "Well, you'll need to call customer support." And then I say, "I don't care about the word 'support'. What I want is someone who helps customers who invest in your products. Why do you use the word 'support' as a pretext for simply abandoning your customers?" It's funny because when I put it that way, they always dig someone up to help." My theory is that I pay for products, and so the companies that make those products need to have people who know about those products. I don't care if they support them. I want them to know about them and talk about them. This is one advantage I have of being old, I remember when businesses simply had to accept their customers calls, back before voice mail and menus, and so I know it doesn't have to be the way they've made it. The new rules, I always tell them, are simply rules they made up for their own convenience. And then I remind them that they're here for my convenience, not their own. That's why I pay them money.

By the way, great story about your ongoing journey with your G3. I think, since I'm real financially precarious these days, I should hold on to my Mac Mini until three or four generations from now and resist the urge to buy new.