OS No Longer Supported

Good news: I now own a silver-sleek, byte-busting MacBook Air laptop.? Bad News: It replaces my 15-year, trusted, home-office companion, an amazing iMac 24-inch desktop machine.

Why?? Replacement became necessary when my trusty friend – its hard drive is named Prof. Gorilla (PG) – could no longer access email or LinkedIn.

PG’s operating system is no longer supported.? The fine folks at Apple declare iMacs ‘vintage’ after seven years and ‘obsolete’ after ten.? Most Windows PCs become ‘dated’ after 5 years.? I get Apple (and other companies) cannot support products forever.? But Prof. Gorilla is not ready to be ‘retired.’

Aging/EOL/Moving On

Aging and non-supported computer operating systems, per ChatGPT 3.5, share several similarities, "particularly in the areas of functionality, performance, and vulnerabilities."

Prof. Gorilla struggles to run most newer software efficiently, and the folks at LinkedIn and my internet server provider deem PG's operating system (El Capitan) to have reached end-of-life (EOL) status.? AI technology is not designed to run on non-supported computer operating systems, leading (potentially) to problems in communications, productivity, and accessing services.

New security threats arise as time passes, and without updates and support, El Capitan has becomes more vulnerable to malware, viruses, and hacking attacks.

Technology marches onward (relentlessly), forcing me to move on.

But PG is not EOL.? Though its non-supported operating system is experiencing diminishing functionality, vulnerability, and performance challenges, it will remain on my desk, the conservator of 15 years of Quote Book exercises, 20+ hours of music, 100s of PowerPoint presentations, and 20,000+ photos.

But its day as my chief connection to the internet is done.

Sobering Thought

I have been blessed with curiosity, communication competence, strong research, analytical, and organizational skill sets, and solid planning and project execution expertise.? I hope to use these blessings and AI to address knowledge gaps and remain current and marketplace competitive.

But as an aging individual, my functionality, performance, and vulnerabilities are ripe for challenges.?

For example, the average mile time across all ages and genders is just north of seven minutes. My mile time is just south of ten.

I face (almost) daily phishing attacks.?

Technology's relentless march threatens to leave me behind.

I embrace life-long learning, new technology, and change, but the time is approaching when my physical and/or cognitive abilities will significantly diminish.

Ultimately, my operating system will no longer be supported.

Until then … I have a new laptop!? How can I use it to advance humanity?