I was going to label this post “heartbreaking news” but I thought that might worry too many folks (however accurate it may be).

I think the hard drive on my beloved PowerBook is about to fail. I keep duplicate copies of my critical data on the iMac, plus an online server. Plus, I keep duplicates of all my photos and music on both computers. Just in case, I just did a backup of my home folder, in case I’ve missed something over the years.

I’m not worried about losing any data, just a member of the family.

Yep, those ominous sounds coming from the spot where the hard drive sits in the case are getting worse.

Damn.

Many of you, lost in the computing wilderness (commonly known as Microsoft Windows) may have no idea what I’m talking about. To you, a computer may seem like a commodity – one seeming just like any other. A few of you are familiar with Macs – how they can seem like an extension of yourself. I’ve never felt that way about one of my Dell boxes at work. Each and every one of my Macs has shared that distinction. In fact, we still have most of them – all but two of the ones I bought new still get regular use (they’re over fourteen years old). My son uses a ten year old iMac.

I could just go out and get a replacement drive, but I’m not sure I could justify the expense on an old laptop, which at more prone to hardware failures anyway – let alone old ones.

I could take a little joy from this. After all, it’s an excuse to buy a new computer.

No. Not like this.