1024x768 Palm Tree Beach Wallpaper"> -

Then, the cursor did something it had never done before. It clicked the "Internet Explorer" icon. A moment later, a window popped up. Greg wasn't looking at spreadsheets anymore. He was looking at one-way flight tickets to Belize.

One Tuesday, something changed. The cursor didn't move for three days. The screen stayed on, glowing in the dark room, the pixels of the ocean starting to feel a bit tired. 1024x768 Palm Tree Beach Wallpaper">

But then, the cursor flickered. It didn't go for the Start menu. It began dragging the folders. One by one, Taxes 2008 , Vacation Photos , and Resume_Final_v3 were dragged into the abyss of the Trash. Then, the cursor did something it had never done before

Asset_01, the taller tree with the slightly jagged frond, was a cynic. "He’s doing it again," he’d rustle (silently, of course). "He’s hovering the cursor over the Trash bin. One day, he’s going to drag us in there and replace us with a high-res photo of a mountain range in Switzerland." Greg wasn't looking at spreadsheets anymore

For fifteen years, the two palm trees—officially named Asset_01 and Asset_02—hadn't moved an inch. They were trapped in a permanent state of 72 DPI bliss. Their job was simple: provide a "relaxing atmosphere" for a guy named Greg while he balanced spreadsheets and ignored emails.

"He’s gone," Asset_01 whispered. "The Great User has moved on to a Laptop. I heard it has 'Retina Display.' We're obsolete."