1024x768 Palm Tree Beach Wallpaper"> -

The beach was suddenly empty. For the first time since the Windows XP installation, the palm trees could see the entire horizon.

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. 1024x768 Palm Tree Beach Wallpaper">

He moved the cursor one last time, right between the two palm trees, as if he were virtually tapping the screen goodbye. The beach was suddenly empty

Scattered across their white-sand beach were "folders"—clunky yellow rectangles that Greg had dropped there over the years. One was labeled Taxes 2008 . Another was just called New Folder (4) . To the palm trees, these were huge, monolithic monuments. To Greg, they were clutter. It clicked the "Internet Explorer" icon

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.