The Graphing Calculator...

...and its long strange trip to the Apple menu. I came across this rather interesting tale dug long hours cresting the tsunamis of the internet. Mac users will recall the “Graphing Calculator,” that rather odd, small freebie that shipped with the older OS. I never had much use for it, other than playing with it and seeing the strange shapes it could create. The story of how it made its way to the Apple menu though is a commentary on the dysfuntional way corporations work.

It reminded me of a co-worker from my years at Grey who when fired, simply wouldn’t leave (more on that another time).

I used to be a contractor for Apple, working on a secret project. Unfortunately, the computer we were building never saw the light of day. The project was so plagued by politics and ego that when the engineers requested technical oversight, our manager hired a psychologist instead. In August 1993, the project was canceled. A year of my work evaporated, my contract ended, and I was unemployed.

I was frustrated by all the wasted effort, so I decided to uncancel my small part of the project. I had been paid to do a job, and I wanted to finish it. My electronic badge still opened Apple's doors, so I just kept showing up.

You can also listen to the story (Real Player required) as was featured in an episode of This American Life.