In absolutely horrible news, Mac360 founder Ron McElfresh has announced that the Mac360 site, online since mid-2004, will shut down as he’s been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
How did all this get started? I met Tera Jean Patricks at a winter CES in Las Vegas a few years earlier. Tera grabbed a few of her friends– Barbara Marie Brannan, Alexis Kayhill, and Natalia Nowak– and I grabbed a few of mine; St. Louis friend Jack Miller and his wife Carol, and Mac360 launched on an old iMac on my home office desktop.
The rest, as they say, is history… Through the years we saw it all. The Mac moved to Intel Inside. The iPhone arrived. The App Store. iPad. Apple Pay, Apple Music, AirPods, and much more. We saw Apple’s stock price and valuation rise to record levels…
Yes, all good things come to an end.
A few years ago I came down with an odd neuromuscular disorder that has slowly become debilitating. After 18 months of tests with a dozen different doctors I was referred to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. More doctors and extensive tests confirmed a preliminary diagnosis of ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Think of it as a slow-motion death sentence where muscles begin to waste away and tasks as simple as tying shoelaces or buttoning a shirt or standing become major accomplishments…
My spirits are high (most of the time). I’ve led a good life, worked hard, and appreciate the loving support from family and friends, but I know – and feel – the end is near… I cannot continue. In more ways than one, the end is near. Mac360 will close down…
It has been a very pleasant and interesting journey for all of us at Mac360. We hope we provided you with useful and beneficial information and perspectives, too. My hope is that I may be counted in the 10-percent of people who are diagnosed with ALS but the diagnosis is wrong.
Time will tell.
Thanks for the memories.
MacDailyNews Take: This is such sad news. Our thoughts are with Ron tonight.
Ron has completed three weeks of tests at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Due to the nature of the disease and how debilitating it can be, a GoFundMe page has opened to help defray some of the travel and medical expenses for what turned out to be a much longer stay for Ron and his wife. Doctors at Mayo Clinic have asked him to return in a few months to measure the disease’s relentless progress for which there is no cure.
Please visit Ron McElfresh’s Medical Expenses & Travel GoFundMe page is here.
Wishing him a speedy and complete recovery.
I know that your comment was well intentioned, and that’s kind of you to say, but sadly, recovery from ALS is just a wish. Perhaps medical science will one day be able to reverse it or at least stop its progression. Right now, it is, as Ron said, a death sentence.
Such a horrible disease. Much love to Ron and his family as they make the best of the time they have.
I know, but if not a wish, a prayer…
Sad news. Wishing him and his family the best.
So very sad to read this. I remember when Tera died, some years ago, and now this. Best wishes to Ron and to all at Mac360.
Yes. Tera was a huge loss. She hung in there with her signature will and compassion for others far longer than some expected. I truly miss the email conversations we had. Bambi Hamby (now Brannan) carried the load for a while, but no one could truly replace Tera.
The pending loss of Ron is a huge loss too. I can only hope that the diagnosis is wrong.
Maybe it has to do with their hearts really are Apple logo shaped. They cared for the community that much. (No sarcasm or disrespect intended at all.)
Someone should buy the site, he gets money to help him out and the community gets the gift of the site for the future.
I will buy it as I am of the right character to honor the Apple legacy and to show Apple where it can become even greater
Lowlife!
So sad to read this. And also sad to see that the medical system in the US is so f*cked up that people have to seek charity on the Internet to get basic healthcare. This really is not normal for a “first world” country.
It’s disgraceful.
Not really the point here but diagnosing and treating ALS is not really “basic health care.” The only US-approved treatments slow it down some.
Mayo and others must absorb travel and medical costs and treat diagnosed ALS patients as research expenses.
So sad. I loved the site..
Isn’t that what killed the forum moderator at the site that used to offer Mac daily news?
I wish him the best, but it is so very very sad that GoFundMe is anyone’s medical safety net. Welcome to the third world…. actually I bet most of them have better medical care than we do.
Wow, Ron was good guy. I had not talked with him last few years. He gave me allot good advice. Best of wishes Ron . Brings tears out thinking about him.. what the hell world ending anyways.