Hello, this is Andy Tribute. It might seem strange to be recording this outside my local pub in Cornwall, but I thought I’d like to show you where I’m going to be working or living in the future. It’s interesting that the best selling beer at this pub and throughout the most of Cornwall is Tribute. Unfortunately, Tribute Beer has got nothing to do with me. However, if you’re in this pub and you’re drinking your pint of Tribute Beer, what you see now is the view you’re likely to get of the river that I see from my house. Terribly a tough life, isn’t it.
This talk is to say thank you and goodbye to the industry. There are a lot of people who I need to say thank you too and one of the first ones I want to say is to Jonathan Seybold. I’ve been in this industry for over 50 years; I’ve been consulting and writing for 25 years. And when I started consulting and writing I contacted Jonathan and suggested that he needed to do more on an international basis. And that started a 15-year relationship with Seybold. And in that I became an international editor. Jonathan taught me a lot about how to analyze technology, how to present it and also how to run conferences, how to moderate conferences to the best interests of the audience. So, thank you Jonathan.
I’d also like to thank Steve Edwards, the Editor of the Seybold Reports. Steve was a brilliant editor who taught me how to write, how to present in my writing, how to analyze and to get the best understanding of the technology. Thank you Steve for all you’ve done for me.
When I stopped writing for Seybold in 2000, I then was approached soon afterwards by Randy Davidson of WhatTheyThink. And Randy was developing the WhatTheyThink platform and he wanted to add a premium section under subscription and he asked if I would write a weekly column. And it started a good long relationship that this is the last item on. And I was one of the first three of the premium contributors, the other two being Frank Romano and Joe Webb who are still doing a great job. And I’d like to thank Randy and all his team.
Now, Randy’s always been jealous of some of the golf I do and he said whenever I get down to south of the United States, we must have a game of golf. I hope we do that, Randy, sometime in the future. Now recently, we had a crowd of English people came across the states and got a brilliant victory in the Ryder Cup; amazing at the time. Now, it may well be if we do have our game of golf that the result might be different because you, from what I understand, are a much better golfer than I am and it’s likely that this time the European may lose.
I’d like also to thank a number of other people who’ve been a significant impact on my career. I’ve consulted for many of the key players in the industry. And in that you meet some very important people and you build relationships with them. One of these if Frank Steinberg of Xerox, who many of you know is the person who brought the DocuTech to market and was the major instrumental person in bringing lots of the Xerox color digital technology to market. Frank and I had a very great relationship, he’s become a great personal friend and I see him whenever I get the chance to get into that very cold part of the States called Rochester. Thank you, Frank, for everything and I look forward to seeing you again when I come to the States in the future.
Another person who’s been very instrumental and helpful to me in the past is Frances Lamee of X-Write. When I first met Frances in ’92, he was the founder and runner of Darlium. I consulted for him there and I consulted for him through the **** MacBeth periods and I consulted for him at X-Write. And again, Frances become a great personal friend and one of the people I look forward to seeing in the future, particularly when I go to France where he is arisen.
There are many other people who I’d love to say thank you to, but this is a short video. But I’d like to say thank you to many of the companies who have done great things for me. And one of the ones who I particularly want to say thank you to is Kodak. Now, I’ve had a very good relationship with Kodak over many years. And the one thing I want to say thank you to them for in particularly is for one of the great experiences in my golfing life when last year I was given one of their places at the Disney Children’s Miracle Network PGA Golf Tournament and I played in the ProAm in the first two rounds. And it was a fantastic experience to be involved in a real, high-quality PGA event and seeing just what it’s like. I will always remember that. So, thank you, Kodak for giving me that amazing experience.
And one of my great wishes as I leave this industry is that Kodak succeeds. Kodak’s been a great company for this industry; it’s done a tremendous amount of good things. Okay, there’s been some problems in the way it’s been run at times, but it’s got fantastic technology and fantastic people. And the one hope I have specifically in this industry as I leave it is saying, I hope Kodak succeeds because its technology is brilliant and it’s got an awful lot to give to the industry.
But that’s it. Thank you, again. Thanks to everybody I’ve known in the industry, you’ve been friendly or even if you’ve been unfriendly, people I’ve written nasty things about have still been friendly to me, which is great. But I’ve had a great time. It’s been an incredible experience. And now I move on to a new life to sailing, golf, travel and all sorts of other things. Many people say, “Well, you’re not going to be able to give up this writing,” but I can assure you, I am. I’m giving up the writing and don’t expect to see me back. I might do the occasional talk in a lovely location if someone actually invites me to in the next short period of time while I still know something. But otherwise, thank you very much, indeed. I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a fantastic time and I wish the industry well in the future.
Thank you and good-bye.
Discussion
By Ben Fretti on Oct 09, 2012
Time for the rest of us to bail out.
By Robert Arena on Oct 09, 2012
Thank you for indirectly answering my previous question as to the local. I was totally fascinated by the river scene background, fog lifting, swans swimming, in an earlier video. All the best for the future
By Maller Mitch on Oct 09, 2012
From the days when Andy wrote for Seybold through his present writings for What They Think you always knew that he was giving it to you straight. His keen insights and knowledge of our industry will surely be missed.
By Patrick Howard on Oct 09, 2012
Nice one Andy,
Look forward to seeing you down at the Wharf in Sydney in the not too distant.
Happy trails.
By David Stamp on Oct 10, 2012
Andrew - I don't think we have met but I have been a long time reader of your posts. I wish you well in your retirement in 'my home county of Cornwall' and maybe I'll bump into you one day at the Heron Inn or even the Pandora Inn.
By Henry Freedman on Oct 10, 2012
Andy I will miss your excellent qustions and comments at our industry analyst meetings.
These were often very direct and informative for all. Hope to see you again someday. Henry
By Steve Appleton on Oct 12, 2012
Andy, as if I didn’t need reminding that the first era of digital technology upheaval that many of us lived in is indeed well and truly over and that most of us are now at the point where we have had to deploy our retirement parachutes. Nostalgia indeed. I remember your contributions to the scene in South Africa with fondness. Many of the decisions taken by publishers and printers locally in those days were either directly or indirectly attributable to your incredible ability to share and passionately communicate your knowledge and opinions.
From a one-time Atex and Kodak employee down here in South Africa, good to have met you and great to watch you in action one last time. I wish you well in your retirement.
By Paul Gardner on Oct 12, 2012
Andy - I admire you, and I admire your work!
But today, most of all, I admire your courage. It can't be easy to let go of something that's been such a big part of your life for so may years.
So many of us hold on long after the time to let go has passed, not realizing how important it is to know when something is over.
Cheers to you Andy! Whoever else may borrow it, the brand TRIBUTE is forever yours!
By Will Mansfield on Oct 15, 2012
Thanks for years of tough, probing questions. Godspeed, Andy.
By Jan Eskildsen on Oct 22, 2012
Hi Andy. Time for us, your colleagues, to thank you. Was it in 1990, I sent folks to interview you and Laurel for Desktop Publishing? I don't remember, suddenly so much happened, but you were always there, open to questions and friendly debate. I wish you a lot of good balls on the golf course, thousands of them. Looking forward to meet you in an airport somewhere in the future ...
Discussion
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