[HeyLaughingBoy]

It's a totally different game now.

I do a lot of tiny Arduino programs for hire. Before you go off on me, I'm an experienced embedded developer -- my current project is taking a digital input and turning it into a resolver signal for a motion controller. Fun!

The simplicity of the Arduino ecosystem means that a rank beginner can throw together a simple program that provides huge value in just a few minutes . They don't need to know the intricacies of setting up an A/D channel: they just call analogRead() and it's done. These people don't want or need to be programmers. They have a simple task to automate and they found a way to automate it and move on with life.

I have a client that I've written two simple programs for that are essentially latches: take a transient input signal and hold an output constant forever when it's received. But it's faster/cheaper to throw an Arduino at the problem than go wire up a handful of 'LS74 latches and associated hardware.

Your argument is akin to complaining that no one drives stick shift any more because automatics are too popular.