[rleigh]

Look at the history of e.g. International Computers Limited (ICL) to see what nationalised computing industry was like. Slow pace of development, product development interference by government, and high prices. It's personal computing and capitalism that have made computing so available and affordable, and pushed miniaturisation to its limits. For example, just look at AMD's threadripper CPUs, or any modern GPU. A ridiculous amount of compute capability at a very affordable price, and pretty low running cost. I laugh to think about a nationalised industry having the drive and business sense to invest in such advancements, and then capitalise upon them to make a decent profit. They are run by bureaucrats and beancounters, and avoid rocking the boat at all costs. A bit like the present-day Intel maybe, which got into a safe zone where they could keep pushing out more of the same without really putting in much effort. You wouldn't want revolutionary products to cannibalise your existing business, after all.