[NovaPenguin]

In a way it has stripped out a little of the fun of it, but that is a very VERY minor thing by comparison to systems that now just work!

As for Desktop environments, it is very rare that I have had any game breaking events on these for a very long time. The foundations are mature and hardened nowadays.

I have had the occasional issue on a elderly T400 Thinkpad when transferring large files on Mate and Enlightenment DE but I get the feeling that is potentially a hardware issue.

[pkulak]

Oh, you can still have fun. Just run something that's not a a full DE. My Sway setup is super stable now, but only after an ungodly amount of tinkering. :D

[NovaPenguin]

I think it is just a part of slightly yearning for the heady days of youth.

A few times I have come across younger people who are sort of upset that they missed the earlier years of computing. I mean I get it, but they are so lucky to be inheriting a world of computing that is much more rock solid than anything we used to have. No configuring autoexe.bat /config.sys or the joys of Win95 just stopping for... some reason.

Also if I want to relive the early days of Linux, PinePhone has got me covered. ;)

[II2II]

I don't entirely blame them for feeling as though they missed out. If you are technically inclined, those old machines were much more accessible, everything was new, and they presented meaningful ways to push the limits while working individually or with a small group of friends. In contrast, everything today is either handed to them on a silver platter or requires significant investment.

Well, almost everything. I find microcontrollers offer some of that old spirit.