[fuzzzerd]

I hate that future so much, but I don't know what to do to avoid it. My sole choice to bank on pc and use it as a pc will not be considered by the product people making the choice to go smart phone app only.

I'm essentially along for the ride because the masses will gobble it up.

[EvanAnderson]

re: hating the future

I grew up in a world where personal computers weren't strange things (the 1980s). I remember reading Levy's "Hackers" in my teens and not comprehending how people could think personal computers were such a big deal. The talk about "technical priesthoods" and mainframes, the inaccessibility of computers to "normal people", etc, didn't mean anything to me.

Now that I'm living through the twilight of the personal computer I understand.

[shimman]

You do realize you have the power to organize with other like minded individuals and exert political power right? You don't have to just sit around and "accept this fate." We still live in a democracy, you're allowed to have a say if you want to.

[EvanAnderson]

The concern about individual ownership of general purpose computing is of concern to a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percentage of people. In the USA, at least, even more basic issues that should matter to a large portion of the population don't because they're distracted by "culture wars" and "wedge issues".

Money is speech, and speech builds political power. Industry lobbies have vastly more money than the minuscule number of people to whom this matters.

On top of that, the market doesn't want general purpose computers. The market wants TikTok terminals and selfie cams. The market wants "content consumption", "AI slop", and "influencers".

If there's no market for what I want it doesn't matter if it's legislated out of existence or not. Nobody will build it if nobody will buy it.

Then there's the apologists for big tech who cry "But they're not computers, they're phones!" when the fact is brought up that we're all carrying general purpose supercomputers bristling with sensors and radios in our pockets but we're not allowed to own them or use them for what we want. (Cue sob stories about clearing malware from oldsters' computers in 3... 2... 1...)

Technologists (who I'd argue should want general purpose computing in the hands of the masses) can't make any money re-architecting the OS and application metaphors and paradigms that give rise to the malware-laden cesspools of end users PCs so they just direct their efforts to working at big tech building the walled-garden prisons that we're all going to be forced into.

It's hard not to feel like I have to accept this fate.