This. It honestly makes me so sad. It feels the vast majority (non-tech) of people just don't understand how important it is to be able to create and have control of the things you "own". Damn it's going to suck if everyone goes the way of Apple and starts to lock things down. I really hope these anti-trust suits open things back up. Whatever happened to the "Think Different" campaign in where it literally portrayed us being slaves to corporations forcing us to consume the way they wanted us to. Damn. Just so crazy. IDK why this post is putting it all in perspective, but the next decade is going to do some miles on me...

It feels like we are slowly losing power. Very slowly.

Eh, if it makes you feel better it's probably not going to happen. PCs and Macs won't become any less tinkerable. Gatekeeper can be turned off with a single terminal command, iPhones and iPads are becoming more tinkerable, not less. Shortcuts basically exposes a visual scripting and automation language. It's really not doom and gloom.

iPhones and iPads are becoming more tinkerable because Apple aims to ultimately merge MacOS and iOS in my opinion.

Once that happens, there will be more security and a more unified platform to develop on - no doubt - but I will be shocked if they do not also take the opportunity to lock down what software you can develop, publish, and run on Macs over time.

I've joked once or twice before (over the past few years) that we're coming back, full-circle, to mainframe-style infrastructure with dumb terminals.

Subscription services (even for software on previously steady release cycles), serverless infra, cloud computing, etc... the overall business model is shifting back to buying compute time to perform a certain task, or these startups essentially re-selling general purpose compute time as marked-up specific purpose compute time. With some UI slathered on top to make it look sexy.

It seems like computing has oscillated between thick and thin clients since the beginning.

If quantum computing lives up to its hype the transition will be incredible.

No, quantum computers are not really general purpose computers...

Just in time for a dystopian cyberpunk future baby! I for one have already started work on my nifty “cyber deck”

Sales of development boards will continue to anyone who wants to buy, including lay people. No one is going to be prevented from "building their own PC". A majority of "nerds" in recent times have had a proclivity to take jobs with companies that seek to "control basic access to computing." I am skeptical that they are seriously trying to convince or train "lay people" to avoid their employers. More like the other way around. If these "business models" fail, nerds lose their jobs.

I don't see any apple M1 dev boards.

M1 devices actually have quite an interesting boot security model, so you can install a custom kernel and OS and boot it, without compromising the security of the platform for normal users that have never heard of an operating system.

While a dev board would be cool, a Mac mini with the hardware UART enabled over a USB C cable is getting pretty close!

Trade offs like these arguably could help to keep general purpose computing alive, as they show it is possible to deliver a secure device to customers that can be used however you like, running whatever software you like, without iOS style "no choice available".

M1 laptops are general purpose computers already. You can also install an open OS.

Dev boards aren't necessary when an entire functioning laptop only costs $999. An M1 dev board be would way, way more expensive than that and far less functional.

Assuming this comment is from a "nerd", this illustrates exactly the point I am making. Trying to "convince or train lay people" to admire companies that allgegedly seek to control "basic access to computing". Apple computers are pre-built, they are not DIY PCs.

Note how the other replies to this comment besides mine refer not to the dystopian future predicted by the GP, but to the present.