I'd really love devices & software that try to emphasize possibility & malleability. The modern consumer systems are rigid & huge on guard rails, making sure the user has a straightforward experience.

That's a hard task, worth of respect too. But it feels like this hardline conservative outlook for software has utterly dominated what's gotten built for a long time now, with less and less computing that is interested willing or able to give power users solid ground & footing. Tech keeps increasing the distance, keeps becoming more esoteric, ironically because it keeps losing on-roads to becoming an expert or explorer if you're interested in going further.