You cannot simply buy the RPi at a normal retailer, unlike (smart)phones, laptops, (smart)TVs etc. etc. This does not mean the RPi isn't a fantastic little machine or that it doesn't offer new possibilities. However, there is a world of difference between a developer board (that doesn't have a case, operating system, built-in storage etc.) and a ready-made consumer article.

General purpose computers become rarer with an increase in phones and tablets, all of them locked down. This is the making of a niché, and I think it is dishonest to simply assume people are worried about losing their status. Is the reduction in sales of general purpose computers the end of the world? Perhaps not. Should it prompt closer scrutiny and some concern? I think it should.

But the reason this happens is that most people, even when the computer they owned really was a general-purpose computer, didn't use it as one. Anyone reading or commenting on HN is an outlier; we actually need a general-purpose computer, because we need to be able to do things with it that its designers and builders never thought of. But most people don't. Most people want a small and pretty much stable selection of apps, and if those apps are there, they don't care whether or not the device they're running on could also run an infinite number of other apps.

As an anecdote: we have an iPhone 3G in our household, a phone that became progressively worse with certain updates after the release of both the 3GS and 4, to the point that it is nearly unusable for surfing now. This leaves me with exactly two options: stop using it as it was meant to be used, or buy a new phone. And for the other camp: in order to get an inofficial version of Android that is newer than Gingerbread on my phone, I would have to reformat its internal storage, which I can only do since it is unlocked by now. However, even that is not entirely without risk, and it is not supported.

Oh, I entirely agree; I've been bitten by this myself (and on desktops/laptops, not on mobile devices), and it's one of the main reasons I don't have an iDevice and don't use many apps on my Android tablet.

I'm just saying that you and I are outliers; most users appear not to care that their device is locked down and they will sooner or later be forced to upgrade. (Many of them are used to upgrading every time their phone carrier comes out with a shiny new toy anyway.)

As long as i can still buy a general-purpose computer for $200 that can do/run anything I want, or pay for processor cycles like a utility like I can with AWS, this will seem like computing purist's paranoia. It's a lot like Stallman's regular speechifying, when it strikes me that while he's not completely wrong, he's not really right either.

The use of the word pretty contradicts your assertion that they are not locked down.

Yes, if you are inclined you can buy a Raspberry Pi, but equally your kids could go from cradle to grave, never having touched a general purpose computer.

I see this as a problem. How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.

I've blogged about this somewhere but I forget the link.

It's true that some kids learned to program on their home computers. They did so against incredible odds.

Today's kids are surrounded by cheap, plentiful, powerful computers, and awash in information about programming on the Internet and in bookstores and libraries and schools. It has never been easier for a kid to learn to program, if they want to.

> How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.

This is like asking how do we inspire kids to be writers if none of the books they've ever read have been typewriters. There is more inspiration for kid programmers today than there ever has been in the history of the world, because they are immersed in more computing than any previous generation.

I think for most users, the experiences of using a programmable v.s. non-programmable device are about even in terms of inspiration. An iPad is just as likely to spawn an interest in games as a regular PC (perhaps more, as it's more approachable). The biggest problem is that locked down devices are poor programming platforms, but getting a basic platform to program is pretty cheap and easy, so I don't see that as a big problem.

A basic platform to program with is pretty cheap, but it'll _probably_ only run programs on a general purpose computer. I'm pretty sure you can't build iOS apps on a RPi.

I guess my big problem is that you can't build an iOS app on an iOS device. I see this as a problem given the prevalence of locked down devices now on the market.

I couldn't build NES games on my old NES either but that didn't stop me from starting programming.

Low-cost manufacturers can thrive (comparatively) in that kind of environment by selling their devices for $25, but customers will suffer because their general purpose computers will be useless for non-hackers.