[TUHS] Re: The death of general purpose computers, was - AIX moved into maintainance mode

[segaloco via TUHS <tuhs@tuhs.org>]

> Is the future coming where I will only be allowed to run approved applications
> on my device (via something like an App store or somesuch)?

This so much.  I've gone full circle on smartphones by this point, begrudgingly accepted getting one at my parents behest many years ago, then ditched the thing in 2020 and never looked back.  Luckily I never had the displeasure of an Apple device, so had a bit more control than they allow, but still didn't like the implications of smartphone OS norms.

The idea that I can fully pay for and own a device and yet generally have to exploit some sort of security loophole or backdoor developer feature to actually use the device fully is completely asinine to me.  I could see a case for not having root access on a phone that hasn't been paid off yet, but that root access isn't expressly granted on completion of a payment plan is an insult to users.

It's a bummer too because I want to be excited about the idea of potentially having a powerful computer with me just about anywhere, but at the same time, if that power is significantly throttled (see Game "Optimizing" Service...), and full root access to the device is not granted easily, then it's not any more useful to me than a kiosk at Walmart.

One thing that makes me particularly sad about the decrease in effective computer accessibility (effective being a loaded term here for root access, control of applications, etc.) is that having a good computer and access to the right information can make a subject-matter expert of anyone willing to put in the time.  In my own experience, having relatively unimpeded access to computers since I was a kid is the key reason I've been able to learn so much.  Taking that way and replacing it with stuff like Chromebooks and smart devices diminishes the likelihood of the right person having the right computer at the right time.  Not to say that people won't still be inventive, but who knows what influence a bunch of Apple-ized computation will have on the next generation, vs the influence of relatively widespread and open systems in the decades preceding.

- Matt G.