it’s just factually incorrect that “The PC is dead”
I think the author’s point on this wasn’t so much that “nobody uses PC anymore”, but rather the concept of a Personal Computer, which you fully owned. There’s also the irony of the first Apple computers being personal computers you could open, fix and modify. Software is where few people feel like they own their computers. Free software being sold to shady companies isn’t new, even FOSS projects have been bought. That’s the main problem the author wants to point out, which is essentially the same as Cory Doctorow’s piece on enshitification.
The author also left this:
I’ve shown this editorial to friends, and some people felt that I did not emphasize the benefits of current technology enough. But I argue that my criticism is less about the actual technology and more about how we use it—and how companies make money from it.
I think the author’s point on this wasn’t so much that “nobody uses PC anymore”, but rather the concept of a Personal Computer, which you fully owned. There’s also the irony of the first Apple computers being personal computers you could open, fix and modify. Software is where few people feel like they own their computers. Free software being sold to shady companies isn’t new, even FOSS projects have been bought. That’s the main problem the author wants to point out, which is essentially the same as Cory Doctorow’s piece on enshitification.
The author also left this: