Even that is getting harder, thanks to google and micro$hit doing everything they can to lock down their respective OSs. Linux on a desktop, yadda yadda, but we're ~12 years into the smartphone era and we still don't fully own those electronic pieces of shit. Only a limited number of models can receive custom roms.
Hmmm, I got a few ideas, not necessarily to make a "better now".
One is for Unix's initial development to only begin in the mid 1980s, instead of the 1970s, which would hopefully result in some of its more obnoxious "features" not existing. rm -rf / - No asking for confirmation, because that will certainly not have any undesired consequences! The main downside is that we wouldn't have the Unix-Haters Handbook
Another is making RISC style CPUs the default for desktop computers, whether the originals by Acorn or even with Intel deciding to make their own ARM x86 series all the way back in the 80s. I'd pick this one.
The democratisation effect is something I’ve been thinking about myself, as hiring developers or learning to code doesn’t come cheap.
It's not really "democratizing" anything, since anything made that isn't like a simple calendar or forum will come with more bugs than working features. Low and no-code development options have been available for ages, so "doesn't know how to code" was never an actual barrier to making software. Not only that, learning to code could be done effectively for free for well over 15 years now, online resources have only gotten better. It was never about the (lack of) money, it was always about time needed. "I don't want to/can't learn this, yet I want the thing done" - that's why we pay professionals.
However, if it allows non-profits to build ideas that can make our world a better place, then that is a good thing.
At best, they'll get semi-working prototypes. At worst, they'll try to sell said prototypes as end products. Besides, anything that is "a disposable utility, designed for the immediate “now” rather than the distant “later.”" is extremely unlikely to make the world a better place.
When artists now are now asked, after years of being on social media platforms and these lackluster art sites, what their dream art website looks like. They describe a store. A store that is allowed to sell pornography also.
Capitalism and the greater opportunity to live off your art are definitely one of the biggest death causes of most community oriented sites. The moment money enters the equation, fun gets kicked off. Why show off your art around if there's no profit to be had and the clout can't be transformed into money?
The author finding Artfight and mentioning how it has no monetization further drives this point.
I'm sure the shareholders will be suuuuper happy to learn that Micropilot Copilot 365 Copilot Azure Copilot Copilot Teams Copilot is now on 111% of every WinCopilot install, which will totally mean great profits.
The main driver for lock in is hardware. Like I said in my comment