The decline of computers as a general-purpose technology
This is what I personally feel is just missing these days. I was never part of the leading edge of hobby computing.<p>I was very far off, geographically, growing up a teenager in India. But back then, 1998 - 2006 ish, I feel the Internet was a lot more about experiments. I would read up on some software or hardware group all the time. LUGs were way popular. I used to be on chat rooms from MIT or other unis every other day.<p>Nowadays most people I see of that age group are happy with a YouTube video on their smartphones. General purpose of computers is simply not visible. Not even to the level that I, a curious teenager, had experienced in those years from so far in India.<p>We have too many tall-walled gardens now.<p>Update: I should add I am happy with how powerful computers are these days, but they are not for the purpose of learning or tinkering the actual device or its software. It is just way to consume media for the mainstream.