When I saw DOS superceded by Windows, (yes, I've been around that long), I knew I would have to get used to my computer doing things I didn't ask for, in many cases didn't want, and not even being told about it. Unrealized by most, it was the end of the "personal computer" which, to me, meant a computer dedicated to my work, my purposes and nobody's else.
What we have today are actually community computers -- network appendages with some responsibilities to the local user and many to other parties including computer manufacturers, software companies, (both system and application), copyright holders, law enforcement and network operators. Indeed, new responsibilities have been loaded upon users who have been transformed into conforming, non-jailbreaking "netizens".
The original PC pioneers gloried in their independence from a regime of dumb terminals, mainframes, time-share and batch processing. Now a new form of computer collectivism is taking control in its place.
Where is the Tea Party when you need it?
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