Computers should be simple, because the simpler the computer is, the easier it is to program, and the easier it is to program, more people can program it.

Being able to program your own computer is like a superpower. Not only can you make the computer do what *you* want and need it to do, but you also sever the dependencies which constrain what is possible and bind you to external systems and their unchecked complexity.

I know people say they don’t want to write their own software, but I try to ask why. Often the reasons have less to do with writing software and more to do with a tech industry that wants to keep selling them things.

But if you go back and look closely at the humble 8-bit micros of the late 70’s and early 80’s you’ll see a wide range of machines that shipped with everything you needed to program them, and as a result millions of people learned how and wrote the most diverse range of applications ever known. Perhaps even more miraculous, most of them were compatible with different computers and shareable via any conceivable communications medium (print, tape, vinyl, radio, etc.)

It’s hard to concisely explain how powerful this is. I’ll probably write a lot more about this when I’m out west.