+1 - You've vocalized my thoughts much more beautifully than I ever could have. Aside from the general cultural aspect of it (better content, interesting forum discussions, Adium conversations with friends at 2AM), programming as a profession lost a bit of magic for me as well.

Life just became all about getting that next refresher, the next good rating / bonus, the next promo in an almost mindless push towards higher comps.

There isn't that sheer fascination / joy in discovering what you can do with technology anymore. Maybe it's because working in a generic big-co is intensely competitive and once you've given so much there, it's hard to come back home and engage in more deep thought. Maybe it's because we just got older, had families and do what normal adults do (reading some linux driver code at 2AM in the morning to get the wifi / trackpad working doesn't sound as fun anymore).