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> Till it has practical everyday uses and is at least semi affordable, I would categorize it as experimental still

I have a Meta Quest 2 from half a decade ago. It's old, but still feels like a mature gaming device (though relegated to more of an occasional fitness device for me).

Sure, it's failed to be anything more (commercial, education, media), but perhaps it's not fated to be for simple entertainment, in which case it's still an interesting new category. And I think the entry price point is like half that of a PS5?

> I don't know a single person who actually owns a Meta wearable device or a 3D printer. Isn't Meta actually shifting their focus away from metaverse?

I think the Ray Ban partnership is consistent with their shift away from the metaverse. The grandiose visions are put on ice, while they shift towards a fashion-accessory with a camera and audio.

Young people seem to be very into 3D printing. My father runs a photography store and a steady portion of the customer base is high schoolers requesting 3D printed models of things they've found online. I presume they'll own their own 3D printers in the future.

> Operating systems that are actively hostile to their users (Windows and OSX).

Never been a better time to give Linux a try. The days of fighting with audio drivers for 3 days after the install are largely in the past

> Everyone trying to shove AI down your throat

There is some backlash against this. SaaS used it to justify price increases, but ironically AI may make it more difficult for them to sustain their very high per seat pricing model

> * No real disruption or competition in the browser space. It will be a long time before Ladybird will be usable.

I still use Firefox for now. But they, unfortunately, have to own their bad decisions.

> You don't own anything anymore. Even building your own PC seems like it will become a thing of the past given how price are rising.

I do worry about this, though less from a cost standpoint, which tend to be cyclical. Deeply embedding and integrating everything does come with some advantages that make DIY builds more difficult to justify outside of seeking peak performance. Though computers like the Framework are actively trying to push against that for some segment of the market.

> I think the Ray Ban partnership is consistent with their shift away from the metaverse. The grandiose visions are put on ice, while they shift towards a fashion-accessory with a camera and audio.

So that people can film me at all times against my choice? So that people are interacting with their devices (with some ads popping up on them eventually, most likely) rather than connecting with me on a personal level, even though we seem to be in a loneliness epidemic? And how is this breaking the tech monoculture exactly? Same 4-5 corporations owning everything and creating walled gardens?

> Never been a better time to give Linux a try. The days of fighting with audio drivers for 3 days after the install are largely in the past

You and I might be using Linux and Firefox (can't even feel proud of using that anymore with the way things are going), sure. But I look around me and I don't see the tech monoculture breaking. I see the opposite. I see technofeudalism. Sure, some of us nerds might be rebelling and holding the line, but I only see things getting worse outside of this bubble.

> I don't know a single person who actually owns a Meta wearable device or a 3D printer

I whish I could say the same :p I just bought another 3d printer and have no place to put it - I have another 3 active printers in my home office. And yes, I keep telling myself its for "work reasons", but its mostly for hobby stuff.

> * iPhone and Android being the only 2 choice when it comes to phones

Not exactly true. Sent from my Librem 5.

Technically true, sure. Let me rephrase it to "iPhone and Android being the only 2 real choices when it comes to phones". My definition of real here would be that

1) non tech people should have heard about it and

2) when institutions like banks force users to use their app, they actually make an app for this platform.

> 2) when institutions like banks force users to use their app, they actually make an app for this platform.

What, does your Librem 5 not have a web browser?

I thought I was pretty clear when I said "force users to use their app". It's a trend more and more banks have started following.

Unless the bank forces SafetyNet, I can run the app with Waydroid. I switched banks when I had that problem.

My point still stands. How many non tech people do you know that will switch to a Librem Phone? Or know it even exists? Or will muck around with Waydroid? And eventually we might not even have a choice to switch banks.

Yes, this is exactly why I'm trying to spread the word about it, and everyone that cares should join.