Comment by deltarholamda

In a sense, it is dependent on big tech. Intel, AMD, et. al make the substrate upon which all of tech is dependent.

We don't notice it so much because the era of monopolistic dominance ended 30 years ago when AMD cloned the 386. The ability to write code that didn't utterly depend on Intel came along strong in the years since.

I think we're in that era now. People are beginning to notice that "social media" isn't really. People just want to send messages to friends and family, share photos with friends and family, and maybe catch up on what somebody famous, like Richard Stallman, is doing. (I have my finger on the pulse of public taste doncha know.)