Very timely article
I was just talking with a co-worker on this topic the other day. Computing today is very canned and utilitarian. In other words, boring. Back in the day it was adventurous and exciting. You didn't need a development environment and hundreds of libraries to write some code. Heck, your were highly advanced if you even needed a compiler. The closest you can get these days is Linux. You can do your own hacking there, but it's a lot harder than it was on a C64 or CoCo.
For the detractors of this article, you just need to get off my lawn because you obviously don't get it. This is about nostalgia, a longing for how things were, not how much better you think they are now. Better technology is not equal to more fun. Think of it this way. Fishing with a big boat and trawler net is a great way to catch a lot of fish, but it isn't nearly as much fun as standing on the bank and throwing your own worm and hook in the water. The latter is a lot more primitive, but also a heck of a lot more fun.
