Before I try to address the idea that "software" should just be fully adaptable to the needs and wants of the average internet user, let's stick to this more sp

Before I try to address the idea that "software" should just be fully adaptable to the needs and wants of the average internet user, let's stick to this more specific use case. If you want a web site that allows you to create your own personal grid of thumbnails for a list of links (from a URL), that is something that can be built with software (with relative ease). If this particular developer created that tool, the considerations would certainly elevate rapidly - now it's useful to a lot more people, so you need to provide hosting for your larger audience. Instead of a novelty, you've created a burden on your resources. Particularly if they want a "live" grid of thumbnails, and thus it updates "constantly", the resource costs could quickly become staggering. What are reasonable expectations for software, and if they are not being met, what is the roadblock? What exactly were the predictions and hopes for software in the late 60s? A relatively average user can use WYSIWYG editors (including word processors, web editors, and apps that provide text, photo and video editing at your fingertips.) What else should they be able to do? Are we merely discontent with the rate of progress? People who are not in the line of work of home automation are able to purchase hardware and configure it in their homes. People can buy inexpensive, versatile computer chips off the shelf and program them to be unique devices, meeting specific needs. We can already imagine, predict and hope for a future where the functionality of a web site or device is wildly configurable to the individual. What metrics do we have to reach before we're satisfied?