I love the idea of an heirloom computer and agree with many of the author's points. But I don't think choosing a microcontroller and virtualizing a fringe opera

I love the idea of an heirloom computer and agree with many of the author's points. But I don't think choosing a microcontroller and virtualizing a fringe operating system are the answers. I still build standard ATX style desktop computers with basically the same architecture as I did in the 90's. I install Linux and other open source software because I know that it won't break because the company selling it wants to force me to buy a new version. I would contend that the heirloom computer exists and has quietly become more and more accessible. It just isn't fashionable. I think we're already at a point where we have quality open source software that does basically everything we want to do with a computer. The only way forward for big companies is to covert customers to SAAS with monthly rents. We need to keeping pushing for the open standards that allow individuals to build computer systems (hardware and software) outside the walled gardens that can still interact with the larger network.