It's kind of interesting to recognize that, at least with beer, the whole thing can be circumvented/disrupted with a 'radical new technology' like widespread ho

It's kind of interesting to recognize that, at least with beer, the whole thing can be circumvented/disrupted with a 'radical new technology' like widespread homebrewing. I once had an enterprising neighbor who dove into this project, using large (new, clean) garbage bins to prepare grains, and a repurposed gas-burning hot water heater as a brewpot. Each batch was ~50gal/200L of quite decent beer. (This incidentally is somewhat above the 'home use' limit and bordered on a commercial operation). It's not likely to see anything like this in the world of computer delivery, although the widespread interest in repairing things like iPads and iPhones is becoming a factor. As Moore's Law starts to flatline, it's becoming clear that the next gen of phones/tablets etc. will not be stupendously superior to the older versions, and consumer demand for repairable computers will only rise in the future, and expected usable lifetimes will become comparable to those for automobiles.