For what it's worth, I think part of the problem is that as tech became first commodified and then increasingly commercialized and financialized, this was inevi

For what it's worth, I think part of the problem is that as tech became first commodified and then increasingly commercialized and financialized, this was inevitable, big money moved in and a lot of the effort in the space became about money instead of product. Additionally, the easy problems have been well trodden by now, so a lot of people aren't interested in them anymore. Have you tried hackaday? Is that maybe like the mood you're after?