Actually most have never knowingly used computers outside the Windows sphere of influence but we shall let that pass. Unix was a massive breath of fresh air at

Actually most have never knowingly used computers outside the Windows sphere of influence but we shall let that pass. Unix was a massive breath of fresh air at the time, it became popular and widespread because it was so much better (and more accessible/cheaper) than commercial operating systems of the time. The cultural bindfold you refer to is because there has been no comparable revolution in operating systems design since Unix, people tinker (comparatively) at the edges because Unix got so much right. NUL terminated strings is a minor aspect of library design. Yes with hindsight if things had been done differently then things might now be different, but like the QWERTY keyboard once decisions get out in the world they become too difficult to reverse.