~10 years ago we managed apps on Windows machines using Novell ZENWorks. I'm sure there are still options, probably even first party Microsoft options.
This means you don't have to spend weeks building a machine. You have a base image and then app profiles/packages.
I guess my point is that the OS should get out of the way and let me own my apps and hardware. There's no good reason to impose such restrictions. These problems can be solved and, if they are, they would reinvigorate the industry and push computing forward in many ways. Now your apps can be on your key-chain and you can run them on any machine by just plugging in.
~10 years ago we managed apps on Windows machines using Novell ZENWorks. I'm sure there are still options, probably even first party Microsoft options.
This means you don't have to spend weeks building a machine. You have a base image and then app profiles/packages.