> To a kid growing up in the 1980s, the idea that the maker of your computer would actively stop you from using software it didn’t approve of would have seemed beyond the pale. It certainly would’ve been a deal-breaker.

Indeed. It still is for me.

The very idea that manufacturers get to have any say whatsoever about what software I am allowed to run on my machines actively infuriates me. It's why there are entire ecosystems that I consider too unacceptable to use.