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> What worries me now is that so much technology is so locked down Raspberry Pi is a nice exception. I know there are other good examples, but it was the first thing I thought of…
Raspberry Pi has a proprietary boot process and GPU.
But the first computer I got to work on was an AppleIIc in 1985. I started out writing production apps in dBaseII for CP/M, and later FoxPro on an IBM AT, some Pascal. Still remember the first hard drive 5Mb of storage! What in the world was one to do with all that space, when WordStar fit on a single-sided 51/4 floppy.
My first laptops were an Epson PX-8 with a micro tape for storage, and the first NEC laptop, with an 8-line display[1]. Those computers were honestly amazing.
[0] https://carleton.ca/scs/vintage-computing/item/vin81/ [1] https://carleton.ca/scs/vintage-computing/item/vin83/
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I remember only having enough money to buy the C64 initially and being so relieved to have the checksum on the typed in programs match up, it was ephemeral but it was either that or cartridge programs. The tape drive was the next purchase for me and finally the hard drive. It was still a bargain for the features IMHO compared to the Apple II and other competing devices like Sinclair and Ti99.
A hard drive for the c64? Are you sure you didn’t mean the floppy disk drive?