In Search of New Software Cultures

The author argues that diversity of hardware creates richer software cultures, and that new hardware is needed to avoid a single dominant platform culture shaped by Apple's iPhone. The argument compares hardware cities to rap regions, saying new devices can produce new downstream cultures as the South and Chicago did for rap. It cites crypto and gaming as examples of niche cultures shaped by their hardware, and says the iPhone's canonical image is one of self-attention. The piece criticizes Rabbit's R1 roadmap for mainly porting mobile apps and suggests Humane's AI Pin could have built a stronger community around its device.