Somewhere along the way, computing became disposable.
Devices became sealed.
Systems became rented.
Ownership became licensing.
Repairability disappeared.
Infrastructure moved away from the user and into distant cloud platforms.
And I think we lost something important because of it.
Lately, I’ve found myself becoming increasingly interested in hardware again.
Not just software.
Not just cloud systems.
But actual computing devices.
Servers.
Home infrastructure.
Repairable machines.
Set-top systems.
Local AI appliances.
Sovereign computing.
Because I believe the next era of computing will belong to people who own their infrastructure again.
The Provider Box Realization
One thing that kept sticking in my head was this:
Almost every home in America already has a provider box.
A Comcast box.
An AT&T gateway.
A router.
A modem.
A streaming box.
People are already comfortable with the idea of a dedicated computing appliance sitting in their home quietly powering their digital life.
That realization changed how I thought about computing infrastructure.
What if those boxes worked for the user instead of the provider?
What if they:
- hosted local AI,
- managed home storage,
- coordinated smart devices,
- powered media systems,
- handled automation,
- protected privacy,
- synchronized intelligently,
- and operated as sovereign infrastructure?
That idea became part of the thinking behind KiwiHome.
The Return Of Home Infrastructure
For a long time, the industry moved toward centralization.
Everything shifted toward:
- SaaS,
- subscriptions,
- streaming,
- cloud storage,
- cloud intelligence,
- and rented operational environments.
Convenient?
Absolutely.
But also fragile.
If:
- pricing changes,
- services disappear,
- companies shut down,
- APIs get revoked,
- or platforms change policies,
entire workflows collapse overnight.
I think people are starting to feel that tension.
Especially creators.
Especially businesses.
Especially technical users.
That’s why I believe we’re going to see a major resurgence in:
- home servers,
- edge computing,
- local AI,
- hybrid cloud systems,
- repairable hardware,
- and owned infrastructure.
Hardware Should Be Stewarded
I don’t just want to build devices.
I want to build systems that feel stewarded.
That means:
- repairability matters,
- modularity matters,
- interoperability matters,
- longevity matters,
- and ownership matters.
I think we became too comfortable with disposable technology.
Perfectly functional devices get thrown away because:
- batteries are glued in,
- storage is soldered,
- firmware is locked down,
- or repair documentation doesn’t exist.
That philosophy never sat right with me.
Especially as someone interested in:
- repair,
- refurbishing,
- infrastructure,
- electronics,
- and long-term systems thinking.
Software And Hardware Are Reconnecting
For years, software and hardware drifted apart.
But AI, edge computing, and sovereign infrastructure are bringing them back together again.
Now hardware architecture matters again:
- local inference,
- power efficiency,
- thermals,
- storage,
- networking,
- modular accelerators,
- embedded systems,
- and distributed devices.
That’s exciting to me.
Because I don’t just want CitrusWorx to exist as software floating in the cloud.
I want it connected to real infrastructure.
Real devices.
Real operational systems.
The Philosophy Behind KiwiHome
KiwiHome is not just a “smart home box.”
It represents a larger philosophy:
computing should belong closer to the user again.
Not isolated from the web.
Not anti-cloud.
But sovereign.
Hybrid.
Local-first.
Loosely connected.
Resilient.
A system that can:
- operate independently,
- synchronize intentionally,
- and continue functioning even when external services fail.
That’s the direction I believe computing is heading.
Why This Matters
I think the next major shift in technology will not just be smarter software.
It will be:
- smarter infrastructure,
- smarter ownership models,
- and smarter relationships between users and their systems.
The future isn’t just:
“everything in the cloud.”
The future is likely:
- distributed,
- modular,
- edge-powered,
- AI-assisted,
- and user-owned.
That’s the future I want to help build.
Not disposable technology.
Not locked ecosystems.
Not dependency as a business model.
But systems people can actually understand, maintain, repair, extend, and own.
That’s why I want to build hardware again.
