Oh, how heated is the war for our eyeballs. It becomes apparent only once you try to exert real control over what information reaches you. The kernel-level DRM for video. The websites refusing to present text unless displayed on a device supporting Javascript fingerprinting and tracking. The "share" boxes popping up when you try to take a screenshot, if you are even allowed to take one. The prevalence and intrusiveness of the "use our app" pop-ups.

If our eyeballs and brain stems are the spoils, the hardware is the territory. Everybody is jockeying for position as close to the printed circuits in our pockets as possible. The real value lies in being able to control all the behavioral nudges made possible by our collective habit of carrying in our pockets boxes of electronics controlled by other people and other countries.

We, as the end users of the personal computing devices, used to have a lot of power over the hardware. It turns out that this power was not inherent. It was granted to us by the beneficial overlords who maintain the operating systems. However, the times are changing. Vertical integration and market consolidation progresses. The hardware around us is increasingly subsidized by the ad ("content") providers instead of us. The incentives shift in our disfavor and the powers we once took for granted are gradually taken away.