A core conversation that I've been having lately starts like this:

What are computers for?

And I have a decent set of answers for that.

Computers are for:

- Creation
- Consumption
- Communication

The specifics vary, and there's also a "meta" category for the things that we do to manage computers, but most of what I do on a computer boils down to one of those things.

I write, I record music, I make videos, I write code.

I watch TV, I listen to music, I play games.

I post on the fediverse, I publish my blog, I send emails, I use an instant messenger.

Creation (and editing and remixing)
Consumption (and cataloguing and organizing and sorting)
Communication (and publication)

There are certain kinds of creation, consumption, and communication that are wholly modern, that only work in a fully graphical environment with low latency, high bandwidth broadband.

I can't really edit photos on my #zinestation because it's a 386 (or occasionally a 486) with a monochrome screen and 4MB or 8MB of RAM.

Video production is right out! The thing doesn't even have a sound card, for me to attempt working with audio.

On the other hand, I use it to write nearly every episode of Expedition Sasquatch. I send most of my personal emails from that box, and I have (through various tricks) gotten it on the fediverse. I don't post much from the zinestation anymore, but I used to read and post from it and my palm pilots often enough (with tricks! It's all tricks! We'll get there.)