alt Hacker NewsThat's very true, and it's a great tragedy. Kids get skilled in troubleshooting awful computers instead of getting skilled in creative things which actually have future value.
As for piracy, it's just as easy on a Mac, and MacOS has more quality software than any other platform - unless you're talking about software used in factories and such.
But how many kids actually "save up" for a computer vs being given one by their parents or getting a hand-me-down from relatives? I would suspect that many parents would be more than happy to buy a Macbook for their kid if they showed that kind of interest.
I think you're making it sound like they're forced to build Linux from scratch while walking knee deep in the snow, uphill both ways. That's way too detached from reality and certainly it's not a "tragedy". Kids are not doing specialized things that only have future value, they tinker with everything. Usually on what's available, yes.
>and MacOS has more quality software than any other platform
This is simply untrue, and not something a tinkerer cares about on a general-purpose machine anyway (with my niece and son as n=2).