We're in the same age bracket and like you, all I've ever wanted to do was write code. I'm thinking about your explanation here and wondering if Moore's law is the most relevant factor or if it's network power laws. I'm not reading a lot of posts saying "I have this great app that will be revolutionary but I need much more speed and memory in mobile devices." But I do read a lot posts about growing a network of users. On the other hand, it's inevitable that there will be much more power in mobile devices, so the it's best to see what code can be written with that target in mind, which is why I don't get involved in the native vs html5 debate. It's clear HTML5 will continue to get better and be sufficient for most applications.

I'm a few years behind you, so I idolized guys like you and Englebart when I was starting out. I kind of miss that ga-ga eyed hero-worship phase of my life. Now I'm older than the President of the United States and that's kind of hard to grasp.