I think they're talking about lack of motivation to DIY. Yes, it is exponentally easier or cheaper, but the draw back then was "It was either impossible to get or ridiculously expensive to buy something you can DIY".
Nowadays it's mostly reversed, so many gadgets can be just bought for cheap, hell even if you want DIY what you will DIY changed massively.
Back in ye olde stuff like signal generator or power supply was probably the stuff you DIYed or made from kit, nowadays they are so cheap and so much better than whatever you'd make first. On flip side dev boards or breakout boards with various "fun" devices are aplenty so your first projects might be something actual EE might've spend week to build in the 90s
The "everything is a breakout board" might make people not start with the basics at first but in the end I think that lower barrier to entry is a good thing here
Nowadays it's mostly reversed, so many gadgets can be just bought for cheap, hell even if you want DIY what you will DIY changed massively.
Back in ye olde stuff like signal generator or power supply was probably the stuff you DIYed or made from kit, nowadays they are so cheap and so much better than whatever you'd make first. On flip side dev boards or breakout boards with various "fun" devices are aplenty so your first projects might be something actual EE might've spend week to build in the 90s
The "everything is a breakout board" might make people not start with the basics at first but in the end I think that lower barrier to entry is a good thing here