Personal computing was essentially dead when companies figured that renting hardware and software and charging monthly subscriptions was a lot more profitable.

It's not dead. I refuse to rent hardware and software. I host all of my stuff at home on my own hardware, and encourage those around me to do the same. I have converted countless e-waste laptops to Linux and will continue to do so. Personal computing is only dead if you accept that outcome.

But the latter mindset from companies was a main reason why personal computing took off.