Tech’s broken promises: Streaming is now just as expensive and confusing as cable. Ubers cost as much as taxis. And the cloud is no longer cheap::Some tech is getting pricier and looking a lot like the older services it was supposed to beat. From video streaming to ride-hailing and cloud computing.
I would argue it’s easier just in significantly different ways - the Arr stack of applications take more effort to learn and setup initially, but once you have it’s absolutely effortless.
P2P (eMule/Limewire/etc.)
DDL (Megaupload, Rapidshare, etc.)
Just these two were easier.
In addition, pirated physical media used to be an easy way for non techy people to acquire media in developing countries.