Software has always, since it was first sold in the 1960s, been a licensed product/service. You never owned anything - you had a contract for a certain set of functionality and support, maybe upgrades.
Tolls like the above were how the mainframe started and are nothing new.
We had a historical anomaly with the PC being a hobby platform at its roots where everything felt so free. Legally it never was, that was a marketing fiction created by Apple, Microsoft, IBM and others.
What I'm getting at is the subversion of the control of the platform from the user to the vendor. Maybe it was due to the technical limitations of the time, or the sensibilities of geek-culture, but the vendor never controlled the device once they sold it to you. You didn't need to beg for permission to compile software on mainframes.
I think a lot of this is because of the hobbiest roots of the PC, it was never taken seriously as a commercial device at first, and had broad tinkering support from the early days. They never could really abandon that stance because of those who adopted new products.
Any attempt to do a sealed experience for average users was subpar in execution... except perhaps gaming consoles.
Tolls like the above were how the mainframe started and are nothing new.
We had a historical anomaly with the PC being a hobby platform at its roots where everything felt so free. Legally it never was, that was a marketing fiction created by Apple, Microsoft, IBM and others.