> because it is not being used by well-known tech company and not being worked on by large numbers of people, it would not be newsworthy.

And at this point the hobbyist might wonder, "why isn't my toaster software being used by well-known companies? where are the pull requests to add compatibility for newer toaster models?"

> As a spectator, not a tech worker who uses these popular solutions, I would say there seems to be a great affinity amongst in the tech industry for anything that is (relatively) complex.

I think you have it backwards. General/abstract solutions (like running arbitrary software with a high tolerance for failure) have broad appeal because they address a broad problem. Finding general solutions to broad problems yields complexity, but also great value.