Each dev kit is $450. Being able to test on an emulator is free. Sure, you ultimately want to test on hardware, but indie dev teams aren't going to shell out that kind of money for each developer. Who gives a fuck about indie developers though, right?
"Engineers have been circulating an old, famous-among-programmers web comic about how all modern digital infrastructure rests on a project maintained by some random guy in Nebraska. (In their telling, Mr. Freund is the random guy from Nebraska.)"
That's not quite right. Lasse Collin is the random guy in Nebraska. Freund is the guy that noticed the whole thing was about to topple.