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Yeah, but installing a browser is easy, compared to setting up depends for other environments.

There's the same implied prerequisite as with BASIC: you need a personal computer. I mean, you seem to know how to uninstall the browser from your laptop, but is not doing that a meaningful prerequisite?

> In my world, this requires installing one of the most complex pieces of software in existence (a web browser, plus its dependencies), on top of a graphical OS (also a highly complex network of interdependencies).

In most people's world (where "most" is probably > 95%), their computer comes with those things already installed.

Complex architectural stacks have costs beyond install in most people's world: how many layers of indirection between <canvas> and actually drawing on the screen? That's a lot of cycles spent doing busywork.