If "web apps are still inferior in every respect," why do we find ourselves using web apps more and more and desktop apps less and less? Should I expect to download the next gen of great applications from a cool shareware site like in the good old days of a decade or two ago? Web apps have won the desktop, at least for now. It's what people want, and it's what people are getting, mostly for the reasons cited above. Mobile, now that's a more interesting story.