[sgift]

1) I know so many programs which are the same size or bigger than your "well-known" programs you probably never heard of but still use daily - They are just not desktop programs, a place where C++, for various reasons, is often the language of choice, but desktop programs are (for better or worse) just a small subset of all programs written.

2) See answer above.

> I feel like C++ gets a much worse reputation than it deserves. Much worse. It is not the solution to everything, of course.

In the end it all boils down to Stroustrups quote about programming languages: 'There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses'