[minimalist]

Honest question: Why is a web-based front end preferable for a desktop application?

Thinking about it, the only advantage would be if one anticipates a multi-head scenario—like drawing to a common canvas from a mobile OS and a desktop OS.

Would this look any different if we could a desktop OS like gnu/lInux on all of our computing devices?

[dnquark]

Yes, I am thinking mostly about the ease of porting the app to different platforms. This is particularly relevant to Xournal/Xournal++ as they are terrific tools, but the hardware that these tools are optimized for typically does not run GNU/Linux. If you think that finding a good Linux laptop is a challenge, try to find a good Linux laptop with a stylus. And there's nothing in the form factor of an iPad, for example.