[tnh]

There are alternate histories where the web stagnated as an app development platform in favor of other ecosystems.

MS development slowed around IE6 after winning browser war against Netscape.

Apple's mobile ecosystem competes successfully with web, but could have gone further.

Chrome and Android have helped keep the web more relevant.

[lblume]

At its core, the ideals of the Web as an interoperable, nearly universal platform are extremely promising. I highly doubt people would prefer completely split ecosystems where programs could only be accessed on specific platforms.