One benefits is that web browsers have to respect a standard set of APIs which abstract the hardware and makes them all inter-operable (except the usual incompatibilities obviously).
Now POSIX was arguably successful, but it was limited in scope (not including the UI aspect of things). Also: Windows...
Additionally, the absence of that big global state which is the filesystem makes the development of portable applications way more easier. There's always been limitations to what browsers can do, but personally I don't regret iTunes, Outlook or all those desktop app advantageously replaced by SPAs. I can log from any computer/smartphone and I get my apps. No installation process, configuration, the usual missing/corrutped library/dlls, etc.
And the problem of data ownership is not a technical problem. If we didn't have browsers, software companies would have moved those data away from you and have desktop app access them remotely anyway.
I get that abstraction levels suck. But only if the cost/benefits ratio is bad. Java applet had awful UX AND they were slow. Now SPAs can be quite responsive and some of them a pretty cool to use.
Now POSIX was arguably successful, but it was limited in scope (not including the UI aspect of things). Also: Windows...
Additionally, the absence of that big global state which is the filesystem makes the development of portable applications way more easier. There's always been limitations to what browsers can do, but personally I don't regret iTunes, Outlook or all those desktop app advantageously replaced by SPAs. I can log from any computer/smartphone and I get my apps. No installation process, configuration, the usual missing/corrutped library/dlls, etc.
And the problem of data ownership is not a technical problem. If we didn't have browsers, software companies would have moved those data away from you and have desktop app access them remotely anyway.
I get that abstraction levels suck. But only if the cost/benefits ratio is bad. Java applet had awful UX AND they were slow. Now SPAs can be quite responsive and some of them a pretty cool to use.