That doesn't explain the popularity of mobile apps among the "everyman". They're not very customizable, but they're considerably more popular than either the regular or mobile web.
> If your first thought is that desire for control is a niche thing, an instance of power users projecting their biases onto the rest of the world and not a concern for some mythical "everyman", you are wrong.
Evidence? Sales numbers tend to prove the opposite. It's the whole reason the apple ecosystem makes as much money as it does: it just works and it looks good doing it. Most people don't enjoy having to spend any time on getting anything to work or customizing anything to their liking. They just want it to do what it's supposed to do then go back to whatever it is they find more important.
Now, could a zero-install network of apps kill the browser? I'm not so sure. Developing native apps is a royal pain in the ass right now. But, if something like QML were to get a lot better and easier to use, it could take a dent out of the single page application market.
> If your first thought is that desire for control is a niche thing, an instance of power users projecting their biases onto the rest of the world and not a concern for some mythical "everyman", you are wrong.
Evidence? Sales numbers tend to prove the opposite. It's the whole reason the apple ecosystem makes as much money as it does: it just works and it looks good doing it. Most people don't enjoy having to spend any time on getting anything to work or customizing anything to their liking. They just want it to do what it's supposed to do then go back to whatever it is they find more important.
Now, could a zero-install network of apps kill the browser? I'm not so sure. Developing native apps is a royal pain in the ass right now. But, if something like QML were to get a lot better and easier to use, it could take a dent out of the single page application market.