I don't know that it is nonsense, but it is an overstatment.
Personally, the vast majority of programs I use on a regular basis are desktop based, and I cannot find a good web app to replace them (some of them have web app versions, but sorely lacking in features I need):
Python,
PyDee (soon to be renamed Spyder),
MS Outlook,
MS Word,
SQL Server Management Studio (and associated suite like SSIS...),
MS Excel
GIMP
And when I have a few free minutes for a game, it is on a disc in a PS3.
Also, when I do my own personal programming (I'm a DBA, not developer by trade, but I do little custom things for myself and friends at night), I can do them both more easily and in a more polished fashion for a desktop gui than by running them through a browser. This may change as browsers mature (and I learn more about browser based programming) but for right now I find desktop apps are almost always higher quality than the web based versions.
Personally, the vast majority of programs I use on a regular basis are desktop based, and I cannot find a good web app to replace them (some of them have web app versions, but sorely lacking in features I need): Python, PyDee (soon to be renamed Spyder), MS Outlook, MS Word, SQL Server Management Studio (and associated suite like SSIS...), MS Excel GIMP
And when I have a few free minutes for a game, it is on a disc in a PS3.
Also, when I do my own personal programming (I'm a DBA, not developer by trade, but I do little custom things for myself and friends at night), I can do them both more easily and in a more polished fashion for a desktop gui than by running them through a browser. This may change as browsers mature (and I learn more about browser based programming) but for right now I find desktop apps are almost always higher quality than the web based versions.