Quite so. When it first took off, I took no end of flames and downvotes for suggesting that WebGPU is a terrible idea. HTML and the browser were originally conceived to render documents, not serve as a bastardized application distribution platform.
The only arguments I've ever heard in favor of wasm/webgpu were that using native graphics/GUI toolkit APIs are a pain. That's definitely true, because I've written stuff with gtk and it sucks, but that doesn't mean we should just shovel an entire tech stack into the browser.
Just because we can, doesn't mean we should. I'm tired of these BigCos shitting everything up.
Yeah in the end I probably agree on WebGPU, I haven't really seen a single use of it, except for running shader code examples in browser, which might as well be replaced by a looping video.
For WASM though, I do not agree at all! It's genuinely a great system for high performance browser code. So much stuff I use now had WASM as the backbone, and I even started applying it outside of the browser in some of my architecture. I wish we had way more enthusiasm behind things like WASM, and way less for something like WebUSB.
The BigCos are the reason you have that browser in the first place. If you don't like it, you know where to download ... links or something.
Hey you’re right, we should gladly accept every decision the big corps make. They know best, after all. We should probably lick their boots too, in gratitude for their benevolence.
The application delivery thing was done as far back as Netscape threatening to relegate Windows to "a poorly debugged set of device drivers" so Web-whatever is simply another step in that direction. Like I said, if you purists want just document delivery, you can use links or w3m or maybe Gemini.
Some kind of market forces kept Netscape in check back then. Now they aren't.
Like, Tesco would prefer that my operating system was a roast chicken, Baowu Group would prefer it was made of steel, Berghain would prefer that it had to queue for hours to possibly get in, and Jagex would prefer it was an in-game GUI within RuneScape. None of those companies got their way, what makes Netscape special?