The author is correct that modern web applications are hacks all the way down. It's crazy sometimes. But it fucking works!
Look at Google Docs, which has changed the way teams collaborate. Look at Unity which recently ported their player to the browser. Look at the Autodesk 123D suite.
With technologies like WebGL and Emscripten, we're just starting to see the tip of the "native on web" iceberg. And it's awesome. I know because I'm helping build the iceberg... :)
And yet Google Docs on a mobile device is a native app, not a web site. The website experience is significantly degraded relative to the native app.
It's awesome on the desktop though, but there are frustratingly good reasons that Google couldn't just run that code on phones and expect it to be anything other than a terrible experience.
Not in my experience. I've never had a native app pop-up a dialog saying "You can't use that menu to copy and paste, you have to use the keyboard shortcut." Instead, the standard platform way of doing things just works. Then there is the fact that Google Docs just refuses to open certain docs in certain browsers.
It's impressive for something on the web, but it's not better than a native app by any stretch.
Google docs is a great example of an app that should not be web. Especially google sheets, brrhgh, i get shivers just thinking about it. Even Excel 98 on a pentium 3 has better performance.
Look at Google Docs, which has changed the way teams collaborate. Look at Unity which recently ported their player to the browser. Look at the Autodesk 123D suite.
With technologies like WebGL and Emscripten, we're just starting to see the tip of the "native on web" iceberg. And it's awesome. I know because I'm helping build the iceberg... :)