For the most part, we do have a single web language that is reasonably consistent across platforms... if you keep things simple. Where things get dicey is when

For the most part, we do have a single web language that is reasonably consistent across platforms... if you keep things simple. Where things get dicey is when designers demand a high level of control over the cosmetics (i.e., pixel perfection) or developers demand a high level of control over the interactivity (i.e., making rich internet apps, etc.). I'm not saying there's anything wrong with pixel perfect design or rich internet applications, but it is the desire to make the browser a design/media/application platform that created all these cross-browser issues. -- On a side note, sometimes I wonder if there would be more fat clients if Windows did not introduce DLL hell. DLL hell and app maintenance contributed to the enterprise market's desire for browser based applications. If you take iOS for example, you see a lot of apps for site content that are native and richer than a browser, but still rely heavily on http. That model seems to be thriving.