I think HTML/Javascript will always be slower and clumsier than a native API, mostly because the former is a creature of committee-think, and the latter less en

I think HTML/Javascript will always be slower and clumsier than a native API, mostly because the former is a creature of committee-think, and the latter less encumbered by the need to placate a bunch of different interests. That's not to say that the former, which has the truly great compensatory virtue of being open, will never be a good choice for application programming.