(1) what do Microsoft, Apple, and Java (in the form of Eclipse, NetBeans and IntelliJ) hope to gain by having such complicated IDEs with so many dependent artifacts?

(2) if all apps were moved to the web, irrespective of the “cloud” attributes will ever be free of the desktop app tools?

(3) most *nix desktop apps appear juvenile or even retro compared to modern Windows and OSX apps; and even some java apps. Will they ever look modern and can they do it without all the cruft required by Microsoft and Apple?

The answers seem obvious to me, however, I’d prefer to hear your response before I give you mine. I thought about giving a hint but that would be too easy.