> If Apple, Microsoft and various distributions of Linux pulled the finger out of their collective asses and agreed on a half-decent, cross-platform GUI software package in 2005, none of this JS madness would exist.

This is what browsers are. You are describing browsers. They run on any device, on any architecture, and nowadays even on the edge. This isn't just about GUIs. I can't stand this lazy mentality of "pfft, I know better than these billion dollar companies, have they tried just making it good???"