With such new UI target languages/frameworks as Flex (AIR), Silverlight (OutOFBrowser) and
Java FX (draggable applications) the barrier between Desktop and Web Based Desktop is falling. New top of the class server side languages such as Scala are quite productive for large concurrent applications. All of those languages are free and multi-environment. Also Google is working hard on Chrome OS and V8 Javascript engine.
Where do you think software development is headed? Are we moving to a cloud computing scenario? Will the average user follow the change? How about the enterprise, will it trust the internet for sensitive applications suchs as ERPs and CRMs?
