Is it time for Free software to move on?

Deep within the second screen of Glyn Moody's article, he alludes to what he's talking about in the headline: open web apps as defined by Mozilla http://www.h-online.com/news/item/Mozilla-announces-prototyp... (not that I don't bury the lede in my own articles because I do — often).

He says this about the open-web-app concept:

Quoting:... all the options of proprietary apps can be mimicked with this new system, including the ability to charge for them. But unlike the mobile apps on the iPhone, say, there will be multiple app stores offering such open web apps: no one company will be able to dictate terms for inclusion. Even better, these new kinds of apps will be cross-platform, thus reversing the tendency to lock users into one particular hardware choice.

Such open web apps should move out of the labs stage as soon as possible to become a primary focus for the whole free software community. They will meet the increasing demand for easy-to-install applications on a range of platforms. They will prevent any one company from developing a monopolistic grip on modern end-user computing, be it for desktops, mobiles or tablets. And they will also provide a huge “free” boost to GNU / Linux, which at a stroke will acquire thousands of new applications. As such, open web apps represent a natural next stage in the evolution of free software, while building on, and providing continuity with, the extraordinary achievements of the last two and half decades.