> It's like those heavier-than-air flying machines -- nobody can make one,
Or like faster-than-light machines? Standards across platforms can be so different framework can start to hit a barrier not easy to overcome - and the more the framework attempts to be fully xplat the more massive it becomes...
> that there aren't many people happily using applications that have been
> developed with those tools, or that it isn't possible to build better
I use Wireshark, but hate its GTK interface. I use Oracle SQL Developer where I can't have Quest SQL Navigator, but I hate its Java interface. At least they are free tools aimed at IT professionals. When average users are in play, delivering the proper interface may be what can make them buy.
> improving the tools, not for decrying them as doomed to failure.
They are just one approach to xplat. If you're a C developer without high GUI requirements they're ok. How much they can improve I do not know - it's not just a matter of widgets, is a matter of overall GUI design and workflow.
> Does it? I don't know what sort of applications you write, but 90%+ of
> all applications I use have very basic GUIs that use only the common
Most of the application I buy have failry complex GUIs with their own custom controls.