What is it about building "web-related technology" that makes it so cheap? Is it actually that much cheaper? And if so, why? Why isn't there a platform for making apps that compares?
> What is it about building "web-related technology" that makes it so cheap?
Mainly a huge existing (and ongoing) investment from Google.
> Why isn't there a platform for making apps that compares?
Not enough money in it for a company that would make something properly polished, and the open-source stuff works well enough for its own developers and gets bikeshedded to death whenever anyone tries to add good defaults and provide an easy onramp (if anyone even cares enough to try). Like, in theory you could glue together something with Python, Qt, PySide and Freeze where someone can write two lines of Python, push a button, and get GUI executables for all major platforms. But good luck getting anyone to accept your patches or commit to not breaking compatibility with what you're doing.
A huge pipeline of labor who understands it and mature tooling that creates a much lower skill floor for labor to be productive. Bootcamps, tutorials, freelancers, contractors, there's a _lot_ of resources in all sorts of languages about web development. Many fewer resources on trading packets over TCP, or making a desktop GUI, and even fewer on cross-platform GUIs.
