First, many people don't care if computers are a turd or a diamond. They're just not important to their lives.

Second, for many people (such as my wife), they're not interested in doing fancy things, they're basically interested in a very simple way of doing the things they want to (e.g. turn on the computer, check e-mail, answer e-mail).

So well designed applications are perfect for them, whether it's a monolithic app designed by megacorp or something put together from components just for them (e.g. by their geeky husband).

The issue of how best to solve problems is another matter. My feeling is that applications are typically the best answer (including web apps), although there's a good cause for making them out of pieces (e.g. typical Unix approach).

--Tony