The architectural consideration that dominates ChromeOS is how to cram as many Google OKRs down your throat without the device crashing — I tried it extensively, I'm intensely unimpressed. I do agree that an web-like OS like FxOS still makes sense. It may yet happen!
I mean, the promise of Longhorn was to go the other direction and make all the things that matter in a browser native and powerful right in the OS (in part as a reaction to W3C grinding to a halt over XHTML) and it just seems to turn out that people use frankensystems more
talking about the linux desktops, methinks they could use a fresh paint after like three decades of stagnation. From the gigantism and ubiquity of the browser to the role and integration of local "AI", the old "emulate Windows" paradigm can no longer really serve users.