Hi izzy77, Welcome to the forum.
Yes the Web is definitely taking over many desktop applications, and this puts Javascript in the dominant position, for programming the client interface. I often wonder whether Basic has any major role to play on the Client side of the Web. Javascript is of course an interpretive language, and for security reasons, has restricted file access.
I'm gradually working my way into programming in Ubuntu. It is taking a long time due to lack of familiarity. I think most Unix/Linux programmers grew up with the system and do not realise how complex and colloquial the technical side appears to the outsider, especially those of us who have been 'locked' into Microsoft. I find that compiling even the simplest FreeBasic programs in Ubuntu requires downloading and installing several '-dev' packages. You have to know exact name/version of these libraries; I rely totally on Google to get this information which is scattered over numerous websites and forums.
Looking at a universal GUI for O2Basic, I think it will be necessary to use the Opengl ES2 specification instead of the original fixed-pipeline Desktop OpenGL for potential deployment on all the non-PC devices.
Charles