Sorry, I should have been more clear in my post. I don't understand why Bray didn't discuss HTML5 when criticizing Apple for its walled-garden app store & control over apps on the iPhone, since web apps completely circumvent all the restrictions that Bray ranted on and on about. When he does bring up HTML5, it's only to acknowledge that he doesn't know much about it, and he never manages to connect the dots.
From the article: "The big thing about the Web isn’t the technology, it’s that it’s the first-ever platform without a vendor" . Somehow he misses that the Web is a big platform on the iPhone, and then goes on to whine about native applications not being as open and free as the web! It's like he totally missed the point of his own tirade: if you don't like vendor controlled platforms, use the Web, it's the first-ever platform without a vendor!
For someone who supposedly thinks deep thoughts about these subjects, he's frighteningly short-sighted.