>For instance, suppose we push 200 operands onto the stack
Then you're already doing something gravely wrong. The data stack should not be used like a data structure. That would be analagous to passing 200 arguments to a function.
This article has made me realize that perhaps trends in computing are not headed in any particular direction. Perhaps they are headed in every direction.
The author's description of his computing life couldn't sound more alien to me. I put thought into my file organization, and prefer files to "fragments." I don't have anything but a couple of my most oft-used shortcuts on my desktop. I only keep files in my downloads folder if I suspect I'll be needing archives or installers again. I don't use webapps. Any of them. I don't allow javascript to run in my browser unless a site I trust needs it for something that makes sense.
The desktop suits me just fine and the browser is becoming less and less relevant to me as it trends toward things I find uninteresting and not useful.