Don't worry, it looks like "desktop" has just become a buzzword for rich, responsive UI. This ain't no powerpoint. Looks like a search engine and a code browser plus some kind of fancy analysis stuff. They mentioned TBs of data, and I know I wouldn't want to have to install that all on my desktop! Seems like a sensible choice.
It looks like an odd choice, but it works well for some applications. I've done several apps that take advantage of both local control and the ease of web UI. Imagine having a web app with perfect security, zero latency and infinite bandwidth.
