I mean that part of the "web experience" people expect is I'm on one "page", be it an application or content, and I have hyperlinks that lead me to another page.Even with lots of different content, the browser adds cohesiveness to the whole experience and I think users expect that.

As for the "Web Start" thing- well all I can say about that is, for whatever reason it doesn't fit the bill for the product owners who "want a web app". It probably should, though.

Do "Web Start" and "One Click" apps allow you to download in pieces? That is, can you dynamically downloaded parts of the app as the user needs them so they aren't hit with a big download all up front? I know you can do this in Silverlight, but I haven't really investigated "One Click" type solutions to see if that is possible. I think it's important because you do want your "web apps" to be quick to load.

Really, though, it's hard for me to really say what is important to users and why certain decisions are made. On every project I've done I've argued against creating web apps unless there was a really good reason- I figure if you want a rich user experience, use a tool designed to provide one.