When you run an app from the taskbar or start menu, you single-click on the app icon, or single-click on the Start menu button and then single-click on the app.
Sure, icons on the desktop, or just about anything in a file/app explorer window, require a double-click by default, because the lineage of the main desktop area is just a file explorer window without the window decorations.
I think it might be about stakeholders wanting the web to "feel" more native and interactive. Double-clicking to "go" feels too much like you're interacting with the web as if it's a file browser. They want it to feel more immediate?
In principle I'd prefer the consistency of double-click or double-tap everywhere, but I'm used to adjusting based on context. Wouldn't double-tapping annoy everyone who primarily uses mobile devices?
You make some good points here. Even in file managers, one can usually highlight with a single click then use either a context menu or a menu at the top of the application to single-click on things like run, move, copy, or rename. I think the idea of making hyperlinks in hypertext more like a menu than like filesystem resources does make some sense, especially since the browser is an application and single-click within user applications has been pretty normal for a long time. Still, I agree it might have been better if this had gone the other way.
Sure, icons on the desktop, or just about anything in a file/app explorer window, require a double-click by default, because the lineage of the main desktop area is just a file explorer window without the window decorations.
I think it might be about stakeholders wanting the web to "feel" more native and interactive. Double-clicking to "go" feels too much like you're interacting with the web as if it's a file browser. They want it to feel more immediate?
In principle I'd prefer the consistency of double-click or double-tap everywhere, but I'm used to adjusting based on context. Wouldn't double-tapping annoy everyone who primarily uses mobile devices?