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dc42
Having the web interface built in means that it can provide information that is not available via gcodes, and continue to provide real time information when the printer is executing commands that take a long time to complete.
I see no reason why this couldn't be implemented over USB. The limitation to G-code is a self-choosen one, not one enforced by the USB technology.
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dc42
Eclipse is the obvious choice for open source firmware.
Eeek! Eclipse is way to complex. :-) That said, the good thing about Eclipse is, one can continue with any text editor as well as long as a makefile is maintained. In Teacup we maintain an empty .ino file and a makefile which builds by compiling *.c in the toplevel directory. This way you can use Arduino IDE as well; Arduino library gets compiled then, but isn't used.