I'm surprised at all the negativity. Advocating C++/Java instead of Meteor/Node.js makes about as much sense in my opinion as comparing 18-wheeler trucks to Smart cars, and I wonder if the people who do so have really worked with the latter or are just dismissing it out of hand. The right tool for the job and all that, and you want your toolbox to be comprehensive, right? No serious craftsman ever said "Wrenches? Oh, we're a strictly pliers-only shop".<p>At my company, we have critical API services with SLA's that will cost us $$$ if broken. We develop on the JVM with Scala, the number of currently open bugs can be counted on one hand, with millions of daily users. But some of the dashboards for monitoring the service are Node.js. Want a new fancy gauge on that board that measures X by interacting with API Y? There's probably a NPM module for that, so give me 30 minutes, OK? I see that the web frontend serving is increasingly being done in Node as well, because it's a good fit for that environment.<p>Don't get married to your platform! Try many things, and figure out where on the spectrum the tools fit and use them where appropriate. I've done many years of C++ server and embedded development, but working with Meteor just gives me the biggest dumb grin. It's fun!<p>Node is the fastest growing ecosystem today, and it's not because everyone using it are idiots. Meteor takes that energy and kicks the out-of-box productivity up to 11. Java/Scala/Go/C++ are and will continue to be the workhorses of the Internet when performance and stability are of the utmost importance. So, no matter where on the platform spectrum you're currently on, go check out what's happening at the other end!