Hi there, don't feel bad asking these questions. In fact, i had this questions in mind too while this project was started.

Firstly, we already running of powerful dev boxes but still hitting out of memory issues in the official local emulators. These stronger machines doesn't remove Java or replaces the old console UI or able to loads tons of data.

Google should fix it and it's expected, but for some reason, they haven't really prioritized local tools for local devs. In other ways of saying, some one had to take this in hand and try it out, and well we did :)

Appreciate the reply, further I'd add that: Even if both my proffered solutions came to pass and 1) many paid the compute prices for bigger dev boxes and 2) Google did overhaul the emulator, then your solution could still be a viable business if it provided sufficient value for Firebase users in being more responsive and tailored to their needs - especially given big companies like Google are notorious for abandoning even wealthy client demographics.