Adobe yesterday released version 1.0 of Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) knows as Adobe Air along with Adobe® Flex® 3. Adobe Air, Adobe Flex and Adobe Flash are the foundation of the Adobe technology platform for rich Internet applications (RIAs). And while the impact this platform will have on how users interact on the Internet won't be known for some time it's not too early to say that it could be profound.
The two biggest strengths of the platform are its cross platform appeal and the fact it breaks away from the Web browser. Once an application is developed from the platform it can be installed on Windows and Apple computers and later this year on Linux and runs as a stand alone program independent of the browser. Users still need to install the Adobe Air software but that's a breeze.
J. Nicholas Hoover of InformationWeek writes in his post "Adobe Stakes New Claim To Rich Web Apps With Release Of Air":
"Rich Internet apps, or RIAs, could be loosely defined as software with engaging user interfaces that typically bridge the connectivity of the Web with a graphical richness and custom user interface that used to be reserved for client software."
"Air, a cross-operating system platform that was code-named Apollo, attempts to bridge the gap between the Web and the desktop by allowing developers to create Internet-connected applications that aren't restricted by the form and functionality of Web browsers."
Read Write Web list six of the coolest Air apps to get started with, including two I use, Twhirl and Google Analytics.
"And if you want to know why we here at Read Write Web are so excited about AIR, read more of our analysis about the platform to get caught up. Did your favorite app make the list?"
And lastly CenterNetworks writer Hank Williams considers Adobe Air a Windows killer in his post RIP Windows: 2008.
"What is strategically significant about these tools is that they give millions of web developers the ability to do almost everything a hardcore Windows or Mac developer can do in a way that is totally cross platform (Windows/Mac/Linux and maybe mobile someday). A typical web developer today has no idea how to build desktop apps, so this technology is a game changer for that audience.""At the same time, if you are writing with Flex and AIR or HTML/Javascript and AIR you are not writing to Windows, or for that matter Mac OS X. The strategic import of this cannot be understated. Having MS-DOS and then Windows as the world's most important software development platform has been Microsoft's single most significant advantage in its history as a software company. That advantage is gone. "