Bye bye browser
Creative software giant Adobe has announced the availability of Adobe AIR, a technology that allows traditionally web-based applications to be accessed on the desktop.
The launch of AIR is being promoted as a “furthering the Adobe technology platform for rich Internet applications (RIAs).” According to today’s press release it does so by: “bridging the real-time, dynamic capabilities of the Web with the computing power and data capabilities of the desktop.”
In other words, developers can make desktop applications using web technologies, like: HTML, Ajax, PDF, Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex. This, apparently, gives us the best of both worlds – the speed, ease of use and universal access of web applications, while still being able to utilise the full power and functionality of PC and access the applications off-line.
Adobe AIR and the Adobe AIR SDK are available for Windows and MacOS as a free download from Adobe, with Linux and foreign language versions expected soon. A number of well known companies, including eBay and The New York Times, are already using the technology.
Download Adobe AIR here.
