AIR Out Your Desktop with Adobe

Most Linux users are intimately familiar with programs that are similar to their commercial counterparts, but not quite the same. There isn't anything wrong with clone applications, but if programs were inherently usable, regardless of the underlying operating system, fewer programmers would have to re-invent the wheel over and over again.

One real hope for Linux users is the idea of cross-platform applications. It's not a new concept, but we're beginning to see some huge leaps in the ability for Linux users to use the same applications that Windows and OS X users use—not just clones, but the same actual apps.

Java, for instance, is a great way to make the underlying operating system unimportant. One really huge stumbling block with Java programs, however, is that packaging them for the different computer systems is very difficult. Sure, you can download a JAR file, but that does the average user little good. It takes effort to make installers for each platform you want to support. Java also has a reputation for poor performance. Before any Java developers form a lynch mob and hunt me down with pitchforks, note that I said it has a reputation for poor performance. At one time it was true, but in most cases, these days Java programs perform quite well. However, fair or not, the general opinion regarding Java programs to date is that they are slow and cumbersome.

Web-based applications recently have become the most prevalent way to provide equal access for everyone. Whether you call it Web 2.0, advanced JavaScripting or just the availability of a more diverse set of Web programming frameworks, the Web currently is a hotbed of new platform-agnostic programs. That trend isn't going away any time soon, but there are a few problems that are tough to solve with on-line apps. For one, relying on the Web browser to handle multiple applications puts all of your eggs in one basket. If the Web browser itself crashes, so does every one of your running programs. An even bigger problem is that if the Internet itself isn't accessible, neither is the Web-based program.

Several potential solutions exist to solve the “unconnected” problem regarding Web apps. Google, for instance, continues to develop its Gears infrastructure that allows people to use Web applications when in off-line mode. The concept, whether implemented by Google or someone else, will make Web applications more viable as desktop program alternatives. Unfortunately, it still tethers us to a Web browser. Projects like Prism can allow for separate instances of Web applications, but regardless of what browser is used, the apps still require the browser in order to function.

Adobe has taken its long history of Flash on the Web and given developers the ability to create standalone applications that don't depend on a Web browser at all. I know that many Linux Journal readers just rolled their eyes at the mention of Flash technology under Linux, but to be fair to Adobe, it has put more serious effort in its Linux ports recently than ever before. The mere fact that the same version of Flash is available for Linux as is available for Windows proves that Adobe is taking our favorite operating system more seriously.

So, what makes AIR unique? Several things:

One of the best things about AIR applications is that they tend to look aesthetically pleasing. Let's look at a few from Adobe's AIR Marketplace. I specifically focus on those that work under Linux now, and a couple that I hope work by the time you read this article.