Adobe AIR 2 beta 2 was released today. Web developers can use the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) of their choice, including Adobe tools such as Eclipse-based Flex Builder, Flash, and Dreamweaver to build Adobe AIR applications. Developers can build Adobe AIR applications using their existing web development skills with technologies such as HTML, Ajax, Flash and Flex.
Adobe Labs
Adobe AIR 2 Beta 2 Sample Applications
Getting started with a new technology can sometimes take lots of time and effort. Fortunately, if you are already dealing with Adobe Flex, then AIR is just a few steps away. If you are new to both Flex and AIR, a great way to get started is by building a simple RSS feed reader or some other type of simple widget that makes use of the httpservice component in Adobe Flex. There are quite a few free tutorials on the web that will easily show you how to build a simple application such as this. One of the better tutorials can be found at the following link: RIA Codes - Desktop RSS Reader with AIR and Flex
This simple tutorial will get you started and along the way you will no doubt learn some of the advantages of the Flex/AIR framework, as well as some of the drawbacks. Don’t forget to check out the AIR/Flex quick tip for adding a custom icon from Ray Camden’s blog and the Adobe Developer Connection article on building an Adobe AIR install badge.
Download the fxappdeveloper blog reader sample AIR application. Be sure to download the latest verison of Adobe AIR® (Adobe Integrated Runtime)
This past week I found myself in a position of indepentently working from my home office again. After years working with the same productivity software on a daily basis, I found myself scrambling to figure out what open source and free software tools are on the market these days. My first decision was to decide what I could use to keep track of my time and record every step of my daily work routine. Wether you are in sales, software development, or project management, every minute you spend working that goes unaccounted for is like dropping a penny on the ground and not picking it up. Tracking your time accurately is essential to staying ahead of your competition and benchmarking your success.
The problem I find with most of the time tracking software that I see is that they are way to complex. I just need something simple that can track my daily work by the hour. That’s it, … plain and simple. So, I stumbled upon this sweet little Adobe® AIR app that is simple but not really plain at all. In fact it is a super hot looking application that has just the right combo of feelgood and lookgood.
Klok - Personal Time Tracking Made Easy has all the capabilities you would look for in such an app including the ability to track your work by client and project as well as a seemingly unlimited level of sub-projects or tasks. Each project item is color coded and it’s a piece of cake to drag and drop items to the timesheet or to the built in timer to create your entries.
Big news just announced if you are interested in Adobe LiveCycle Data Services. Adobe just released a full version of Adobe LiveCycle ES hosted in the Amazon Web Services cloud computing environment. This service is now available to subscribers of the Adobe Enterprise Developer Program. A subscription also provides Developers, Architects & Forms Designers with support, software and tools to build and deploy enterprise solutions built on a SOA, leveraging Adobe technologies. You can build engaging Rich Internet Applications using Flex Builder and/or Adobe AIR while deploying back end processes using Adobe LiveCycle ES. This service includes access to a support team which provides you with technical assistance, best practices, and recommended workarounds when issues arise during coding and programming.
Adobe has now released AIR 1.5 which is the second significant update to the AIR runtime since its debut on February 25, 2008. The developer community response to AIR has been outstanding with more and more applications appearing every day. With over 260 applications on the Adobe AIR Marketplace and well over 25 million installations of applications deployed using Adobe AIR. Some of the new features in this release include, encrypted local database, Flash Player 10 capabilities, better SEO Search Engine Optimization, and WebKit update.
Got a Netflix account? Now you can manage your Netflix queue right from your desktop using a new Adobe AIR application called Queued. This little application was created primarily to show how AIR and the Dojo Toolkit can be used together to create (RIAs) rich internet applications, Queued is open-source, BSD-licensed software. With Queued, you can access your Netflix queue from your desktop, search for movies to add to your queue, rate movies, and you can even view Instant Watch movies. More info at ReadWriteWeb including a youtube demo movie.
Adobe AIR Marketplace
Adobe launched a new version of the AIR Marketplace this week with a number of enhancements that should make it easier to find AIR applications as well as make the process for submitting them much easier. There are quite a few new applications being added and they are still offering a free developer certificate so that you can sign the AIR apps you create. Some of the new features include the following:
The ability for a developer to specify a link to purchase the application. While the Marketplace does not enable e-commerce transactions directly, users can click on a link to purchase an application from the the developer’s website.
Enhanced feedback support where users can rate, review, comment and flag an application to provide feedback to the developer. In addition, users can share applications with colleagues and friends and also subscribe to RSS feeds from the Marketplace.
A new self-service web interface that allows developers to manage their profile and applications. Developers can also view download statistics, ratings and reviews through a new application dashboard.
Ok - you already know that Adobe AIR works lock and step with Adobe Flex, and you probably know that you can export your Dreamweaver applications as AIR. But, AIR and RoboHelp? You might not know about that combination.
RJ Jacquez is the technical evangelist for Adobe Framemaker and Robohelp. Recently he published a great tutorial on how to use Adobe AIR with Robohelp. Check it out!
Adobe has now released the Flex 3 version AIR training courseware. This is once of the best curriculums that I have seen for teaching and learning to build AIR applications with Flex 3. We will be scheduling these classes on open enrollment this summer.
