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Adobe will announce the version 1.0 release of their AIR platform today.

In short, Adobe AIR lets you run a web application as an desktop application. The main benefits of this are:

1. Platform independence. Developers only have to create one version of the program to run on any operating system that has AIR installed. (Air only supports Win and Mac at the moment, a Linux version is in the works for later this year*)
2. With very little modification web apps can be configured to run on the desktop.
3. Since the applications running on the desktop are essentially designed to run through a browser the applications can easily connect and interact with web based services.
4. Ultimately gives the user an option to use an application over a website.

Web Apps on the desktop, so what? BFD.

Well be integrating the web and the desktop this opens the door to tons of former web only programmers. This means more competition for existing desktop programmers, and in this “mostly” capital world competition fosters creativity and innovation. Furthermore the melding of the desktop and web blurs the lines between service and software leading to a new model of “cloud computing.”

Cloud Computing is the new notion of the old terminal computer system; where the user’s computer called the terminal is basically just a way to interface with software that exists completely on a server. One of the big problems with terminal computing in the past was slow networks. However, with the prevalence of high speed Internet and highly interactive websites through AJAX, DHTML, and other technologies has led to the widespread acceptance and adoption of web applications. One of the best examples is people’s use of web-based email applications such as GMail and Hotmail.

Over the last year there has been an explosion of web apps in the areas of word processors and photo editing. Many of these programs have become sophisticated enough so that they could replace the desktop application for the average user altogether. The biggest drawback to this model of cloud computing is the connection between the client and server. If you loose your Internet connection in the middle of an unsaved blog post or school paper, you’re screwed. But if you have a desktop application that works seamlessly with the online application; which is is automatically syncs your online documents then you not only replace that application but exceed it as well.

By offering free software with basic services and giving the consumer the option to choose to pay for a premium version changes the software model completely. This changes the software from a product to a service. This would also help speed along innovation as well. If most people are using applications that they get for free or pay a low fixed amount for service that includes free updates to software then the there will be less of a resistance towards change. This has been a huge problem with Vista, for many people they don’t see the need to upgrade their “perfectly good” software that they paid a few hundred dollars for in order to get the new version, even though there is nothing technically wrong with the old software. People get very frustrated when their hard earned money goes down the tubes because technology moves forward forcing them to spend money on something they already had. (HD-DVD for example)

Lastly, technology like AIR brings a level of legitimacy to online services; people can place a value on something that they’ve made their own. By downloading a piece of software and using it the way they want to gives people a chance to invest a little of themselves into something. It will also lead to greater brand loyalty. Twitter is an excellent example. There are tons of ways to use Twitter through all kinds of web apps and desktop applications, and yet I still see many people using the plain web interface. People like choices, and bringing the web to their desktop goes a long way to opening up more options for people to interact with the services and products the way the want.

So, this brings me to the end of this very long post, I’m actually quite tired and unfocussed to I apologize for my butchering of the English language.

*[Via Webware]
[Via Simeons]