Adobe AIR offers direct link from desktop to website
Technology blurs line between online and offline world
Last Updated: Monday, February 25, 2008 | 12:56 PM ET
CBC News
Adobe Systems officially released a software development system Monday that allows computer users to access websites without opening a browser.
AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime), available in its test or beta version since last June, allows developers to make programs that can mimic the functions of a web browser, but do not require a browser to run.
After a quick download, users can click a participating company's logo on their desktop and begin searching its site.
The technology reduces the waiting time for downloading images and data because the desktop is constantly updated while the computer is online.
Several applications have been built around AIR. One example is eBay Desktop, which can deliver auction and product notifications to users without requiring them to launch a browser.
An AIR-based application has also been developed for AOL users, who will be able to search for and view music videos on the website when they are offline.
NASDAQ has an application called Instant Market Replay, which lets traders view recordings of all stock transactions for a given market.
Adobe says AIR runs on any operating system. It is a more powerful version of widgets, the customizable little web pullouts often provided by third parties like Google.
The AIR application removes any kind of go-between, giving companies a direct, constant and versatile link to the consumer, said Adrian Ludwig, a spokesman for Adobe.
"The browser was in the way and the widget, in some instances, was in the way," Ludwig said. "It's the willingness to let the brand of the person providing the application to take front and centre."
Adobe says AIR enables developers to create rich internet applications (RIAs) on the desktop with the web technologies they already use, including HTML, Ajax, PDF, Flash and Flex.
There is no cost to end-users. Adobe plans to make money from AIR by selling software development kits to programmers.
AIR is available for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. A Linux version is expected to become available in future, but when that might happen is not known.
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
Top News Headlines
- Air Canada confident it can reach deal with pilots
- Travellers flying Air Canada can keep booking their flights as negotiations continue with a new federally appointed mediator to help resolve an ongoing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Four former B.C. attorneys general are joining a coalition of health and justice experts calling for the legalization of marijuana. more »
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. more »
- Online surveillance bill targets child porn: Toews
- A bill that would give police and intelligence agencies new powers to access Canadians' electronic communications is needed to protect against child pornography, says Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- New iPad anticipated in March
- The latest version of Apple's iPad tablet will launch in early March, according to blog and media reports this week. more »
- Higgs boson hunt aided by energy boost
- The world's largest particle accelerator is ramping up its beam energy in hopes that scientists will learn definitively this year whether the last undiscovered particle in the Standard Model of Physics exists. more »
- Nortel hit by suspected Chinese cyberattacks for a decade
- Hackers based in China enjoyed widespread access to Nortel's computer network for nearly a decade, according to a report. more »
- U.S. weighs steep nuclear arms cuts
- The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 per cent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Glacier Discovery Walk: Will the visitor centre enhance the view? Feb. 14, 2012 9:22 AM Environment minister Peter Kent has announced the construction of a new Glacier Discovery Walk and visitor centre on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. It raises the issue of how to balance commercial development in our National Parks against the preservation of the last refuges of wilderness.
Quirks & Quarks
- February 11: Inside the Mind of a Neandertal Feb. 10, 2012 4:01 PM Can we get inside the mind of a species that's been dead for 30,000 years? A new book, How to Think Like a Neanderthal, suggests we can. The authors reconstruct a creature like us in many ways, but with important differences.
Latest Features
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Botox injected by unlicensed practitioners
- Toronto NBA fans experience 'Lin-sanity'
- Homicide follows Vancouver family argument
- Tires slashed on more than 100 cars in Surrey
- Trudeau says sovereignty less of a bogeyman now
- Online surveillance bill targets child porn: Toews
- Adults told B.C. teen had taken ecstasy
- B.C. Mountie drank to 'calm nerves' after fatal crash
