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Top 10 Apps Worth Installing Adobe AIR For

lifehacker.com — Adobe AIR is still pretty fresh on the market, but already has a healthy number of applications in development or near completion. While many of them are simply desktop translations of web interfaces that were easy to use already, a handful of AIR apps truly make work and play easier, or just more interesting

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mklopez 116 days ago, made popular 115 days ago

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Barbas06, on 06/18/2008, -4/+87Some of these are neat but there's nothing on that list that REALLY makes me want to install AIR
- ryanstewart, on 06/18/2008, -7/+35What kind of apps are you looking for? We've got a bunch of different types of apps in different areas. Marketplace is one place to check: http://www.adobe.com/go/marketplace/
  
  =Ryan
  rstewart@adobe.com
  - djh816, on 06/19/2008, -1/+15how about an app to order pizza? the terminal one just isn't doing it for me anymore.
  - Samtherocker, on 06/19/2008, -2/+3For me, it's not the lack of apps that makes me not want to install AIR, it’s the platform itself.
    
    It seems to encourage a lot of non-standard UI elements that make the apps feel like they're not a part of my system somehow (in a similar way to OS X's widgets or Vista's Gadgets).
    
    The problem is, AIR apps are run in a way that makes them seem like they *should* be standard apps, which is why they feel out of place somehow.
    
    Just my 0.02
  - WNW3, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3I was trying to think of something AIR could run that would make me care about it and I couldn't. I don't see why I would want a program that runs other programs.
    - dshPls, on 06/19/2008, -3/+8Do you use an operating system?
    - majmcdonald, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8A better question is, do you run VMware or something similiar to run a 2nd operating system? That's closer to what AIR is doing.
  - Durrok, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5Giving out your work email is usually a very... very.. bad idea on a public forum. You are a brave man for doing so.
    - ryanstewart, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6Hey, that's what Adobe's spam filtering is for :)
    - SniperX, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2Especially a public forum with so many retarded internet abusers.
  - Chompy, on 06/19/2008, -1/+11I'd like an AIR application that removes the bloatware from Abode's other products.
  - reformation, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Thanks but I think the general feeling is that people DON'T want apps in yet another third party wrapper.
    Even in this top ten not one of the apps appeals, or doesn't have a better, native alternative.
- Zipp425, on 06/18/2008, -2/+3Still better than the 10 air apps list we saw on digg a few days ago...
- skellener, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4Amen Barbas06!
- vawksel, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2I wish they would make JukeFly into an Air app.
- javaroast, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5Pandora is the only maybe on the list. Still not installing Air for it. I don't think I could bear the thought of having another reason to deal with Adobe's updater application.
- cdahlkvist, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3Agreed. Maybe Pandora but AIR is unimpressive at best.
- widgetmaker, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Analytics is probably the one which would most interest me. Even more so if there was integration with ad words.
  - gutfeeling, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0i can view my adword campaigns with it. look harder
saWgurr, on 06/18/2008, -2/+16I agree, alot of those can be substituted with firefox addons or scripts, anyone know of a reason to switch to AIR for those apps? any pluses that i dont know about??
- Voyagerfan5761, on 06/18/2008, -2/+21Besides not bloating your Firefox even more?
  - Fergy, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6You are always bloating your computer. Be it in Firefox or in an uncontrollable plugin.
    - saWgurr, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1yeah, the main concern is the use of your computer resources, and it does not really matter where the usage comes from...
- Zipp425, on 06/18/2008, -2/+12Desktop based convenience... Some people don't always want to have Firefox open.
  - superkendall, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5You know, you can always close firefox and open it later - but honestly who does not leave a browser open all the time anyway? Air is just extra weight.
    - ArgonTime, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4I don't, and many people I know don't. Why should I leave Firefox open if I'm not browsing the internet?
  - MavRevMatt, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5And even if you do, what's the point in bogging down Firefox?
- vault, on 06/18/2008, -1/+8Exactly...these are apps you'd try once to play with and then never use again.
  - Loonacy, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Well I use a Pandora Screenlet to listen to music in Linux, and I've set up OpenPandora on a Windows machine, so I can say that's one thing I use constantly. On the flip side, I've never needed AIR to do so.
Zipp425, on 06/18/2008, -4/+11Definitely some good ones, but still nothing I'm dying to get...
I'm using Vista and most of the functionality these apps offer can be found in sidebar gadgets... Saves me from having to install AIR...
ElBeh, on 06/18/2008, -1/+15DiggTop is a terrible AIR app.
- yacks, on 06/19/2008, -4/+6especially considering it's only a windows/mac app.. you cannot have a Digg app like that where it doesn't work on Linux.
zonovo, on 06/18/2008, -9/+5Twhirl is my choice. Absolutely the best AIR app i've ever used.
- Fergy, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3You should explain why. Otherwise your comment was meaningless.
stephenhacking, on 06/19/2008, -15/+1You can get all adobe packages in a collection of 6 DVDS check it out.
and i'm talk about only the latest versions of each product
- MCA2142, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4air is free.
  
  I'm not promoting piracy, but it is assumed that anyone who calls them selves "stephenHACKing" should never pay for software.
pandaking, on 06/19/2008, -2/+10Nothing to write home about...
zadadka, on 06/19/2008, -14/+3Adobe AIR = Adobe, Acquired Ignore Reasons.
gllopc, on 06/19/2008, -3/+37In one part of the article it says: "Adobe AIR, a downloadable platform for running web-friendly apps on any operating system".

And shortly beneath that it says: "10. Pandora (Windows/Mac only)".

Well, alrighty then.
- MavRevMatt, on 06/19/2008, -2/+12Meh. Linux is always left out. Bastards.
- terrix, on 06/19/2008, -0/+7Thats the fault of Pandora's developers not AIR.
  - timf, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Well the Adobe AIR alpha for Linux came pretty late and is rather ***** right now...
flexterra, on 06/19/2008, -4/+2You should also check out s3mer. It's a remote presentation software that lets you create a presentation and publish it to a remote plasma screen. http://www.s3mer.com
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- superkendall, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5I can't believe you are being modded down, never was a use of the Ackbar so appropriate.
dashdingo, on 06/19/2008, -2/+15Nope, still not worth it.
theImmodiumGuy, on 06/19/2008, -5/+6Look, if it can't get the pr0n on my computer faster/better, I'm just not interested.
robthom, on 06/19/2008, -9/+4I dont care adobe products myself. Over-priced and confusing interfaces.
- Raz0rEdge, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3Confusing..you mean like your English?
  - robthom, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Said some fag called "Raz0rEdge"?
    Oh boy...
dagamer34, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6Flash already sucks on the Mac, so I'm not handle Adobe more control over the Internetz by installing Adobe AIR.
over9k, on 06/19/2008, -8/+1I need a good guitar tuner.
x5pfif, on 06/19/2008, -4/+12Where is the AIR Jordan app?
Thekirby45, on 06/19/2008, -11/+6im scared its from adobe the kings of bloated pdf files
davidwasman, on 06/19/2008, -3/+6Do all the Gawker Media sites plan on re-hashing each others articles ad nauseum?

Why do people even digg their crap? It's never original and always stolen.
- Atomic1fire, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4the same could be said for digg.
- MavRevMatt, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4People like lists.
vawksel, on 06/19/2008, -3/+1I wish they would make jukefly.com into an air app...
astra05, on 06/19/2008, -5/+5I don't trust anything adobe, I can find of feel that Adobe is the evil corporation with terrible licensing and wants to monopolize, but their products suck and they continue to hide behind a veil.
- Fergy, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Adobe is weird. They make almost great products but screw it up by not listening to normal people. Make a free 100% compatible LIGHT PDF reader, make flash available on windows, mac, linux, smartphones and in 64 bit and give some specifications of flash to the gnash people and people might start to believe that you are the good guy.
  - johncblandii, on 06/24/2008, -0/+0Umm...dude. Flash Lite is on smartphones (had it on windows mobile phone for years). Apple is keeping it off the iPhone but here are the numbers for Flash enabled handsets: 73 Nokia, 63 Sony Ericsson, 13 Verizon, 134 NTT DoCoMo, 101 KDDI, 48 Softbank. (source, header at top: http://www.flashdevices.net). Bill Perry is a mobile and devices evangelist for Adobe. Either your manufacturer has not allowed Flash or you simply have not installed it. Want it? Go grab it: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashlite/ (if your device supports it).
    
    FYI: By 2009 Adobe expects "over 1 billion devices that will have shipped that support Flash technologies." (source: http://www.flashdevices.net/2008/05/adobe-announce ... So, that's windows/mac/linux and 64 bit. BTW, I'm on 64 bit and it works just fine for me.
    
    Also, you might want to look at the Open Screen Project (http://www.adobe.com/go/openscreenproject). "Removing licensing fees – making next major releases of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices free." @astra05: Maybe that answers your desires about licensing.
    
    Adobe is doing much better...still needs some work in areas (or could please more folks, I should say)...but they are doing great in the open source area.
Snakedal337, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6http://www.paulyanez.com/labs/mymediaplayer/ Just sold me on adobe air. I'll keep it around just for that app.
MavRevMatt, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3The only one I really like is Snackr. The others I could care less, I don't care enough about Twitter to use Twirhl. I do like one that isn't mentioned, the My Media Player app for Hulu.com. Very useful.
3rdfinger, on 06/19/2008, -4/+3one word. Pandoooooooooooraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! woo!
- Raz0rEdge, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0I was thinking the same thing..but rather than being a separate application, it just seems to be a container for the normal Pandora Flash app..oh well..
jonbon, on 06/19/2008, -1/+5I'm a huge Twhirl and Snackr fan, they both practically live on my desktop. And of course, I kinda like Doomi, as I kinda made it. ;)
- purplecabbage, on 08/26/2008, -0/+0What about socialu http://www.socialu.com
  Is that worth installing AIR for? Did you kinda make that too?
EvilAnimator, on 06/19/2008, -6/+6AIR is dead. Long live SproutCore.
- tracker1, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1You could always use SproutCore for the server-side parts, within an AIR based application... then you only have to worry about the webkit browser that's embedded into AIR.. ;)
  - mrBitch, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1SproutCore is a client side web development framework. For server side components you can mix and match whatever currently works for your company - SproutCore supports all open standards web protocols.
SFJoe, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5Congrats to the Adobe marketing team. That's one fine astroturfing job. Well done!
dimonay, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Dugg, but the only thing I found useful was the Google Analytics app.

But sometimes I use AIR for Pownce :D.
hornet252, on 06/19/2008, -3/+1Doomi changed my life, it made me realize I should leave my wife, and fly solo again. I don't know what I would have done if I had never come across doomi. Thank you
Fergy, on 06/19/2008, -3/+81. Google Analytics Reporting Suite
useful for a really small minority
2. ReadAir Google Reader client
"a Mac-styled desktop app" usefull for a minority that likes MacOS
3. DestroyFlickr
see piclens
4. Klok Time Tracker
an online calendar that won't work on your smartphone
5. Twhirl Twitter Client
no clue
6. Doomi Task Manager
task manager that won't work on your smartphone
7. DiggTop
another widget like gadget
8. Snackr RSS Ticker
YARSS ticker
9. eBay Desktop
useful for a minority
10. Pandora
only allows US residents and already works in flash
- Fergy, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Just found out HULU also doesn't work outside the US
gyronic, on 06/19/2008, -3/+3No Linux version = no install.

Good try Adobe.
- diggerpleez, on 06/19/2008, -2/+2There has been a Linux version since the first of the year.
  
  Good try gyronic
  - k82l, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5as far as i know, it's in alpha, and the way i got spaz working, it's not very easy to use yet.
emka, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4They forgot EarthBrowser http://www.earthbrowser.com/
It can display satellite imagery, weather forecasts, load Google Earth files and Wikipedia articles...
much better than those 10 apps :)
univerio, on 06/19/2008, -1/+9"Top 10 Apps I Don't Give a ***** About"
kingbyu, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1You ended your title in a preposition! http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/022703.htm
JasonHaley, on 06/19/2008, -1/+12/10 I'd be slightly interested in, but a slight interest in 2/10 doesn't make it worth my time to use up extra RAM for Air to be running all the time in the background.
4/10 of these I can already get on a gnome-panel (or KDE)
The other 4/10 I don't really care about. (...maybe there's already another gnome-version for it, but who cares?)
BXRWXR, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4Is AIR free?
- Raz0rEdge, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2What you are breathing as well as the Adobe framework is, yes..
  - mrBitch, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1OMFG! what if this is Adobe's stealth method to legally TM the very air we breathe!
    
    Obligatory Matrix quote :
    "Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that's air you're breathing now?"
patricksmith, on 06/19/2008, -2/+0SproutCore FTW!
netneutrality, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1"AIR" is the new "i", which was the new "e". Just add "Air" to the name of your product and it sounds more techy.
k82l, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2digg.air? yuck...
tito13kfm, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Jesus tap dancing christ, can we please get a cool app that runs natively on x64 versions of linux?

nspluginwrapper is about as stable as my uncle and half as reliable.
bpapa, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1Most of these are lame or have better competitors. Twhirl, for example, is inferior to Twitterific from where I sit.
Jammerdelray, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Pownce is a pretty cool adobe air app without the up time problems of twhril (Twitter)
freibooter, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1Wow, I was actually quite shocked to learn that there ARE ten different Adobe Air apps ... who would have thought.
diggerpleez, on 06/20/2008, -2/+1I have been using it since the day it was released. The only big oddity is I have seen is the way transparency is handled. Other than that I have no serious gripes. The fact that Adobe is spending money/time working on Linux clients at all earns big points in my book.
trenchfever, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2Adobe AIR.. Inviting corporates to rape your ass one install at a time.
SSCrow, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1Meh I already have a Pandora Client outside of a browser. So nothing really appeals to me here.
shinkou, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1I would say NO to it. None of the applications mentioned worth even trying. We surely need some AIR to breath, and it would be wonderful if we could get some on Mars... :P
stephenhacking, on 06/20/2008, -2/+1lol i never said it was free i said u gotta pay for the package
WomensUnderwear, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0The Google Analytics AIR app is a clunky, buggy piece of crap
malexan, on 06/21/2008, -0/+0Why are people so enamored with Google Analytics AIR app? It doesn't do anything the web version doesn't and the so-called speed enhancements aren't actually there in "real" life use. Now if they actually added some additional functionality like e-mail alerts triggered by some specified change in traffic, that would be impressive. As it is, the AIR version just adds some prettiness to the web version.

Twhirl, on the other hand, actually offers additional functionality and improves usability as compared to Twitter.com.
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Top 10 Apps Worth Installing Adobe AIR For

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