About an hour ago (at 12:01 ET), Adobe Systems officially launched version 1.0 of its AIR platform, along with Flex version 3. AIR introduces a new method for developing cross-platform software applications that blend the characteristics of browser-based Web applications and OS-native desktop software. The AIR runtime environment and the AIR software development kit are now available as free downloads for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems, with Linux versions planned for the future.
The Adobe press release is here:
For more on “hybrid” applications that attempt to span the gap between the Web and the desktop, see the recent Knowledge@Wharton article:
On Technology and Media 
Just when I got the hang of Flex 2….
Kendall, did you stay up late so you could be the first Wharton blogger to break the news?
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Becky:
Well, “late” is sort of a geographically-relative term. Since I was in San Francisco to attend Adobe’s Engage 2008 event held in conjunction with the launch, it wasn’t as late for me as it was for you.
:Kendall
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