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Posts tagged AIR
Google Analytics Comes to the Desktop
May 20th
If you don't use Google Analytics for your site analytics solution, then either you have something that you're paying for (which is okay if it's not actually YOU paying for it), or you're using something else that's not very good.
I like Analytics because it is super easy to install, very fast, and provides some seriously robust statistics for free–tough to beat that.
Well, today I ran across a really cool application that is being developed to bring Analytics to the desktop.
Currently, this application is only in beta, but it has a lot of promise. Even with the limited suite of services being offered in the current version, Google Analytics for AIR delivers strongly.
One of the really nice features of this application is that it is super-fast, which is more than can be said for the web interface. Additionally, everything is laid out very intuitively, so there is not really any adjustment needed to transition from the web interface.
The only criticism I would have at this stage is that the interface itself is really BLUE. This is a minor criticism, of course, but I would like to see more white rather than blue. Picky, huh?
Anyway, if you use Analytics, check this out–I More >
Google Reader Shiny-ness, Part II
May 13th
About a week ago, I mentioned my love of Google Reader, and how it contributes significantly to my web design process.
Well, it got just a bit better for me today. While using Google Reader to follow one of my favorite blogs, I ran across a brand-spanking new AIR-based application that brings the functionality of Google Reader to the desktop.
This new application is ReadAir. It is really nothing more than HTML and JavaScript, but it is shiny. And the functionality–on the whole–is pretty good. At this stage, it is still a bit buggy. Unread feed counts do not update when an article is viewed, and it is also a bit slow. However, the project is open-source, so hopefully others will come along and expand upon it to make it better.
So if you like Google Reader, take a look at ReadAir. Oh, and be sure to let me know what you think about it!!
Share this:Coming Up for AIR
Mar 24th
(Please ignore the absurdity of the title–I couldn't help myself!)
A little over a week ago, Adobe officially released Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) 1.0 along with Flex 3 . While I've looked into a AIR a bit in conjunction with Flex apps, I've not really gone beyond that.
However, with the official release, I decided to take another look.
What is AIR? As the full name explicates, it is a runtime that can be used to, um, run programs on your computer, mobile device, etc. So as with Microsoft's .NET framework, AIR allows developers to create programs that can be packaged up and installed on these devices.
However, unlike Windows-only or Mac-Only (or Linux-Only) programs, AIR is ambivalent about the OS. As long as the client machine has the runtime installed, any application developed in AIR can run on it. This in itself is really cool, and takes the bite off the exclusivity of OS platforms.
But the coolest part about AIR is that you can leverage different technologies when building applications. For example, a while ago I built an extremely simple Countdown application using Flex 3. Easy enough.
But what if I don't want to use ActionScript 3? No problem! Using the HTML, CSS More >
Coming Up for AIR
Mar 10th
(Please ignore the absurdity of the title–I couldn't help myself!)
A little over a week ago, Adobe officially released Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) 1.0 along with Flex 3 . While I've looked into a AIR a bit in conjunction with Flex apps, I've not really gone beyond that.
However, with the official release, I decided to take another look.
What is AIR? As the full name explicates, it is a runtime that can be used to, um, run programs on your computer, mobile device, etc. So as with Microsoft's .NET framework, AIR allows developers to create programs that can be packaged up and installed on these devices.
However, unlike Windows-only or Mac-Only (or Linux-Only) programs, AIR is ambivalent about the OS. As long as the client machine has the runtime installed, any application developed in AIR can run on it. This in itself is really cool, and takes the bite off the exclusivity of OS platforms.
But the coolest part about AIR is that you can leverage different technologies when building applications. For example, a while ago I built an extremely simple Countdown application using Flex 3. Easy enough.
But what if I don't want to use ActionScript 3? No problem! Using the HTML, CSS More >
Adobe AIR Rebranded…Again
Nov 15th
Well, Adobe's AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) must be getting ready for primetime, for today a brand-spanking new logo was unveiled.
For those who don't know, AIR is a cross-platform runtime that allows developers to create web and desktop applications which leverage languages like ActionScript 3, HTML, Javascript, etc.
AIR has had a mildly interesting development. About a year ago, it was pushed in beta as "Apollo" featuring a rocketship-themed logo. Next, it was suddenly switched over to "AIR" with the standard "new" Adobe branding. Today, however, marks the third rebranding in a year–hopefully the last one.
While I'm not wild about the new logo (I like the Apollo one alot better), I think it indicates a more concerted effort on Adobe's part to make AIR a serious tool for developers to consider.
Sadly, I have only developed a single AIR application. I utilized the Flex architecture, but what I developed could have just as easily been completed in standard HTML and Javascript. Hopefully, in the year to come, I will have an opportunity to play around with it a bit more.
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