Interesting article over at money.cnn.com on the the AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) platform:

“Adobe Systems wants to blur the line between Web and PC applications with a new computing platform that aims to change the way digital information is presented — and perhaps give Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows some future competition.

The Adobe Integrated Runtime, or AIR, will let developers build and deploy rich Internet applications on the desktop. Applications made with AIR can run online or offline, and can run on Windows, Macintosh or Linux PCs.

AIR combines the speed of desktop applications with the up-to-date data capabilities of the Web, backers say. AIR applications run outside of the Web browser, so they aren’t constrained in their design.

This month at a conference for Web developers, Adobe ADBE showed off AIR applications created with a test version of the software. The first official version of AIR is due out early next year. Companies with AIR applications in the works include eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) EBAY, FedEx (NYSE:FDX) FDX, SAP SAP and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) YHOO.

AIR can be used to design consumer and business applications.

The slickest apps on display at the Adobe Max conference Oct. 1-3 in Chicago were consumer-focused. They included a digital catalog by clothing chain Anthropologie, a tool for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) (NYSE:DCQ) DIS travel agents, an aid for eBay users, and Adobe’s own Adobe Media Player.

AIR leverages two popular Adobe products — the Flash multimedia player and the Adobe Reader for viewing documents.”

The more press like this, the better for all of us developing our apps for use with Flex/AIR.

You can read the rest of the article here.