Adobe Brings AIR To Linux

Adobe now offers AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) for Linux users.

Version 1.5 of AIR is available to users of Fedora Core, Ubuntu 7.10, OpenSuse 10.3 or higher Linux suppliers. The carryover to Linux is due to the overwhelming popularity of AIR on Windows and Macintosh, where the technology has already been available for months.

From Adobe.com:

Adobe AIR is a cross-operating system runtime that enables web developers to use their existing web development skills, code and tools to build and deploy rich web applications and content to the desktop. Adobe AIR has a rich set of features, with support for building applications using HTML, JavaScript, Flex and Flash.

Future versions of AIR will be arriving simultaneously on all three platforms. Adrian Ludwig of Adobe says, “We’re experiencing nearly 100 million installations of Adobe AIR on Mac and Windows by the end of this year. That strength of platform across Mac and Windows is going to make it very easy for developers to build applications that will end up running on Linux as well.”

AIR is intended to make applications easier to use while offering new interactions between brands and consumers. This technology brings websites to you beyond the browser through useful applications that can be customized and integrated to fit your personal style.

One example of an AIR application is eBay Desktop which allows sellers to fill out a listing offline and then upload it to eBay when an Internet connection has been established. Other applications use similar techniques, allowing users to complete tasks offline and opt for those tasks to be uploaded to their respective websites when the computer becomes connected to the Internet.

The addition of this consumer-friendly download is yet another step in making Linux distributors more welcoming to the general masses. The stigma that Linux is complex and not for the average computer user is slowly becoming diminished as news like this reaches the ears of the consumers. AIR makes it easier for developers to create applications for Linux and may help to knock down more walls in the future.

Adobe AIR can be downloaded here.