Primary AIR Technologies | 19advantages to deploying applications via the browser. The
fact that there are so many web applications despite the dis-
advantages discussed earlier is a testament to the advantages
of running within the browser. When those advantages out-
weigh the disadvantages, developers will still deploy their
applications via the web browser.
But it’s not necessarily an either/or question. Because Adobe
AIR applications are built using web technologies, the appli-
cation that you deploy via the web browser can be quickly
turned into an Adobe AIR application. You can have a web-
based version that provides the browser-based functionality,
and then also have an AIR-based version that takes advan-
tage of running on the desktop. Both versions could leverage
the same technologies, languages, and code base. Indeed,
some of the most popular early Adobe AIR applications,
such as FineTune and eBay Desktop, complement existing
web applications.
TIP
You can find more information on Finetune Desktop at
http://www.finetune.com/desktop/.
You can find more information on eBay’s “San Dimas” Ado-
be AIR application project at http://blogs.ebay.com/
projectsandimas.Adobe AIR applications complement web applications. They
do not replace them.