This document summarizes a panel discussion on the state of rich internet applications (RIAs) in 2009. It introduces the six panelists and their backgrounds working with technologies like Flex, Ajax, Flash, and AIR. Several topics are then briefly discussed, including the relationship between Ajax and Flash, opportunities and challenges of the Adobe AIR platform, developing for mobile devices, user experience in RIAs, and overall outlook on the RIA space. The document concludes with contact information for the panelists and links to related websites.
1. InsideRIA Outlook,
2009:
What Every
Developer
Needs
to be Thinking
Andre Charland
(Moderator)
November 19, 2008
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2. Andre Charland
Founder and CEO at Nitobi
12 Years in web application
Focused on user experience
Ajax, Flash, Flex, AIR and iPhone Development
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Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights
3. Steve Weiss
General Manager, InsideRIA.com
Executive Editor, O’Reilly Media
Adobe Developer Library: Co-publishing partnership with Adobe,
covering Flex, AIR, ActionScript, Flash and other topics relevant
to design and development of RIAs
steve@oreilly.com
Twitter: @steveweiss
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Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights
4. InsideRIA.com
About InsideRIA
•InsideRIA is an online community developed by O’Reilly and
sponsored by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Our goal is to create
an invaluable resource for information on the ever-changing state
of design and development of rich Internet applications (RIAs).
®
Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
5. InsideRIA.com
About InsideRIA
•InsideRIA is an online community developed by O’Reilly and
sponsored by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Our goal is to create
an invaluable resource for information on the ever-changing state
of design and development of rich Internet applications (RIAs).
•InsideRIA brings some of the leading members of the RIA
community together, where you can engage with them in an
ongoing narrative about where RIA technology is headed.
®
Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
6. InsideRIA.com
About InsideRIA
•InsideRIA is an online community developed by O’Reilly and
sponsored by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Our goal is to create
an invaluable resource for information on the ever-changing state
of design and development of rich Internet applications (RIAs).
•InsideRIA brings some of the leading members of the RIA
community together, where you can engage with them in an
ongoing narrative about where RIA technology is headed.
•We hope InsideRIA will become your first-stop resource to stay
on top of news, events, opinions, and learning.
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Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
7. Panelists
InsideRIA Panelists
Andre Charland Andrew Trice RJ Owen
Adam Flater Sean Rich
Christmann Tretola
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8. Andrew Trice
Principal Architect Flex/AIR for Cynergy Systems
Technical lead for multiple enterprise-class Flex/AIR applications
Business Applications, Data Visualizations
Author
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9. RJ Owen
Senior Developer @ EffectiveUI
Adobe Community Expert
Lead developer on Discovery Earth Live
Blah blah etc. Generally a nice guy.
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Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights
10. Adam Flater
Software Architect for Universal Mind
Has built solutions on the following technologies:
Java, Microsoft (various), HTML/JS, Flash, Flex
Today: Architects and implements robust Flex applications for enterprise
clients (many fortune 500/100)
Founder of the Merapi Project: Connects Java and Flex at the desktop
to enable support for devices and other processes in Flex applications
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11. Sean Christmann
Experience Architect for EffectiveUI
7-8 years working with Flash format
Worked on games, portals, desktop applications, media players
Helped build community driven libraries for Flash
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12. Business Apps in
Ajax, Flash and
AIR
Andre Charland
November 19, 2008
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13. Ajax and Flash: Friends or Foes?
Flash / Flex Ajax
Strengths: Strengths:
Development tools Penetration and acceptance
Performance Libraries and frameworks
Rich media Sometimes immersive
One run time!
Weaknesses: Weaknesses:
Small knowledge base Many runtimes
Controlled by one vendor Lack of tools
Plugin adoption Media support
Performance
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14. Ajax and Flash: Friends or Foes?
Opportunities:
Using Flash and Ajax together
Flash in Ajax: Upload, Offline, Charing, Video, Audio
Flex > Ajax > Vanilla HTML: Graceful Failure
Convergence of runtimes
Threats
Becoming a one trick pony
Compatibility across mobile platforms (iPhone)
Difference of skill sets
Different dev tools
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15. AIR: Where the
desktop and the
web converge
Andrew Trice
November 19, 2008
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16. AIR: Where the desktop and web converge
Strengths:
Emerging web platforms
Companion applications to web applications
Cross platform
Web + Desktop with a single skill set
Web + Desktop with a single code base
Weaknesses:
No access to native code
No native access to hardware
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17. AIR: Where the desktop and web converge
Opportunities:
Anywhere you have a web application, you have an opportunity for a desktop
companion
API Development – one API for web/desktop applications
Great looking desktop applications that are easy to build
Threats:
Everybody wants in on the action: Microsoft, JavaFx
Perception: Flash is not just for the web
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18. Breaking the
browser on
devices
RJ Owen
November 19, 2008
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19. Mobile Devices
Strengths:
Portability
New interfaces and gestures (Immersion)
Awareness
Weaknesses:
Too many platforms
Disorganized data
Duplication of functionality
Reliability
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20. Mobile Devices
Opportunities:
New users
Flexibility
Markets for developers
New tools
Threats
Security
Too accessible
Choosing the wrong technology
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21. The User
Experience of
RIAs
Adam Flater
November 19, 2008
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22. The User Experience of RIAs
Strengths:
Many RIAs are improved by adopting development methodologies centered around
UX
Brings the users closer… better UX means better adoption
The Flash platform is an excellent choice to deploy these solutions
Many clients / users are seeing the ROI of UX
Weaknesses:
Defining and executing a great UX is difficult
As a methodology UX is very new - a lot of work to be done
UX Talent is in high demand (weakness for clients)
Only recently have technology platforms been available that allow good UX
development
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23. The User Experience of RIAs
Opportunities:
The space is being defined… great opportunity to be a part of that
Technology platforms are improving
Clients are investing in UX
Cross-channel / device UX
Threats
UX gone wrong… poor execution could develop a negative image
The tools for building UX need to be improved to make significant progress
The value of UX could be lost if the cost is too high
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24. Outlook on the
RIA space
Sean Christmann
November 19, 2008
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25. Outlook on the RIA space
Strengths:
Slowly replacing more desktop apps. Quake Live coming online soon.
3D infrastructure is maturing.
Flash and Flex are remaining ahead of the curve.
People are more receptive to interactive web apps, understand how to navigate them.
Weaknesses:
Coding platforms and frameworks growing at a rapid pace.
Become a jack of all trades, or a master of few?
Can accessibility keep up?
10% of users still on dial-up as of July 2008
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26. Outlook on the RIA space
Opportunities:
Data Visualization needs are skyrocketing. We're creating data at a high rate.
Invest in design to open up your client roster.
Familiarize yourself with different transport vehicles, AMF, JSON, SOAP, etc.
Keep your eye on where javascript is going. Clients may start requesting it.
Threats
The web keeps getting “free”-er. Can you monetize your RIA or is it just for
marketing?
Could a large company like Google make portions of our work obsolete, like
their enw charting api?
Popularity of RIA space will cause client rates to drop once pool is saturated.
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Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights
27. Panelists
Q&A
•Steve Weiss (steve@oreilly.com)
•Andre Charland (andre@nitobi.com)
•Andrew Trice (triceam@gmail.com)
•RJ Owen (rj.owen@effectiveui.com)
•Adam Flater (adamflater@gmail.com)
•Sean Christmann (sean.christmann@effectiveui.com)
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28. insideRIA.com
adobedeveloperlibrary.com
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