Partners in the Open Screen Project are working together to provide a consistent runtime environment for open web browsing and standalone applications — taking advantage of Adobe Flash Player and, in the future, Adobe AIR. This consistent runtime environment will remove barriers to publishing content and applications across desktops, mobile phones, televisions, and other consumer electronics.
Now, Adobe's AIR ain't open source, so I'm a bit sceptical of the "open" bit in the name of Open Screen Project, but AIR does, at least, run on GNU/Linux. I've been using the AIR-based TweetDeck on Ubuntu, and memory leaks aside, it just works.
The Open Screen Project has received a wad of dosh:
At the GSMA Mobile World Congress, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) today announced a $10 million Open Screen Project fund designed to help developers create applications and services for mobile, desktop and consumer electronics devices using the Adobe Flash® Platform. The new fund is a result of the Open Screen Project, an industry-wide initiative of more than 20 industry leaders set to enable a consistent experience for web browsing and standalone applications. Additional Open Screen Project partners are expected to join the fund in the future.
Apparently, AIR projects are also eligible, which is something.
Now, if they could just open source AIR, as they will probably have to if they want to see off the threat from Microsoft's Silverlight...
Adobe would be bloody stupid if they don't open-source Flash and AIR any time soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's exceptionally hard if not impossible to firmly establish a web standard with closed source technology.
Fortunately.
But I'm a bit dismayed at how companies' marketing divisions are hollowing out the term "open". Analyzing hard facts is the only way to overcome these sophists.
Agree with both your points.
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