14/08: Place your brand on someone’s desktop with Adobe Air
Ni hao from Beijing! I’ve been pretty much parked at the Water Cube all week as a guest of Deborah Phelps, longtime friend and mother of the superstar swimmer Michael Phelps. Deborah and I met ten years ago when I was in Baltimore during the Dot Com days of the late nineties.
During those days, I spent a great deal of time helping internet start-ups that my friend had invested in. Looking back, many of the ideas had merit, but were simply ahead of their time.
These start-ups required a great deal of time and energy. To relax I turned to swimming at a nearby swim club called the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Little did I know that the star of that club would turn out to be the World wide star, Michael Phelps. I found myself coming to as many meets as possible to see him swim, and even followed him as much as possible when my work allowed. We got to know Deborah well from sitting in the stands, and I simply couldn't resist her invite to Beijing.
Looking back on those days in Baltimore reminds me of the goals of many firms that I was asked to review. Many had a goal to stay on the user’s desktop, screen saver or home page. Some required a complicated install, which was often a deal killer to reaching the mass market.
While I was hanging out in between heats at the Cube, I was reviewing a project that was almost complete for a major retailer. The solution created a rich desktop application that integrated video, great animations and was being updated via the web. This may not sound special, but I was able to download it and use it fully while disconnected from the web. When the application got a connection to the internet, it was able to update prices, images, news, etc. When it wasn’t connected, it still worked perfectly.
Adobe Air also allows us to break out of the browser to reach customers with a more dynamic experience than going through the browser. Many of limitations due to bandwidth concerns, browser standards and even fonts disappear with Adobe Air.
Enough about Air, back to the Water! Way to go Michael!
During those days, I spent a great deal of time helping internet start-ups that my friend had invested in. Looking back, many of the ideas had merit, but were simply ahead of their time.
These start-ups required a great deal of time and energy. To relax I turned to swimming at a nearby swim club called the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Little did I know that the star of that club would turn out to be the World wide star, Michael Phelps. I found myself coming to as many meets as possible to see him swim, and even followed him as much as possible when my work allowed. We got to know Deborah well from sitting in the stands, and I simply couldn't resist her invite to Beijing.
Looking back on those days in Baltimore reminds me of the goals of many firms that I was asked to review. Many had a goal to stay on the user’s desktop, screen saver or home page. Some required a complicated install, which was often a deal killer to reaching the mass market.
While I was hanging out in between heats at the Cube, I was reviewing a project that was almost complete for a major retailer. The solution created a rich desktop application that integrated video, great animations and was being updated via the web. This may not sound special, but I was able to download it and use it fully while disconnected from the web. When the application got a connection to the internet, it was able to update prices, images, news, etc. When it wasn’t connected, it still worked perfectly.
Adobe Air also allows us to break out of the browser to reach customers with a more dynamic experience than going through the browser. Many of limitations due to bandwidth concerns, browser standards and even fonts disappear with Adobe Air.
Enough about Air, back to the Water! Way to go Michael!
