Fluid kicks the crap out of Adobe AIR

Filed Under (Internet, Software) by David Chartier on 13-06-2008

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Desktop Clients via Fluid from Todd Ditchendorf on Vimeo.

Seriously, with a utility as awesome as Fluid, I can’t fathom a single reason to bother with the craptastic, sandboxed nature of Adobe AIR. Site designers can simply build their generic mobile site—and an iPhone-specific version if they want—and just offer a Fluid SSB (Site Specific Browser) or add some bonuses like a larger icon for a utility like Fluid.

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    Curious as to what you mean by the "sandboxed nature" of AIR? (Full disclosure: I work on AIR.)
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    AIR, in my mind, is basically an application wrapper for HTML, CSS, and any of the other web-based technologies it supports (javascript? Flash?). AIR apps don't seem to offer any of the useful OS integration that a WebKit alternative like Fluid.app or native software does. I can't use my password/identity manager (or even a 3rd party tie-in like 1Password) with AIR apps. Heck, basic OS X text controls like option-arrow don't even work in AIR apps. I can't send information to AIR apps from other apps and I can't seem to drag images out to an iChat window for sharing, or even to the Desktop for saving.

    I totally get the cross-platform and easy development advantages that Adobe platforms like AIR and Flash present to developers, but I find that disadvantages like the ones I've listed (and others) far outweigh their benefits. AIR is *killer* from a developer perspective, but a step or two backwards in terms of usability and integration for users.
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    I think AIR offers more desktop integration than you give it credit for, although certainly not as much yet as an application written in other environments, like Obj-C on the Mac.

    For example, drag-and-drop is available, as is full filesystem access, and communication between not only AIR apps but also with content in the browser. Of course, as I'm sure you realize, it's up to each application to make use of these features. The fact that, say, drag-and-drop doesn't work for a given AIR application is really a statement about that application, not AIR.

    Integration with a password/identity manager is an interesting idea. That's the kind of thing we (Adobe) would like to find a way to support, but it isn't yet clear to us how (or even if) we can do that in a cross-platform manner. Over time, however, I think we'll find ways to make much of this work. Certainly it is our intention to add more integration along these lines.

    And as for option-arrow in text fields, that just sounds like a bug. I'll look into it.
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    First of all, sorry for taking so long to reply. I've been juggling a few problems with the site here for a while and honestly forgot all about it.

    Thanks for coming by though Oliver. I really appreciate an Adobe employee responding personally. And thanks for looking into the text control issue; OS X's text controls really are a joy to use and running into an app that doesn't use them feels like the digital equivalent of running into a brick wall.

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