Adobe has just hit a huge milestone today by releasing an Alpha version of their much anticipated Apollo software. This is something that I had been waiting to hear, but are you wondering what the heck Apollo is? Here is how Adobe explains it in their press release:
Apollo is the code name for a cross-operating system application runtime that allows web developers to leverage their existing skills in HTML, JavaScript and Ajax, as well as Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex software to build and deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) on the desktop. Apollo combines the reach of Internet technologies with the richness of desktop applications, working seamlessly across operating systems and outside the browser to deliver a more consistent and engaging user experience.
The press release even states that eBay is working to take advantage of Apollo to bring in a better experience for their users. It is kinda hard to explain how this could revolutionize the future of online websites, so why don’t I just show you in the eBay demo for Apollo where it is pretty apparent the benefits it will have:
Now I’m not exactly sure if you think that is as cool as I do, but this is going to change the way that we interact with online information. The other thing that is huge is that the software developed using Apollo is cross-platform…so it won’t matter what operating system your website visitors are using because they should all be able to take advantage of Apollo’s offerings.
A little over halfway through the video you should have seen what happens when these Apollo applications go offline. Despite being offline the user is still able to utilize certain features that would ordinarily be rendered inaccessible. It is exciting to think that developers will be able to start taking advantage of a technology that is cross-platform like this.
Right now there is just the Apollo Alpha developers kit, so it is still in the very early stages. However, I’m sure many people are going to start looking into how this works and how they can take advantage of it.
All I can say is…I want that eBay “application”!
Apollo Homepage (mostly for developers)
News Source: Information Week
We at Ucompass.com, Inc., (a LMS/CMS vendor) are using Apollo technology to make it easier for online students to do their work. The Educator Desktop is the first commercial e-Learning application to be built on top of Adobe’s innovative Apollo platform. Attaching files to assignments is often one of the more troublesome tasks for new online students since normally files have to be uploaded within the confines of the web browser. With the Educator Desktop, the online classroom interface and the student’s desktop computer are one in the same, enabling students to simply drag and drop desktop files to a target assignment. Click [ucompass.com] or to contact Ed Mansouri regarding the Educator Desktop Apollo app and other Apollo-based initiatives.