5 Adobe AIR Apps I Can’t Live Without
September 20, 2009 by Bobby Travis 
10 Comments
Adobe AIR is a lightweight, multi-OS (Windows, Mac, Linux) platform for running rich internet applications (RIAs) on your desktop. While some have used it to simply recreate their webpage outside of the browser, most AIR apps are unique applications in their own right, often bringing new functionality that is not present in their browser counterparts. Adobe AIR caught on quickly with developers, and while it is not as outwardly robust as Silverlight or JavaFX, it does what is needed to bring cloud computing one step closer to the mainstream. There are a multitude of Adobe AIR applications floating about the web now — some good, some… not so much, but more than enough are of the of the former classification to make it worth your time to click the download link and install it. To help you get started, or to increase your current AIR arsenal, I’ve compiled a quick list of the top five Adobe AIR applications I can’t live with out:
Image via Wikipedia
TweetDeck – A lot of people can’t live without this one. It tops the list of almost every Adobe AIR roundup I have seen. TweetDeck is a fantastically easy way to manage multiple twitter accounts, as well as Facebook and MySpace accounts. Create custom groups for a more organized experience, post to multiple accounts at once, shorten URLs right in the client, and more. TweetDeck is by far and away the most popular desktop twitter client. I highly recommend it.
A close second to TweetDeck is Seesmic Desktop. If TweetDeck doesn’t do it for you, this should be your next choice.
PixelWindow – This is perhaps one of the simplest AIR applications I have come across, but like many things, it is its simplicity that makes it so valuable. PixelWindow does one thing only: it measures stuff on your screen. It presents the user with an overlay box with ruler markings that can be dragged to whatever size that is needed. The box then reports the width and height — in pixels of course. You can set presets as well and close the window with a simple double-click. I use this app constantly!
Another useful app for measurement is Calipers. I used this exclusively before I found PixelWindow and still recommend it. It is an onscreen representation of adjustable calipers — and it, too, measures stuff. Very to the point, but not quite as functional for me as PixelWindow. What Calipers does have, that PixelWindow doesn’t is the ability to measure at angles. For this reason alone, Calipers remains in my arsenal – but now as a specialty item.
Klok – Klok is a fantastic tool for keeping track of billable hours on a project. It is remarkably easy to use and is quite powerful. Just add a project and start the timer. When you are ready, you can create custom reports to see where your time is going. Klok is free, something that is exceedingly rare for the features offered.
A more lightweight option that I have found useful (there are several time trackers out there for Adobe AIR) is TimeLoc. It doesn’t seem to have all of the features of Klok, but it is a bit more straight ahead in its use. A further option is Ora Time and Expense.
Shrink O’Matic – This is a great app for batch resizing of JPEGs, GIFs and PNGs. Just drop an image on the Shrink O’Matic app, and it will be instantly resized as a copy that is placed in the same directory as the original. For dealing with images, it doesn’t get any easier than this.
Another option for image resizing is JustResizeIt. It offers multiple resize widgets that are available at one time and are completely editable. The interface is smaller, and so takes up less screen space, but is not as obvious or easy as Shrink’ O’Matic.
Doomi – Ok, so the name is something to chuckle at (at best) — and the url, no better — but Doomi is a highly useful and extremely simple – and pretty – to do list app. Nothing special about it. It doesn’t sync with anything and it doesn’t cook you dinner — but it does its job in an easy to use and unobtrusive way. For a syncing app, I’d recommend RTM Notifier. It syncs with your Remember The Milk account, but is still in Beta, so use with caution. There are also Remember the Task and Google Tasks AIR apps by Jash.
There are so many Adobe AIR apps out now that it is impossible to create a truly comprehensive list without writing a novel. Some good resources for apps though, if you are of a mind to search, are the Adobe AIR Marketplace, WindyApps, Refreshing Apps, and this article by Web Designer Depot.
Do you use Adobe AIR? If so, what are your must have apps?
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I've tried the two Twitter apps you mention, but other than that I don't think I've used any AIR apps. The two Twitter apps felt . . . odd. I don't know if it was sluggishness, but they just felt really different than a normal app. Windows sizes and all that seemed different.
Interesting… I have no problems with them at all. They are both quite responsive and work incredibly well for my needs — and they are both extremely popular with the twitterverse.
There are a few others out there that may give you a more straight ahead feel though. Have you tried Twhirl? It incorporates twitter, friendfeed, identi.ca and such and is probably more…. iphone-like?… in its feel.
http://www.twhirl.org/
I don’t think I have tried Twirl. I may have to give it a . . . whirl (ouch). The funny thing is, I still mostly use the web page, plus my iPhone.
I almost never use the actual webpage for Twitter — the functionality is actually too limited… O.o
Thanks for the mentioning rtm notifier
Although rtm notifier is still in beta I’ve been using it for months without issues, granted I might not be the most unbiased of sources as I built it :)
I think overall beta products aren’t something to be too worried about, after all rememberthemilk itself is still in beta and has been in beta for years
A fair assessment, Tony — and thank you for creating a kick ass application! So far, I haven’t had any trouble with it either. :D
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment!
I really agree with you that TweetDeck is one of the best of Adobe Air applications.
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The ‘Calipers’ software mentioned in this article is a blatant rip-off of our own Screen Calipers software. The user interface and the functionality has been poorly copied by a publisher who has not identified us as the originator of the idea and has proceeded to create this software without our permission.
I strongly urge everyone to support the hard work that went into the idea of the Screen Calipers by not downloading this application but instead using the original here:
http://iconico.com/caliper/
Our software is priced at $29.50, and without it there never would have been this poor imitation.
I also urge 40Tech to remove this link to the AIR Calipers and not support this breach of our copyright.
TweetDeck is a best Adobe AIR application…
Thanks for sharing…