AIR client for DZone: Should we have a contest?

[rick]

Adobe AIR is a major technology that will have huge impact on the RIA world. I wonder if it would be fun to have a contest for the best AIR client for DZone?

We could certainly line up a great set of prizes, and we could provide a showcase for the various submissions.

Maybe this is the perfect situation to give away a MacBook Air for programming Adobe AIR? What do you you guys think?

[sarbogast]

Originally Posted by rick

Adobe AIR is a major technology that will have huge impact on the RIA world. I wonder if it would be fun to have a contest for the best AIR client for DZone?

We could certainly line up a great set of prizes, and we could provide a showcase for the various submissions.

Maybe this is the perfect situation to give away a MacBook Air for programming Adobe AIR? What do you you guys think?

Not sure that DZone is the best use case for a desktop app. I mean, I really belive in the potential of RIA to replace a whole lot of operation-centric web apps. But for data-centric sites like DZone, I'm not convinced that there is really a need, other than just a technical demontration. Unless we're very very creative and think of a whole new way to do tech watch :P

[rick]

Originally Posted by sarbogast

Not sure that DZone is the best use case for a desktop app. I mean, I really belive in the potential of RIA to replace a whole lot of operation-centric web apps. But for data-centric sites like DZone, I'm not convinced that there is really a need, other than just a technical demontration. Unless we're very very creative and think of a whole new way to do tech watch :P

I am always more interested in the ACTIVE community members than the PASSIVE ones, who only consume data. If it is only to watch the data, then I can agree that an RSS reader will certainly suffice.

DZone is about community, however, and I feel we should be willing to go to great lengths to make the experience better for the active participants. Here's some of the kind of stuff I was thinking:

• Easy access to dynamic graphs of the activity of your own links, or links you want to watch
• Simplified voting
• Integrated private message management
• Alerts for links on your preferred keywords/tags
• Integrated Jabber functionality (for those who want it)
• Simplified image uploading and posting
• Integrated viewer for streaming media (a big part of 2008 for us)

Heck, I know I would use this if it was available!

Rick

[sarbogast]

Originally Posted by rick

I am always more interested in the ACTIVE community members than the PASSIVE ones, who only consume data. If it is only to watch the data, then I can agree that an RSS reader will certainly suffice.

DZone is about community, however, and I feel we should be willing to go to great lengths to make the experience better for the active participants. Here's some of the kind of stuff I was thinking:

• Easy access to dynamic graphs of the activity of your own links, or links you want to watch
• Simplified voting
• Integrated private message management
• Alerts for links on your preferred keywords/tags
• Integrated Jabber functionality (for those who want it)
• Simplified image uploading and posting
• Integrated viewer for streaming media (a big part of 2008 for us)

Heck, I know I would use this if it was available!

Rick

That's it! Let's be creative again! In the few tens of minutes since my answer, I had a few ideas.

Now the question is what do we have in terms of externalized API's on DZone?

[gbevin]

I personally don't see why it needs to be an AIR client? I totally see the benefit of an state of the art RIA application, but given the DZone site's purpose there is nothing that should warrant a native application. I would start out with a RIA client and fleshen that out as much as possible. Then, if there are features that are impossible without AIR, make the AIR client that uses everything from the RIA client and more.

[sarbogast]

I want an active desktop background with visual and dynamic bubbles showing me what's hot in which zones and allows me to read the news and vote for it, while I'm working, without ever having to alt+tab to my browser. I need something more visual, more background, a way to watch technology news like other people watch finance data on Bloomberg or traditional info on Euronews.

I mean, we're so accustomed to the limitations of the web that I think it's hard for us to think out of the box, and maybe taking things the other way around, starting with an empowering technology like that can help us free our minds!

[gbevin]

Why wouldn't that be possible by starting from a RIA. I for example don't want an active desktop at all, since I never look at my desktop, it's covered in windows. Looking at it takes the exact same kind of action as alt+tab (a key press). Imho, RIA allows us to think outside the box and benefit from all the good stuff that the web has given us (zero installation, ubiquitous access, standard protocols, OS independence, ...). Downloading software for a site like DZone should only be something you should do if there is a feature that is really not possible in RIA, and even then there should be a RIA version without that feature.

Example: Parleys v2 Login - Parleys.com - a Belgian Java User Group initiative

[sarbogast]

You're right. In the end, I guess I'm confusing RIA and AIR... RIA... AIR... oh look, it's reversed!
I'm already out...

[gdboling]

Adobe AIR is a major technology that will have huge impact on the RIA world.

Opinion Alert! Opinion Alert!

I think a contest is great. I don't think it should be limited to AIR.