"A nice piece in Time Magazine (online today, in hard copy next issue) discusses new applications and products for e-reading, and the future of publishing. The writer references the concept of an “appgazine” — magazines acting “more like computer programs than Web or printed pages.” He interviewed Kevin L who demonstrated the International Herald Tribune Reader and (RED)WIRE applications.
"I saw my first real appgazine one day in downtown San Francisco, at Adobe, a company whose software dominates the production side of the publishing industry. Chief technology officer Kevin Lynch held in his hands a mobile Internet device made by a Chinese company called Aigo. This model, already on the market in Asia, has an easily readable touchscreen. But more interesting than how it looked was the software it was running — Adobe AIR."
At the next level down, there are two SOA Reference Models currently being worked on in standards consortia. There are also many others that have been completed. It was always envisioned by the OASIS SOA RM Technical Committee that there would be numerous Reference Architectures based upon the Reference Model. A Reference Architecture is a generic blueprint for a class of items that may be further specialized to meet a specific set of requirements. The Open Group and OASIS both are working on standards based SOA Reference Models and having noted such, are already looking at ways to harmonize and work together (I will be at the Open Group meeting with my (very smart) OG friends Heather Kreger and Chris Harding to discuss this in San Diego in one week's time). In the meantime, Adobe (and a ton of other vendors), the US Justice Department, the European Broadcasting Union and a number of other groups have harmonized around the Reference Model. Its purpose has been to provide a common point of reference about what SOA is, noting the elements that are common in all SOA. If you were to make such a RM for a "House", at this level of abstraction, you would include things like the foundation, the walls, the doors, the roof etc, and define each one, its purpose, and how it interfaces or works with other components or entities. This does not prevent people from designing specific houses to add in other elements (like skylights, tunnels, fireplaces etc.), but merely gives the industry a point of reference. 
Could it be a clandestine clue of a secret payoff? What do you think? Or maybe the development shop is paying Microsoft to use Silverlight?LEED, for those of you who do not know it, is a set of standards for building to certain codes for environmental benefit. LEED was established by the United States Green Building Council. There are various levels (Platinum, Gold etc). While the council was set up to help the environment, it itself had a footprint. Adobe helped reduce that footprint as Tom found out--the LEED certification process has been streamlined using Adobe software.
From the whitepaper:
Traditionally, applying for LEED certification has been time-consuming and paper-intensive. For example, a manager seeking certification for a new or existing structure would have to complete a complex spreadsheet with up to 69 tabs and submit thousands of pages of supporting documentation for various building components, such as heating systems, landscaping, and interior finishes. After receiving an application, USGBC copied the materials to share across a review team made up of staff and third-party experts. The entire process—from the initial submittal of materials to achieving LEED certification—could take years.
Because of the perceived difficulty in achieving certification, many organizations did not apply. To address the problem and streamline its internal operations, USGBC adopted Adobe LiveCycle server software….
Ultimately, USGBC used Adobe LiveCycle software to create and deploy more than 400 two-page intelligent Adobe PDF forms that building-project teams can download from USGBC’s website….
After applicants have completed the Adobe PDF forms, they can attach supporting documentation—such as landscaping plans, details about construction materials and interior finishes, and other information—to the application as Adobe PDF files or in native file formats from programs such as AutoCAD®, Pro/E, and Microsoft Office. All the materials are uploaded to USGBC’s online workspace, LEED Online….
Because USGBC linked the submitted Adobe PDF forms with SAP, data is automatically captured in SAP as application forms are received, eliminating the need for USGBC staff to manually key application data into back-end systems. The enhanced process helps reduce costs and improve the accuracy of data, and it also makes it easier for USGBC to track and report green-building trends….
Chris Smith, USGBC’s Chief Operating Officer said:
We estimate that the automated workflows supported by Adobe solutions will accelerate the process of submitting LEED application forms by as much as 50%.
while, Joseph Diianni, director of technology for USGBC said:
Best of all, we believe the new solution will encourage even more organizations to seek LEED certification.
Tom summed it up nicely:
So Adobe not only is the world’s first commercial enterprise to achieve a total of three Platinum certifications under the LEED program, but its software now makes it easier for others to be certified too!
This is a hands on lab where students will learn how to use Adobe's open source Flex and AIR compilers to build interactive Flash-based maps. The lab will include a brief intro to Flex and AIR followed by mostly spending time coding. No prior experience is necessary and all skill levels are encouraged to attend.
Where often begins with the notion of a location. Service Oriented Architecture allows mashup clients to use location-based services for building rich, interactive media clients. This session will focus on a hands on approach where attendees will build 6 map-based projects in a largely (85%) hands on learning environment using Adobe Flex and AIR.
The session materials will be available prior to the class to download and examine and attendees can use their own computers.
Rather than think up my own words, I'll reprint part of the press from O'Reilly here:The barriers to building location-based online and enterprise apps have been lowered, and the field is crowding with players. Now that consumers—from the home seeker to the environmental scientist—have access to incredible amounts of data and the tools to visualize it, what's considered cutting edge? Where is the next mapping frontier? Is it data collection and visualization? Innerspace? Who are the hackers and early adopters backing? How will big companies jumping in change the rules in mid-game? Is there still a first mover advantage? And again, where is the money?"
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