Adobe has created a new development platform for developers called Adobe Air that allows you to use small applications independent of your web browser.

So why is this important or useful for the everyday computer user?

Well, when you take an app, say Facebook, and run it from Adobe Air, it is totally independent of the chosen web browser. If Facebook crashes or if another tab on the web browser crashes, you don't have to restart everything.

I discovered Adobe Air when I went to a local DFW Adobe User Group meeting. They kept talking about Air this and Air that, so finally I asked what in the world Adobe Air was.

The explanation I got was that Adobe Air was the ability to take applications on a trip of their own and let them do things by themselves. This sounded kinda cryptic to me, so they said to just go to the Adobe site and check it out for myself.

So when I got home I did and discovered I had already installed Adobe Air when I had installed an app I tried out for Twitter called Twhirl, that lets you run Twitter in its' own little window and that would let you do a lot more with Twitter than you could through the web browser with the app.

On a Mac, how is it different from using an app in Dashboard?

The important things here are that the apps can run on different types of computers, unlike Dashboard apps. So, if by chance you use a PC at work and a Mac at home, the Adobe Air app would be the same on both machines - platform independent.

So how do I use Adobe Air apps in a real world situation?

First off, it is not the best solution for every task. Some tasks are still better off done in a web browser, like using Gmail. I spent a bit of time going through the available (tons) apps and paring the ones I use down to just 23 apps. Of those, I only use a few on a regular basis.

I use Adobe Air apps for things like using a stopwatch to time certain client events like a client phone call. It's a real small quick app that does just that, but does it well. Some other apps I use on a regular basis...

Facedesk (for Facebook)
Flickr Desktop Search
clDesktop (Craigslist)
Analytics Reporting Suite (Google Analytics - very slick interface)
Snippage (Allows you to make your own apps from the web browser)
RoadFinder (Does both Google Maps and Yahoo Maps at once)
Pixus (Measures screen pixels - great for Web Designers)
HTML Scout (Has all sorts of Web Design helper stuff to inspect pages)
Scoop (RSS reader that can sync with Google Reader - just installed and testing)

All of these apps can be found by going to the Adobe Air Marketplace and searching for your next favorite application. Did I mention that all this is FREE!

Anyone wanna share information on what their favorite Air apps are?

[The Emily Morgan Hotel right next to the Alamo]

Well, my intentions to get a lot of work done was there, however the WiFi was not.

Let's just call this test #2 of working freelance remotely.

I just spent 3 days in San Antonio, TX with my wife for a work conference she was attending. I was going to get a lot of freelance web design work done from the hotel during the 3 days while she was off learning about new things going on with cities and municipalities at the Texas Municipal League Conference.

Enter crappy WiFi service at the Emily Morgan 4 star hotel we were at. The suite we had was big and beautiful with the Alamo just across the street. If only I had been able to get some work done!

From 1-2 bars out of 4 bars to 0 bars (most of the time the service was just not even there) it was very frustrating.

The first day I was only able to get about 15 minutes of actual work done. The hotel staff were total ding-dongs...useless at helping. I called the company that provided the WiFi service (they were in Georgia) and they got it back for 10 minutes for it only to drop off again.

They tried to tell me that someone in the hotel was using all the bandwidth and that was the reason for my lack of a good signal. Hah! Call that the answer they give customers as a stock answer. I had no signal at all, not a weak one.

The second day I just grabbed my trusty Apple Powerbook laptop and walked along the river until I found a very nice little spot in another hotel on the riverwalk that had free WiFi, a nice quiet table with plug and even a coffee/tea/soda station right next to me. I spent the afternoon here and was very happy and actually got work done.

We will stay at that hotel next time in San Antonio.

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This is my 1st real test of working freelance remotely (on a trip out of town) with just my Apple Powerbook G4 laptop and a wifi connection.

I am in College Station, TX with my wife, a co-worker of hers and my brother-in-law. They all came for a continuing education 2 day workshop for engineers. I came along just cuz I could and wanted to keep ruthie company. We like to travel together.

Now I have worked remotely before from a hotel room in San Antonio, TX while Ruthie was at a conference there, but I was working full time as an employee of Hitchfinder.com and I pretty much had to be connected to the office so they would see I was actually "on the clock".

This time I am working for myself, so it will be interesting to see how I fare at self control in keeping myself "on target" in getting some actual work done here on this trip.

I will finish this post tomorrow night and fill you in on how I did over the course of the day.

...

Well, I was pretty productive. I finished a comp of a 10-page site for a client for his massage business. It is a re-do of an old site.

I did also play a bit though. I dropped Ruthie and crew back off after lunch at Fatburger (big juicy 2/3 burger) and went to 3 pawn shops looking for items to sell on eBay, but did not find anything.

So I am declaring the day a success.

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