I am a little ambivalent about this one – the Open Screen project. Adobe is leading this initiative along with other majors such as Nokia. Their dream is to unify and defragment our experiences with internet, devices and media by providing a “consistent runtime environment for open web browsing and standalone applications”.
The runtime enviroment is one thought-out combination of device (PC, mobile phone, kiosk etc.), operating system, browser and media (read Flash) capabilities that they hope will get users “richer, more interactive, and universal user experiences across devices”. Basically cross-platform both in terms of viewing experiences and interaction possibilities (interoperability) that the new Internet engenders.
Why am I ambivalent? A $10 mn fund for developers over 2 years should perhaps be reason enough to realize the commitment of these players to the strategy. Moreover, a brief look at the supporting partners must rank as the who is who of telecom, computing and software. Not only that I saw that Adobe has committed to making AIR and Flash player open.
The response on the Silverlight side is also very interesting. Perhaps that is the reason for the ambivalence I have. I am sure there is space enough for two (or more) technologies to operate in the same space. However, this debate and struggle may result in greater defragmentation and lesser interoperability than before.
More to come…
Viplav Baxi's Meanderings 