Adobe, a while back, released a runtime they called Adobe AIR. AIR stands for Adobe Integrated Runtime, and essentially what it does is let you run specially designed web applications, right from your desktop.
AIR has a couple of advantages: applications can be used offline, and then synchronized back to the Web when you go back online. Also, there’s no clutter of running lots of browsers or tabs- it’s all self-contained.
That said, I’ve really never found a use for them. I’ve tried a bunch, liked some more than others, but never found one that actually became worth my time to open. Sure, it’s cool that I can make an Ebay listing offline. But if I’m always online, who cares? I’ve never gotten it. (Note: Please prove me wrong. I beg you. I really want to like AIR, I just can’t get it.)
There’s always an exception to the rule, however, and AIR’s exception is Feedalizr. Feedalizr‘s been around a while, and was actually the first Friendfeed app for AIR. For a while, though, it had issues with CPU usage, among other things. Recently, though, it’s been much improved, and
Feedalizr is exactly the application I’ve been looking for for my social-networking kicks. The application allows you to browse and update six popular social networks- Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, Flickr, Jaiku and videovideo. I’ve never heard of videovideo, but if you want it, it’s there.
Once you download the app, you’ll be prompted to set up all your various accounts. Most are easy, but Facebook can be a bit more difficult. Thankfully, the Feedalizr blog has easy instructions for setting it up.
All set up and ready to go, the app works really nicely. Switching from app to app, you can do everything from upload pictures to Flickr to changing your Facebook status to tweeting about how(*%#& cool Feedalizr is.
My favorite part, though, is the feed down at the bottom. You can sort the list by application, or just see the mass feed of everything coming from your friends in all your various networks. Also, whenever a new update is added, there’s a small popup on your desktop alerting you of what’s going on. It’s a nice touch, but one you’re going to want to turn off if you’re a friend addict.
Feedalizr isn’t a perfect app- it certainly has bugs, and has crashed on me more than once. It’s also a bit of a memory hog, taking up to 60MB of RAM at full speed. All in all, though, it’s a great application- it’s also the only AIR application I can say that about.
Do you use Adobe AIR? Which apps? What about social network apps? Talk to us in the comments.