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Silverlight is more of a Flash competitor than an AIR competitor. Chrome + Gears is kind of AIR-like, but it's a different approach to the same goal. More like Mozilla Prism.

I think offline/desktop access (whichever way you get it done) is an important step for the adoption of rich Internet apps.

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I know it's bad to say this here, but I'm not really that eager to see rich Internet apps. It adds a layer of abstraction that doesn't need to be there, and I think development suffers when you're doing an Internet app rather than a desktop one.

I think the better solution is making desktop apps that emulate Internet apps. It's faster for the end user and it takes less effort for the developer. I think MobileMe is a perfect example of that. Make a powerful Internet app - but when you're not USING the Internet, just make sure it syncs with whatever app you're USING for your stuff.

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