The solution? Web Apps + Google Gears. Then it'll run on any OS, even iPhones -- and can be offline. You have the added ability of creating a "nice" UI that users will expect - if my mother was to open an Adobe Air, she'd be confused as hell. Its neither a web app, nor a native app.
Don't make web apps look like desktop apps
Always make desktop apps look like their native OS. If you can't do this, just make a freaking web app.
If you are a web developer and knows Javascript (and/or Flash), you can build great apps that works nicely on desktop with Adobe AIR. AIR doesn't force developers to build custom chrome for apps. By default AIR renders the app in OS's native chrome. But if a developer chooses to, he can go for custom chrome .Thats it.
AIR is a runtime (more like Java ) for running AIR apps. You needn't "open an Adobe Air" at any point. Just install the apps you really want and use it.
It allows for you to blur the line between of and online in a much more smooth way.
Not at all.
You are welcome to find alternatives and no google has nothing even close to this. No one really has when you look at it from a holistic point of view, which I would normally recommend.
It's not standard and it limits accessibility.
Flash is as standard as you can get and air is just an extension off that allowing you to do more stuff off line.
The web standards are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Flash is neither of those. The specification is not controlled by a governing body. It is controlled by one company.
Talking about Firefox plugins is straw man, has nothing to do with this conversation and I don't know any websites that require a Firefox plugin to work correctly. If they exist, I don't use them.
Just because it's not open does not mean that it's not a standard.
does anybody remember what things were like before the internet was widely available to everybody? personally, i used compuserve. they were able to charge hideous rates per minute, because they were a de facto monopoly.
allowing a company like adobe to control such a huge swath of the internet is a step backwards towards the compuserve days.