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March 12, 2008
"Platforms all the way down"
"Platforms all the way down": Link goes to TechCrunch, a story about "YouTube Platform" -- it's easier now to have the Google property host your videos, and there's enhanced metadata support. TechCrunch also has articles today on Animoto and Next New Networks. All three of these are built atop the Flash Video "platform", first shipping in 2002. A platform built atop a platform, atop varied OS platforms, atop varied chipset platforms... it's turtles all the way down. There are two other significant platforms which are now maturing... the fast application engine in Adobe Flash Player 9 entered consumer distribution in 2006, and we're now seeing an increased acceptance of application-in-the-browser work. Still has room to mature, though. The elephant in the room is Adobe AIR, which just started shipping in 1.0 version within the last month. It takes awhile for an enhanced ability to go mainstream, and to develop other "platforms" atop. This has clearly happened with video over the past six years. We're seeing signs of it happening with browser-neutral logic, now that we're two years in. And it's possible to watch the early nascent stages of a new platform form, with this year's AIR release. Keep an eye out for the first general enabling tools built atop the AIR publishing mechanism... if "YouTube Platform" is the headlines today, then something built atop AIR will be in the headlines soon.
Posted by JohnDowdell at March 12, 2008 02:34 PM
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Comments
I agree.
Posted by: Chris Charlton at March 12, 2008 04:47 PM