Web 2.0 is a great place with some really cool applications. But there are 5 companies out there that I’d love to see do something with AIR:
Yelp: One of my favorite services. Why do I want an AIR app from Yelp? A few reasons. One, I’m really bad at sitting down and remembering what I ate. I’d love to have a Yelp desktop application that would let me take notes about a specific restaurant as soon as I get home. Then when I have time the notes are on my hard drive and I can finish the review and send it up when I get a chance. I’d also like notifications. When I get a message, compliment or a review for one of my favorite restaurants it would be great to get a notification. Finally, I really want a .yelp file that I can email around or download. The .yelp file would contain all of the major info about the restaurant and would be associated with the AIR application and view it online or offline. Ideally it would be XML so you could even add info to it and do a kind of desktop mashup with other services.
Dopplr: The big one for Doppler? Alerts. The weekly emails are great (and I know I can increase the frequency) but having alerts would be awesome. I would also love to have a Dopplr desktop widget that would let me easily browse other people’s trips without having to go to the Dopplr site. A quick entry feature would also be very cool. Click on the Dopplr icon in the system tray (or dock) and be entering a new trip right away. Ideally, since Dopplr would have access to the file system, you could also sync it with different calendar applications or (because I like filetypes) a .dopplr File type that you could send to friends and they’d be able to use that file to add the same trip you have. The theme of the desktop application could even change color based on where you’re going just like the logo does.
NewsGator This would be the perfect AIR application. I’m now addicted to using NewsGator in the browser when I have to and using a combination of FeedDemon and NetNewsWire on the desktop. Why not combine those code bases? Why not enhance the experience of the browser client and make it look and feel like the desktop applications? You can use the file system or the SQLite database in AIR to store your feeds and synchronize them when you get online. You have the exact same UI and code base for Mac and Windows plus you get to take that code and create a similar and great looking web interface. News reading would never look so good or be so easy. Your feeds when and where you want them with a consistent user interface.
Facebook: Yup, what can I say, I try to be a power user and I want a desktop application for Facebook. This I want just for the experience. I want an Ajaxy or Flashy interface with cool transitions that makes doing tasks like managing messages or friend requests easier. I want to synchronize my contacts automatically with my email using the file system APIs. I want uploading photos and videos to be really easy. You can still display ads for me, that’s fine, but I want a robust interface that helps me use Facebook faster and more easily.
Desktop Tower Defense Okay, maybe this one seems silly, but think about it. You could use transparent windows and the power of Flash to play Desktop Tower Defense on your desktop. You could also take the game with you wherever you go so you can play it on the airplane or wherever you need to waste time without an internet connection. You could save your games or even record them so you can show them off to your friends later. Wasting time was never as easy as it could be with DTD on AIR
