"Everyone is talking about Apollo, the platform from Adobe that puts rich web apps on the desktop. But the tech-talk means very little to the average user who simply wants to see some cool stuff. Luckily, there are developers out there working diligently on producing Apollo applications, some of which are already fully usable. To try them out, you first need to download and install the Apollo runtime, which can be downloaded from the official Apollo site."

Check them out: http://mashable.com/2007/05/07/apollo-apps/

Adobe announced today the Adobe® Media Player™ at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show. This desktop application expands Adobe's Internet video solutions, adding to an emerging ecosystem that enables new ways to distribute and monetize media, while helping viewers discover and view high-quality content both online and offline. Leveraging Adobe's Emmy® Award winning Flash® architecture, the Adobe Media Player delivers more engaging video experiences to viewers while offering content publishers new abilities to distribute, track and build businesses around their media assets.

More: http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200704/041607AMP.html

For those that attended MAX last year in Vegas, this is almost a duplicate of that presentation from the DEMO 07 conference. The video has Mike Downey in it and features the eBay Apollo application.

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I know many people have been thinking about what they will do when they get the ability to make Apollo apps, but what do you think will be the first app you build? What benifit do you think it will be to your users?

Personally I think that the apps that we saw at MAX, especially the ebay one, are a big step in the right direction. I can't wait to get my hands on it personally. I have been playing with Flex builder 2 so far and I am very impressed with the speed you can produce a very nice application. My trial will be up on that before long, so I guess I will not be playing with that until I can save up the funds. What would be really a push for independent developers is that if the Flex Builder 2 app only cost $100-$150... But I guess I am just dreaming there. :)