Yes, ladies and gentleman, on September 15, Adobe announced the first beta release of Adobe AIR for Linux, a new technology that allows Adobe AIR applications to be deployed on computers and devices powered by the Linux operating system. "Thank you for your interest in downloading the Adobe AIR for Linux public beta. Our main goal for this release is to ensure that applications running on Linux run consistently with Mac and Windows and to improve overall quality of the product."

Highlights of Adobe AIR Beta:

· Install/Uninstall/Update AIR applications;
· AIR applications can be launched at startup;
· HTML loader with JavaScript support was added, therefore HTML can be rendered within AIR applications;
· Local database Application Programming Interfaces;
· Filesystem that supports user folders such as Documents or Desktop;
· Transparency;
· Mouse events;
· Networking;
· Printing support;
· Support for IME;
· SWF and PDF can be within HTML code;
· Fullscreen support;
· Localization support;
· Local store can be encrypted;
· Store certification.
· NativeApplication Application Programming Interfaces;
· Capabilities (OS) Application Programming Interface;
· Drag & drop and clipboard support was added;
· Windowing support;
· Menu support with menu bar, context menu, menu events and pop-up menus;
· System idle detection support;
· Can detect network changes;
· Can detect running programs;
· Registration of file types;
· System tray area icon support;
· Hardware acceleration;
· Menu keyboard accelerators;
· Multi monitor support;
· Webcam (V4L2) support.

Installation instructions:

WARNING: If you have the first version (alpha) of Abode AIR on your system, please UNINSTALL it first!

If you are on an Ubuntu 8.04 machine, you can download Adobe AIR from here, and save it on your desktop. Open a terminal (Application -> Accessories -> Terminal) and paste the following commands, one by one:

cd Desktop
chmod +x adobeair_linux_b1_091508.bin
./adobeair_linux_b1_091508.bin

You should see the following window...



Click the “I Agree” button, enter your password, and Adobe AIR Beta will be installed...



When it's done, close the installer's window by clicking the “Finish” button...



You can find Adobe AIR Application Installer and Uninstaller entries in the menu, under Applications -> Accessories...



Install Adobe AIR applications right now from Softpedia Linux's Adobe AIR Category. Enjoy!