Short Rant: Let The (Adobe) Air Crashing Begin!

Adobe announced today that they are releasing Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex 4.5 - that, according to Adobe, will allow developers to write Android, Blackberry Tablet and iOS applications using their proprietary ActionScript scripting language.

Of course Flex is free (and open source) - but there's always a catch. From Adobe's site:

While Flex applications can be built using only the free Flex SDK, Adobe® Flash® Builder™ software can accelerate development through features like intelligent code editing, step-through debugging, memory and performance profilers, and visual design.

So... if you want to use Flex to code a mobile application and if you want a code editor, a debugger, or if you want to use a GUI interface for it... and ummmm... actually USE it, you'll need Flash Builder 4.5 ($699).

Yippee! Now I can expose ALL my data, both desktop AND mobile to the super-secure Adobe Swiss cheese platform!

Ummmm.... yeah - and what happens when Adobe issues massive patchalooza (like they did last week) for all the 13 zero day flaws that were in there for who-knows-how-long? Will those exploits show up in the mobile version(s)?

Can you just patch Flash Builder... and then do you have to re-build all the executables on all platforms? Then re-release a new version in Apple App Store, Android Store, and RIM Store?

Perhaps a few good books on HTML5 and CSS would be a better investment.... I'm just sayin'...