I just read a great article about Rich Internet Application Development tools on FlashAnt. As a mid-level programmer, I’m still finding out what into the world of Rich Internet Applications (RIA). Almost all of Macromedia’s stuff is geared in that direction, and I think that it’s the future of the web.

I also think that Macromedia really has a step up in the RIA world because of the widespread usage of Flash. They’ve been able to turn this into a great thing for developers (build in Flash, anyone can see it!) and also for users (get a Flash enabled phone so you can have the best of the web in your phone!). With the release of Flash Video, it’s just one step further.

Being able to easily build applications that take advantage of this ubiquity is something that as a young developer, I think is invaluable. Flex does an amazing job of this. Some of the things you can do in Flex are really, really, cool, and are viewable by anyone that has Flash Player 7.

As broadband gets more and more prevalant, people are going to want high quality RIA that look good on their computers, their phones and (down the line), cars and possibly even home theater systems. Microsoft has already talked about the opportunities of subscription based software, and in the future, I see no reason why most of the functions of an operating system couldn’t be supplanted by RIAs running on a central server. Macromedia has the infrastructre in place that will allow developers to take advantage of the power of RIA so that the experience for the user is one that keeps them coming back.

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