Disruptive Technology: Keep an eye on Linux plus Air, et. Al.

I attended the Adobe Engage conference this week in San Francisco and got a good look at the latest from Adobe. In his opening remarks the CEO of Adobe Shantanu Narayen described broad tends in the software industry that I agree with completely. First, in the Internet connected world web applications that leverage user created content are ruling the day. Call it Web 2.0 or whatever you like, but the value of applications these days are in their connectivity to other users and not their isolation on a desktop. Second, is the explosion of devices and new forms of accessing the Internet. Phones, mobile Internet devices, connected appliances, and more are defining a new computing experience. Third is the evolution of software business models from that of winner takes all and high margins from proprietary licensing to software as a service and advertising supported applications. Finally is the advent of rich content over the net with an increase in demand for video, audio, and rich user interfaces both for consumers and in the enterprise.