Question: What do AOL, eBay, The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., The New York Times Company, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group’s Nick.com, Sharp Corporation and others have in common? The answer is that've all launched pioneering Rich Internet Applications deployed on Adobe AIR, to coincide with the official release today of AIR 1.0.

“RIAs have moved beyond the stage of early adoption. They are being deployed by organizations worldwide that have recognized and embraced this revolution in Web software,” said Kevin Lynch, newly promoted CTO at Adobe.

“The incredible momentum that we are already seeing with Adobe AIR demonstrates the real need for businesses to engage with customers in more effective ways, extending innovative RIAs as first class citizens on the desktop," Lynch added.

Here are three of the showcase examples cited today by Adobe, in summary form:

• NASDAQ Market Replay leverages Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR to deliver a RIA on the desktop that enables financial professionals to replay market activity in detail at any point in time, helping investors understand how their orders interacted with the market.
  
  
• The New York Times Company today launched ShifD, a new RIA that allows users to shift content between computers and mobile devices. ShifD works on — and between — the Web, mobile devices and through a downloadable AIR application, giving people an easier way to consume media on the go.
  
  
• Deutsche Bank is utilizing Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR to create a persistent, customer-facing RIA that alerts customers immediately of instruction status and account activity inclusive of balances. Deutsche Bank’s db-direct internet service provides an intuitive and effective online solution for corporate clients and financial institutions to handle their cash management needs.