Adobe has taken what it deems as the Next Big Step. With the official release today of Flex 3 and Adobe AIR, developers will be able to begin a process of what many see as the decline of the Web browser, as we know it. These days, people want to be able to access and use their data no matter where they are — be it at their desk, on a laptop, or while on the road on their mobile device. With hosted services and data that lives on the internet, that’s certainly possible. But Web browser support (the main way of accessing the internet) is iffy at best on many devices. And even where such access is possible, the experience itself isn’t consistent.Adobe is hoping that AIR changes all that, by allowing developers to access the internet through their applications directly. Think of it as accessing all the data the internet provides, but without the Web browser. And the Flex 3 framework gives developers the ability to assure a consistent experience across multiple platforms. The beauty of all of this is that the result for end users will be that very little change will be evident — you’ll still use the same desktop applications you always have. The difference will be on how those very applications that live on the desktop can now access hosted services seamlessly.The question is, there are several companies (including Google and Microsoft) who are vying for space in this arena as well. So AIR doesn’t sit alone in this regard. Will developers choose Adobe’s solution over those from other companies? While there’s no answer to that at this early point in the game, one thing is for sure: the desktop experience for end users will change for the better. And that will start happening really soon.