More info on Rob Rusher’s Flex blog and at Adobe Open Source Site.

SCENE: RIA Arena, night. The seats surrounding the ring are filled with thousands of raucous fans. In the ring are a REFEREE and the two CONTENDERS, ADOBE FLEX and MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT.

Referee: In this corner: the undisputed heavyweight champion of the application programming world – Adobe Flex!

(Cheers and applause from spectators)

Referee (cont’d): And in the far corner, the challenger – Microsoft Silverlight!

(Boos and catcalls from spectators)

Focus turns to the broadcast booth, where sportscasters BUTCH BARDSDALE and SPIKE SPAVINS are seated before old-time stainless steel microphones.

Spike: Good evenin’, ladies and joyms, from Rich Internet Application Arena. I’m Spike Spavins -

Butch: And I’m Butch Bardsdale.

Spike: Tonight, we’re bringin’ you live – da match of da century – Adobe Flex vesus Microsoft Silverlight!

Butch: Well, Spike – dis should turn out to be a battle royale.

Spike: Yes it should, Butch. And we are predictin’ a serious grudge match, here. Adobe Flex has a lot of fans here tonight – an’  Microsoft Silverlight is nuttin’ more den an upstart punk new-comer -

Butch: Da one ting Microsoft gots behind him is a lotta bucks and marketing power.

Spike: Dat’s true, Butch – da guy what owns Silverlight is a heavy hitter, and he’s got muscle.

Butch: There’s a lot of folks who say that Silverlight’s owner ‘s been throwing his weight around too much and fer too long.

Spike: Mebbe so, Butch – but Adobe’s got age and experience. Dis may turn out to be a contest of brains over brawn.

In the ring, a scantily-clad brunette smiles broadly, strutting across the area holding up a sign upon which is written, “ROUND 1.”

The bell rings and the two contenders come out swinging.

Butch: And so it begins – Adobe gettin’ in some good punches dere wit’ its Flash-based platform.

Spike: Dat’s one ting Microsoft Silverlight can’t compete with -

Suddenly, ADOBE FLEX gets in a roundhouse punch square in the face of MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT, causing the latter to stagger backwards.

Spike (cont’d): Ooh – dat’s gotta hoit.

Butch: But look – Silverlight’s comin’ back at ‘im wit’ cross-platform compatibility!

In the ring,  MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT throws windmill punches using both Windows and MacOS. However,  ADOBE FLEX has his guard up and sneaks in an extra punch with Linux – right in SILVERLIGHT’S eye.

Spike: Did you see dat?!?

Butch: Indeed I did, Spike. Silverlight may have dat double Windows-Mac whammy, but Adobe was dere foist – and gots da Linux punch as well.

Spike: Silverlight’s trying to get in some punches wit’ da Java hook – but Adobe sees it comin and gets in anudder hit to da left wit’ its separate an’ secure Flash plug-in tucked away in ‘is Sandbox environment!

SILVERLIGHT continues to lash out at ADOBE, to no avail.

Butch: Wit’ ‘is fancy footwork – t’anks to da fact that he kin go anywhere – Adobe is keepin’ Silverlight at arms’ length -

Spike: Looks like Silverlight’s startin’ ta wear out like a cheap pair o’ shoes. He can’t even git close ta Adobe!

Butch: But what’s goin’ on? Silverlight’s getting’ a second wind -

Indeed he is; SILVERLIGHT makes a brief comeback, swinging hard with his dedicated developer tools, particularly Expression Blend; however, ADOBE is able to block it with Adobe Catalyst every time.

Finally, ADOBE delivers the knockout blow with a hard AMF to the side of the head; SILVERLIGHT collapses to the mat.

Referee: One…! Two…! Three…! (etc.)

Spike: Willya look at dat! Silverlight just folded up like an old accordion!

Butch: Dat’s because Silverlight’s .NET wuz never more den a cheap imitation of Adobe’s ActionScript! He couldn’t stand up -

Referee: Eight…! Nine…! Ten!!

Spike: And dat’s it fer Silverlight – down fer da count!

Butch: Down and out! Da Flex remains – undisputed champion!

The crowd goes wild as the referee holds up ADOBE’S arm in triumph and the scantily-clad brunette plants a kiss on his cheek and throws a garland around his neck.

To enroll in a class at On3,  simply fill out the form on the contact us page,  e-mail us On3[at] On3solutions [dot] com, or call us at 1-877-885-7044.

It looks like Adobe is opening it up for academia. If you are a student or employed with a school, you can get Flex and ColdFusion, the best RIA tools on the market, for FREE! Adobe Flex Builder 3 Pro is available for free to all education customers. This includes all students, faculty and staff of eligible education institutions. Adobe ColdFusion 8 for Education is available for free to educational customers to use for learning purposes only and not for production purposes. This is an amazing opportunity to learn two of the most progressive technologies in web and rich Internet application development for free. Got to love free licenses!

To learn more about Flex Builder and ColdFusion, simply fill out the form on the contact us page, e-mail us On3 [at] On3solutions [dot] com, or call us at 1-877-885-7044.