Adobe announced that its Flex software development kit (SDK) will go open-source. The SDK is designed to allow Web developers to build multi-media-rich internet applications.

Possibly in response to Microsoft infiltrating the market with their soon-to-be released Expression toolset and recently unveiled Silverlight technology, Adobe may feel a need to make a move to stay ahead of Microsoft.

"It takes the comparison between [Microsoft's competing technologies] WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) and Silverlight and Flash/Flex to a different level," said Joe Berkovitz, chief architect of Allurent. "It's not just what features are best ... but what process are each of the platforms following as they evolve. A process based on open source is going to be inherently more powerful and scale better."

This is surely welcome news for Web developers and the open-source movement. Adobe plans to make the move by the end of the year.