This week we look forward to SXSW and Mix '09 and look back on Facebook coming to the desktop, a preview of Pro JavaFX, a tool to help designers get started with Silverlight, more information on Mozilla Bespin, and new AIR features in Aptana Studio. All this and more on the Weekly RIA RoundUp from InsideRIA.

FEATURED: Big Conference Week - SXSW and Mix'09

This week there are two major conferences focusing on the RIA landscape: Microsoft's Mix'09 in Las Vegas and SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX.

SXSW Interactive

We already have a few pieces of information from the SXSW conference. For example, Ribbit announced that they are moving away from just a Flash/Flex platform by providing a REST based API. This potentially means that VOIP telephony could be coming to many new platforms in the months ahead. Ribbit's evangelist Chuck Freedman even stated that developers will be able to vote for which platform they would like to see integrated first.

Chuck Freedman (Ribbit): Going under Flash and Flex, Ribbit to release RESTful API

Mix'09

For everything I have seen - Silverlight is a major focus of Mix'09. While other topics will be addressed, there are more Silverlight sessions at Mix (36 total) than any other single topic. Included in these sessions are some that focus specifically on the next iteration of Silverlight, version 3. Scott Guthrie, CVP at Microsoft, has stated that Silverlight 3 will have some functionality that is not currently possible with Flash and Flex.

ZDNet: Microsoft's Mix '09: A podcast preview

Facebook Comes to the Desktop with Seesmic

This week, Facebook opened Facebook Connect to desktop applications as well as the iPhone. This means that developers using platforms such as Adobe AIR and the iPhone SDK will now be able to build applications that integrate tightly with the Facebook platform.

Recently, Facebook changed some aspects of a user's landing page to give it more of a Twitter-feel. This makes a user's current status much more prominent and also provides a live feed from the landing page. Seesmic's new AIR application provides an easy cross-platform compatible way to post status updates to your Facebook account using Adobe AIR.

Loic Le Meur: Loic Le Meur Blog: Seesmic Launches its Facebook Desktop Client Available Today

Read the First JavaFX Book Before It is Released

While we don't usually cover books in this podcast, many developers have been eager to get their hands on a JavaFX book. One of the first books to be released will be Pro JavaFX from Apress which includes Weiqi Gao, Stephen Chin, Dean Iverson, and James Weaver as authors. This book is now available as an Alpha release form Apress, with the full version to be released in May. You can purchase the alpha book and get early access to these chapters.

James Weaver: Pro JavaFX Released in Apress Alpha (Early Access) Program

Apress: Pro JavaFX Platform: Script, Desktop and Mobile RIA with Java

New Guide for Designers Wanting to Work With Silverlight

Artuto Toledo, Product Manager at Microsoft for the UX Platform & Tools team, announced a new resource for designers wanting to get started working with Silverlight. This resource includes a manual, assets, and a set of training videos. The videos cover topics related to Expression Blend and Expression Design (with one even focusing on Expression Encoder).

Arturo Toledo (Microsoft): NEW RELEASE: Silverlight for Designers Getting Started Guide

More Information on Mozilla Bespin

Recently, Mozilla labs released Bespin, an online code editor, that utilizes the new canvas functionality in HTML 5. At a recent Mozilla Labs Meetup, the creators demoed the application and also discussed some upcoming functionality. Some highlights of the new functionality include: version control integration, collaboration, and server-side JavaScript. Integration with Ubiquity is also planned. Michael Mahemoff of Ajaxian wrote up notes on the meeting.

Ajaxian: Bespin Talk at Mozilla Labs Meetup

Performance Tuning Your AIR Applications

Oliver Goldman, from the Adobe AIR development team, recently released an article on the Adobe AIR Developer Center detailing how to tune your AIR application for maximum performance. This article is related to his talk at Adobe Max 2008 entitled Building High Performance Apps for AIR. Links are provided for both the article and the talk at Adobe TV.

Official Adobe AIR Team Blog (Adobe): New Performance-tuning article on Adobe AIR Developer Center

Adobe TV: Building High Performance Apps for AIR

Aptana Now Provides JavaScript Debugging for AIR

Recently, Aptana released an update to their AIR plugin for Aptana Studio that adds support for Adobe AIR 1.5 as well as JavaScript debugging of AIR applications. The Adobe AIR Team highlighted this in a recent blog post which also includes a video tutorial from Aptana TV covering the JavaScript debugging.

Official Adobe AIR Team Blog (Adobe): Adobe AIR Development Plug-In for Aptana Studio Now Available

Read more from David Tucker.