Rich Internet Applications (RIA's) seem to be at a crossroads in terms of development platforms right now.  Searching through the latest Monster.com job postings will reveal that obviously Ajax is in strong demand, but what I was really looking for were Flex related jobs.  How in demand is Adobe Flex and what is its future? My search reveals 645 hits on Flex in Web and Application development. Ajax yields over 2,200.   I'll continue to monitor the situation to see if a trend can be realized.

I'm a Flex noob for sure, but so far what I am seeing is simply the fastest path to an aesthetic, functional application (Web or not) that I know of.  I also see a platform that certainly paves the way to turning your application into an SaaS quite naturally using Flex's built in XML parsing functionality. I also welcome eliminating the challenges that come with writing a stateless application.  And I don't feel all that bad moving away from things like Scriptaculous and obscure JavaScript.  I suppose I am looking at application development more from an end result standpoint and not so much what I think is cool to code in or looks best on a resume.

I cannot argue with the beauty of the Flex Builder IDE, and I can't help but think that Flex offers a bridge to .Net programmers wishing to dive deeper into the Java world. But what of Java programmers who tend to shy away from any technology tied to a big commercial software company? Is there a comparison between Adobe and Microsoft, or would that really be pushing it?  So how about it developers?  Is Flex open enough for you?  Does it give you a sense of vendor tie-in?  Do you enjoy the simplicity of a drag-and-drop IDE or do you feel like you're selling your soul by using it?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.