Adobe AIR 2 beta is out last night (Nov 16, 2009). It includes a number of highly expected features including launching native applications. It also improves CPU/memory usages. Some sample applications include:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/air2/samples/
- FileTile
Open a document with system default application (e.g. doc by Word)
USB drive mount/unmount detection
get icons from a file - SearchCentral
Call native applications (spotlight) - Microphone
Record voice from local microphone directly - KeePIPE
p2p application of file sharing in the same network - TouchTest
Multi-touch