Some good points, but the reality is that flash is still the most painless RIA platform, due to a mature IDE, the complete lack of cross-browser issues to deal

Some good points, but the reality is that flash is still the most painless RIA platform, due to a mature IDE, the complete lack of cross-browser issues to deal with, and cross-platform market penetration greater than any single browser. Chrome benefits flash as much as js/ajax, as well. In my tests, flash executes faster in chrome than firefox. And flash can take advantage of the possibility of a larger installed based of gears as well. It's sort of a win/win for everyone.