New and improved Internet: Client-side speed

Two intriguing glimpses of now and future Internet: One is AJAX, and the other TiddlyWiki.

AJAX is short for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML. Jesse James Garrett explains it best:

An Ajax application eliminates the start-stop-start-stop nature of interaction on the Web by introducing an intermediary — an Ajax engine — between the user and the server. It seems like adding a layer to the application would make it less responsive, but the opposite is true.

Instead of loading a webpage, at the start of the session, the browser loads an Ajax engine — written in JavaScript and usually tucked away in a hidden frame. This engine is responsible for both rendering the interface the user sees and communicating with the server on the user’s behalf. The Ajax engine allows the user’s interaction with the application to happen asynchronously — independent of communication with the server. So the user is never staring at a blank browser window and an hourglass icon, waiting around for the server to do something.

Examples: GoogleMaps | Instant edit | More examples

Jeremy Ruston's TiddlyWiki is in Ver. 3 right now and it just keeps on getting better. Tiddly Wiki is written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript to run on any modern browser without needing any ServerSide logic. It's amazingly fast, and all on A SINGLE HTML FILE!