If you've been involved in Web development for any amount of time, the latest trend of developing applications with remote scripting capabilities via AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript + XML) will not be a surprise. After all, it has been available for many years with the drawback being browser inconsistencies. Microsoft always promoted ActiveX as the way to go, but this approach has changed with AJAX's rise in popularity. Let's take a closer look at the AJAX revolution, including Microsoft's involvement and approach.
