By many accounts, 2007 was 'the year of the widget.' In November 2007 alone, 81 percent of all Web surfers saw a widget on the Web, according to ComScore - that is 148 million people - about half of the U.S. population. These are not just 'hit counters' at the bottom of Web pages. New thinking has led to interactive, engaging online widget applications that can be re-posted or shared with a few mouse clicks. This has led to a revolutionary approach, where publishers are turning to widgets to reach a new audience - a group who embraces social networking and is just as likely to tell a friend about a cool new widget app as they are to talk about what they did last weekend.

Appcelerator announced the launch of its new open source developer community, the Appcelerator Developer Network. 'The response to our revamped developer community has been overwhelming,' said Jeff Haynie, CEO of Appcelerator. 'In just a few days, over 500 new community members have signed on to the developer network, started making significant contributions and engaging in active collaboration around the development of rich Internet applications with Appcelerator. We expect this excitement to build through our outreach to attendees of AJAXWorld East this week.'

Delivering a 'continuous experience' on the Web can only be achieved by either mastering the 200 different AJAX toolkits out there, or employing a platform like Nexaweb's Enterprise Web 2.0 Platform. That, in a nutshell, was the take-home from Coach Wei & Bob Buffone's highly entertaining presentation at the 5th International AJAXWorld Conference & Expo today in New York City.

Olivier Poupeney, Co-Founder & CEO of DreamFace Interactive, demonstrated what DreamFace boldly calls 'The Ultimate Web 2.0 Framework' at the 5th International AJAXWorld Conference & Expo in New York City today. Aimed at the enterprise, the DreamFace Outsider framework builds on the principal concepts of Web 2.0 such as 'Do IT Yourself,' Personalization and Sharing.

No longer can only Google do JavaScript in the browser. AJAX toolkits galore have flourished and now, without having to have geniuses on your payroll, companies can build Google-like apps. But there is enormous diversity among the AJAX toolkits, said John Ferraiolo today at the 5th International Conference & Expo in New York City, and therein lies a problem: a rich ecosystem with lots of alternatives that fill different niches brings with it a need for resolving interoperability issues - the standards are not yet in place to get a widget from one toolkit to talk to another from a different toolkit.

Catalyst Resources announced the public launch of the AJAX UI Toolkits wiki. The new wiki identifies a list of UI components used in business software applications to develop a Rich Internet Application user experience. Each AJAX toolkit on the wiki is displayed using the same format and same list of standardized UI components; so that at a glance, developers and technology decision makers can benchmark which toolkits meet their specific requirements at the level of user experience. Developers and toolkit vendors can fine-tune the toolkit listings, augment it with additional notes, and provide direct links to demos of that UI component.

Nexaweb announced Nexaweb Studio 4.0 -- the latest release of its Eclipse-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for enterprise-class mashup, composite and rich Internet applications (RIAs). Nexaweb Studio 4.0 is available as a plug-in to IBM Rational Application Developer for Websphere Software, SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio, Aptana Studio, myEclipse, and Vanilla Eclipse to support enterprise mashup, composite and rich Internet application (RIA) development

Jeff Haynie gave a whirlwind history of the browser this morning at the 5th International AJAXWorld Conference & Expo in New York City, with a view to showing how the way we build applications has evolved over the years of Web 1.0 and now moving into Web 2.0. He covered the rise of Java, the demise of applets, and the slow, slow progress of HTML 5.0, now 11 years in the making and still not there. But most of the innovation, Haynie contends, has been on the server.

Appcelerator announced updates to its software that will further its ability to bring together RIA and SOA. The company has created Appcelerator RIA Developer, an Eclipse plug-in that makes it easy for developers who prefer an Eclipse environment to create Appcelerator projects. It is also releasing an updated version of the Appcelerator SDK platform that includes powerful new features that streamline the use of third-party software with Appcelerator to quickly create RIAs.

The jMaki mashup framework known as Webtop was unveiled at the 5th International AJAXWorld Conference * Expo in New York today by Sun's technology evangelist Arun Gupta. The mashup framework represents the goal when the jMaki project began two years ago, said Gupta.

DreamFace Interactive launched their DreamFace Developer Challenge. DreamFace is inviting developers to download the new version of their DreamFace Web 2.0 Framework for creating Enterprise 2.0 Mashups, also announced at AJAXWorld, and to build their own DreamFace DataWidgets for submission.

DreamFace Interactive announced the immediate availability of 'Outsider,' a new version of their DreamFace Web 2.0 Framework for creating Enterprise 2.0 Composite Applications and Mashups. DreamFace builds on the major concepts of Web 2.0: Do IT Yourself, Personalization, and Sharing and extends them to provide the next-generation Web 2.0 experience.

The OpenAjax Alliance revealed new standards and open source initiatives for secure mashups, AJAX on mobile devices, and a unified browser wish-list from AJAX toolkit suppliers. AJAX is the technology behind most Web 2.0 applications, including the increasingly popular 'mashup,' a website or application that combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience, and Web 'gadgets,' which can be placed into Web pages and social network sites.

M/Gateway Developments, is a UK based company that specializes in advanced web application technologies, integration and middleware technologies. Their flagship product, eXtc Web Developer (EWD), is a rapid web application development technology, incorporating a powerful yet simple-use AJAX framework. EWD is unique in that it is completely technology agnostic. An application defined with EWD can be compiled to generate identical versions that will run on any of the mainstream web run-time environments, eg PHP, Java Server Pages, etc. EWD's primary focus is to massively simplify the development of, and radically reduce the maintenance overheads of complex, enterprise-scale web/AJAX applications.

Designing a state of the art user interface (UI) in a very visual application that is managing a lot of elements posed significant challenge due to the nature of the application: virtualizing and running entire data centers through a browser.

Last year, the overall demand for RIAs outpaced the qualified supply chain. This trend will continue in 2008. While last year brought unprecedented growth in RIA adoption - especially by Fortune 500 companies - RIA adoption in 2008 brings a new onslaught of risks, rewards, challenges, and opportunities for companies of all sizes.

'Which RIA platform to choose? Whichever one can deliver the best functionality combined with industrial-strength reliability, performance, and scalability will win the race.' That, in the view of Bert Halstead, is the long and the short of it. And many of his fellow executives in the Rich Internet Applications business agree.

From Brisbane to Berlin and from Tokyo to Toronto, delegates will be converging next month at AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2008 East in New York City from 26 different countries, eager to play catch-up with all that's been happening in the world of Rich Internet Applications since the last AJAXWorld in 2007 on the West Coast.

Farata Systems is a leading IT consulting and product development company providing enterprise-wide IT solutions specializing in the area of rich Internet applications. The company has been created by the merger of two consulting companies: Computer Technology, and Smart Data Processing, Farata Systems focuses on delivering custom solutions using sustainable technologies for financial and retail applications. Our team of highly-regarded industry experts will assess requirements of your business, will suggest the most effective solutions in your current technological space, with the emphasis on blending new technologies into existing IT fabric of your business.

Kaazing, headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, . We provide real-time software solutions to customers who really care about their end-user experience when it comes to usability, scalability, and performance. In addition to providing commercial enterprise software delivering the best Internet real-time experience possible, Kaazing also provides support, training, and consulting services. For more information about Kaazing, visit http://www.kaazing.com/

OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) is a not-for-profit, international consortium that drives the development, convergence, and adoption of e-business standards. The consortium produces more Web services standards than any other organization along with standards for security, e-business, and standardization efforts in the public sector and for application-specific markets. Founded in 1993, OASIS has more than 5,000 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries.

OpSource, delivers Web applications and software as a service for on-demand companies, with hundreds of applications, millions of users and billions of transactions supported daily. OpSource On-Demand, the leading platform for Web application delivery, is defining how Web-based software is delivered. By choosing OpSource, companies are freed from investing in and managing the complex and costly infrastructure necessary to deliver applications over the Web. They can instead focus their resources on developing, marketing and selling. For more information about OpSource, visit http://www.opsource.net/

With over 15 years of work on improving the user experience through the user interface, Olivier Poupeney contends that a new mode of information visualization known as a Mashup combined with the collaborative aspects of Web 2.0 is finding success where Composite Applications struggled. He will be giving a session next week at AJAXWorld 2008 East on 'Sharable Enterprise Mashups: The New User-Driven Composite Apps.'

One Great City, Two Great Keynotes, Three Intense Days, Eighteen Core Topics, Eighty-Five Content-Rich Sessions, Ninety-Eight Expert Speakers - what better way to summarize the 5th International AJAXWorld Conference & Expo than through this numerical whirlwind tour? Enjoy!

Jean-Francois Arcand, Technical Lead of the Java NIO-based http engine called Grizzly, will be speaking next week at AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2008 East at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, the 5th International AJAXWorld.

Appcelerator is an open source software company specializing in products and services for rapid rich Internet application (RIA) and SOA-based services development. The Appcelerator Platform SDKs enable developers to develop rich Ajax and DHTML applications using cross-browser widgets, a unique Web Expression Language and other open standards-based languages like HTML and CSS - without the use of Javascript. Appcelerator supports most languages, including Java, Ruby, PHP, .NET, Python and Perl.

DreamFace Interactive provides a revolutionary new way for web-savvy business people to create, control, and share their own web applications, through a unique and innovative concept called WebChannels that make possible the creation of applications designed for change. The company's goal is to promote the DIY (Do IT Yourself) RIA notion coupled to the Web 2.0 fast-growing phenomenon and encourage users to be a real actor in the definition, creation and publication of interactive and intuitive new generation of applications, where the Internet, the Intranet or both are the core platform.

ICEsoft Technologies is a leading provider of standards-compliant, AJAX-based solutions for developing and deploying Java EE, rich Internet applications. The company's portfolio of enterprise level Java products includes ICEfaces, an AJAX application framework that enables Java EE application developers to easily create and deploy thin-client rich Web applications in pure Java.

Kaazing, headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, is founded for the purpose of delivering the best possible real-time experience for the Internet. The company provides real-time software solutions to customers who really care about their end-user experience when it comes to usability, scalability, and performance. In addition to providing commercial enterprise software delivering the best Internet real-time experience possible, Kaazing also delivers support, training, and consulting services.

Nexaweb's Enterprise Web 2.0 solution is an application development and deployment platform that increases productivity by minimizing painful coding; improves efficiency through the re-use of legacy and SOA assets; and creates a more agile business by delivering secure, mission-critical applications over the Web. With Nexaweb, building enterprise-strength composite and mashup solutions using Ajax and Java UI applications that access legacy and service-oriented data systems is simple. And because it's done in a unified declarative XML development environment, it doesn't require re-writing code. Only Nexaweb's comprehensive Enterprise Web 2.0 solutions are backed by an established methodology and reference architecture proven by more than 5,000 successful global deployments. Nexaweb's brand-name customer roster includes Aflac Japan, Ameripath, ARTstor, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Best Western Hotels, EMC, Jefferies & Co. and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Sun Microsystems, a creator and industry leading advocate of emerging technologies, is revolutionizing and redefining system-wide management of rich, standards-compliant, Internet applications for the next generation Web. A singular vision -- 'The Network Is The Computer' -- guides Sun in the development of state-of-the-art, power-efficient servers and storage systems to award-winning, open-source based software offerings. When it comes to Web 2.0 technologies, Sun provides best-of-breed solutions to enterprises and startups worldwide for developing, deploying, and managing the next wave of computing.

The iPhone is transforming the Web as we know it and compelling every Web designer to consider handheld portable devices. This session covers various aspects of iPhone and iPod Touch development. It will include tips and tricks as well as best practices to follow. Williams also covers how to use an integrated development environment (IDE) for building iPhone and iPod Touch applications and how to use the iUI library to easily build iPhone applications - the free, open source, cross-platform, JavaScript-focused Aptana IDE.

The iPhone and Google Android platform are undisputedly transforming the mobile industry by bringing smartphone capabilities to the masses. They are also making for enticing new mobile platforms for developing and deploying new types of mobile apps and services for mass market users. Yet, developing for them is not that easy. This session will focus on our experience of developing open source-based mobile messaging and sync applications for both of these platforms. It will compare and contrast the platforms in terms of the development methods and tools required, and their strengths and weaknesses from a developer's perspective. The presentation will share lessons learned as well as tips and techniques for developing for both platforms.

With millions of iPhones sold in recent months, enterprises are challenged with how to manage the influx of these personal devices coming 'in the back door' without compromising security policies. One IDC analyst states, 'Bringing secure enterprise wireless email to the Apple iPhone brings it one step closer to being able to be used as a trusted enterprise device.' This session will advocate a proactive approach to adding iPhone as a supported device, and illustrate how doing so provides enterprise support for iPhones and reduces security concerns, while still providing a rich user experience utilizing the native iPhone mail application.

In this session, Chris, lead developer on the RDT (Ruby Development Tools) Project, will review all of the major features of the Aptana IDE - a free, open source, cross-platform, JavaScript-focused development environment for building AJAX applications. It features code assist on JavaScript, HTML, and CSS languages, FTP/SFTP support and a JavaScript debugger to troubleshoot your code. With nearly 1 million downloads to date, the Aptana IDE is fast becoming the standard way AJAX developers build their Web 2.0 applications.

As AJAXWorld 2008 East in NYC next week approaches, speakers have been blogging in anticipation, sow e thought we'd bring you a quick round-up here of what's being said in advance of next week's frontal assault on the worlds of front-end engineering, User eXperience, and Rich Internet Applications...

From Brisbane to Berlin and from Tokyo to Toronto, delegates began converging on New York today as the 5th International AJAXWorld Conference & Expo got under way in New York City. Delegates are coming from a record 31 different countries, eager to play catch-up with all that's been happening in the world of Rich Internet Applications since the last AJAXWorld in 2007 on the West Coast last Fall.

DreamFace Interactive would like to invite you to stop by their booth at AJAXWorld and discover DreamFace Interactive. Building on the major concepts of Web 2.0: Do IT Yourself, Personalization and Sharing, DreamFace is announcing the Ultimate Web 2.0 Framework for Building Enterprise 2.0 Applications and Mashups.

'Front-end engineering rocks right now,' says upcoming AJAXWorld speaker Christian Heilmann from Yahoo! 'The era of boring web sites is over and we're all into pushing the envelope, erasing boundaries and getting beyond whatever prevents us from building the next killer web application,' he continues. 'New companies building quick-turnaround web products spring up like mushrooms and many an old convention of web design is cast aside to make way for quick prototyping and agile development.'

Day Software will be featured at AJAXWorld East 2008, highlighting the company's technical expertise in the areas of REST and AJAX. At the show, Day Software's Lars Trieloff, product manager for collaboration and digital asset management, will give a presentation entitled, 'REST and AJAX Reconciled' to address how AJAX developers can tap the power of REST-based architectures powered by enterprise-grade content repositories, such as Apache Jackrabbit and Day CRX.