One of many buzzwords peppering the Web 2.0 blogosphere is actually a mneumonic, “AJAX.”  AJAX stands for “Asynchronous Javascript and XML.”  One of the most notable features of AJAX, which is basically an extension of Javascript, is the XMLHttpRequest object.  This object can talk to other pages on the server, written in PHP, ASP, and other languages to retrieve data and display it dynamically on a page.  AJAX has opened many doors to web developers, allowing data to be easily refreshed without refreshing a page itself.

Additionally, Flash-like effects such as certain animations or drag-and-drop can be implemented on pages using AJAX.  This comes in handy, as a small but significant percentage of Internet users do not have the Flash browser plugin or have an out-of-date version of the player.  This can also help with certain less Flash-friendly mobile apps. (more…)

Geek Feminism Wiki is an interesting resource for women in technology, CS, gaming, engineering, and other “geek communities,” detailing the issues faced by women in these areas.  It provides a brief explanation of Feminism and how it applies to the “geek” aka technology community.

Some of the most interesting reads on the wiki so far include:

• List of historical women geeks – a great list of names of famous women with a short blurb about who they are
• List of women in Open Source – a terrific jumping-off point to find out what women have done and are doing in the OS movement
• Getting girls into IT – What programmers and educators can do to encourage young women to enter the field of technology
• Blogging – an interesting history of issues that women bloggers face online

What’s so great about this site is that, as a wiki, you have the power to contribute and many of the sections of the wiki are off to a great start but are clearly asking to be filled with contributions.  Sections are ready for women in science, engineering, and even “hacker” culture, but they need more information.  As this wiki grows, it will continue to grow into an impressive resource for young people and educators in the field of Information Technology.