Take a peak at the top 20 tags on del.icio.us and you'll notice a number of topics related to computer interface. Just below "mac" and "javascript", you'll find "ajax", which is web buzzword du jour.
The term Ajax was coined by Jesse James Garrett last February in an adaptive path essay. Ajax is short for Asynchronous JavaScript + XML, and is not so much a new technology as a recognition that the web should be more responsive. Instead of the usual "click submit/wait for server to respond with updated web page" model, ajax web pages use a javascript xml call to interact with the server while the page is still active. The result is an internet experience which feels more like a desktop application.
The most visible ajax web site is clearly the much hyped Google Maps, google's locative play, which is even more exciting when combined with clever user hacks like housingmaps.com and chicagocrime.org. I would imagine that they have big plans for the PDA/cellphone market once connection speeds get faster and GPS becomes ubiquitous in these devices. An Ajax webpage model can also provide a more tactile online shopping experience - try adding a t-shirt to your shopping bag at panic's web store.
A more responsive interface is a useful paradigm for mobile devices, which in my own experience suffer from sluggish response making me more likely to keep them in my pocket than in my hand.
