For ages, Microsoft developers have been proud to have a very easy way to develop AJAX interfaces in .NET. Misguided as usual, they don't know the difference between asynchronous and synchronous requests.

But all that may be about to change. jQuery announced that Microsoft is adopting jQuery into their Visual Studio IDE. Already jQuery is being brainwashed and talking about "existing ASP.NET AJAX capabilities". Well, they're not entirely wrong since the technology is actually named "ASP.NET AJAX".

The probably bad news is that Microsoft "will be developing additional controls, or widgets, to run on top of jQuery that will be easily deployable within your .NET applications." Let's hope they're not going to turn jQuery into the abomination that J++ became.

The contest for best post-title is over. I just won it. Now, on to reality.

Did we need another browser? What's up with Google supporting Firefox and then coming out with their own Open Source browser?

I took Google Chrome for a spin as a developer and found out some interesting things.

//EDIT: Unfortunately, I never took Safari for a long enough spin as it appears that the functionality I describe below is not Chrome-specific but part of Webkit. Thanks for pointing that out, Lagaffe!

Until now, people had to rely on Firefox and Firebug to debug their web pages. IE has had a developer toolbar since not too long ago but, face it, nobody develops for IE anymore. We all build things according to standards and then check IE to see where they didn't apply the standards. Right? Well, not entirely. A lot of people still depend on IE as their sole window on the web. This article does not apply to them.

Google chrome may well be the best thing ever to happen in the last year for web developers. Loaded with Apple's Webkit, it has what is probably today's best rendering engine. Webkit/Safari is the only browser that's getting a 100% test result on ACID3. Granted, it's on a developer build and Chrome isn't currently profiting from that build and is stuck at 79% which is slightly better than Safari's current stable release test result.

But how does one take advantage of all the features Chrome has to offer?

Read on to find out

Some weeks ago, I launched serialkeep.com, a website that can assist you in remembering important information wherever you are.

Just over a year ago, I was burglared. They took the usual: portable game computers, mobile phones, wallets and digital cameras. Oh, and my leather pants that were sitting in a bag they also took - probably to carry the stuff they just took.

I of course neglected to write down important information such as serial numbers, IMEI numbers and distinctive properties of the items.

That's why I decided to launch serialkeep.com. It's a simple website where you can enter freeform information on serial numbers, IMEI numbers, software serials. You can also abuse it by entering telephone numbers, contact information or license plates.

It's very freeform but it's available wherever you are. If your telephone gets stolen why you're away from home, you can look up the IMEI number and have it blocked. If your car is stolen but you can't remember the license plate, you can look it up and have it reported stolen.

Even better: when an item is stolen, you can report it. Reporting an item as stolen will flag that item. When someone buys a second hand product, they can enter the serial number into the database and they will be informed if the item is stolen. No, the owner of the allegedly stolen item will not be informed.

Please register and check it out. I've been using it for a while now and all the bugs seem to have been cleared. Registration is free.

Your data is secure and private - I only want an e-mail address so we can reset your password should you lose it. There is no connection between you as a physical person and the items you register.

On a technical note: this is my first site in PHP/MySQL. It's also the first site in which I used Ajax techniques and fooled around with MooTools. Comments are welcome.

Peter Elst just launched riajobs.org. Riajobs.org is a community-based jobboard. Amazingly enough, the site is free - even for companies that want to post jobs. There's of course the odd feature that requires a fee but even then, 20 percent of the monthly revenue will be donated to charity.

As I write this entry, jobs are being added to the site. The few jobs currently posted originate from all over the globe. Community support looks strong and will be a major success factor for riajobs.org.

The only thing this site needs is a little space for potential candidates and freelancers to leave an impression and the matchmaking site will be complete. And whaddayaknow? Peter already added that to the list of features to be added "in the near future".

Let's hope riajobs.org is not going to turn into another "enter ALL of your details including highschool friends and that female teacher you had a crush on and all the different types of pasta you've eaten in your life and all of the places you visited" setup, but, instead, a simple 1-minute setup. I've always felt that careersites asked way too much information. Just the basics and company and candidate will sort things out themselves, thank you very much.

I believe "niche" websites like this will become the ultimate future. A small company in the Netherlands has set-up a jobsite aimed solely at the creative industry and it's becoming increasingly popular as well.

Let's root for riajobs.org! From the community, for the community and, eventually, by the community.