Rafe Needleman (Business 2.0) writes on a solution that will “allow pages to update instead of reload” (think Outlook Express rather than Hotmail):
The startup Laszlo Systems has a clever mechanism that feeds applications that use XML and Javascript — languages in common use and for which it’s easy to write the database access instructions that underlie interactive apps like shopping — into Flash user interfaces. Technically, Laszlo creates client/server applications, where the user interface runs on the client’s computer but the guts of the logic (like a commerce engine or a database) run back on the server.
It is true that this capability already exists with other technologies — Java programs can do what Laszlo can, and so can applications that leverage the DHTML capabilities built into Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (MSFT). But neither Java nor IE is installed on as many machines as the Flash player is.
