There has been a huge surge in interest in Web 2.0 technologies over the last couple of years. Microsofts contribution to this area has been the ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight technologies, coupled to a supporting framework of ancillary tools. This book aims to be a no nonsense introduction to these technologies for the rapidly growing number of people who are realizing that they need Microsoft-based Web 2.0 skills on their CV. It gives people a grounding in the core concepts of the technologies and shows how they can be used together to produce the results that people need. The book is written by an experienced author. He is a Microsoft insider and a Silverlight Evangelist with a strong community following and unparalleled experience of introducing people to these technologies.