IDG's InfoWorld announced screencast "video walkthroughs" for six leading open-source Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) toolkits.


Screencasts are online demos, with accompanying voiceovers, that step through the UI and feature set, showing off what each piece of software can do and how it does it. In addition to the traditional reviews package that focuses on what the reviewer thinks about a software solution, screencasts help IT solutions management actually use the software.



Screencasts for the profiled open-source AJAX toolkits are available
at:

Dojo:
www.infoworld.com/video/archives/2006/07/screencast_ajax.html

Google Web Toolkit:
www.infoworld.com/video/archives/2006/07/screencast_goog.html

Microsoft Atlas:
weblog.infoworld.com/udell/screenroom/atlas_flv.html

Open Rico and Prototype:
www.infoworld.com/video/archives/2006/07/screencast_rico.html

Yahoo AJAX Library:
www.infoworld.com/video/archives/2006/07/screencast_yaho.html

Zimbra Kabuki AJAX Toolkit:
www.infoworld.com/video/archives/2006/07/screencast_zimb.html


The introductory screencasts are freely available to view.  Each is around five minutes long. The video companions are promoted across InfoWorld.com, including the home page, dedicated AJAX toolkit review landing page, Editor's Letter page, special PDF article synopsis, as well as on areas dedicated to each screencast.

"Screencasts capture engaged prospects, while traditional video offerings focus on accessibility to the casual site visitor," said Paul Calento, InfoWorld's vice president of marketing. "By integrating video advertising with other related content and advertising techniques, InfoWorld provides an advertising platform with scale and integration that typical IT media programs just can't match."

"Screencasts are a natural progression in the evolution of the software review," said Senior Editor Stephanie McLoughlin, who worked with Wayner to pull all the pieces of the article together. "They allow you to show a single feature or even demo an entire product in just a few minutes, where it might take thousands of words to explain the same thing in print."