A look into the interaction design of the new Yahoo! mail: and the pros and cons of AJAX

With a veritable smorgasbord of design resources available on interaction design for AJAX applications and sites, the author thought he'd share some of his own experiences designing the new Yahoo! Mail, one of the most significant AJAX products out there. He also addresses the Web 2.0 design issues and challenges that face designers today. At Yahoo! they asked themselves some basic questions before launching into the design process: How do you accommodate all the power of a preexisting, full-featured mail application while also keeping it familiar for new or migrating users? How do you improve ease of use while also creating a scalable architecture, attracting new users, and of course, staying competitive?