Need to know more about AJAX

You can use the built in web server that comes as part of Visual Studio express.

You can actually forgo the videos as they only target ATLAS which is now deprecated and Beta1 Ajax is the new ... too many changes if you are just planning to learn it now - best to start with what what the RTM will be coded around (ajax not atlas)... but if you click on the AJAX tab - tons of documentation etc to get you started... just bypass the videos as they have not been updated...

Thank you so much for both of your responses. I'll do just that but maybe use those videos as references. But my main question is, is IIS web server need to install some kind of AJAX services for the developer to program against it?
IIS in terms of server no - heck although I don't use the express editions they do come bundled with cassini server.. if you have xp pro you can install IIS5 for dev purposes (it has a 10 connection limit)... as far as dev you should be covered.. NOte however... if not using XP prop and IIS 5 - Cassini (a freebie webserver that is included with CS) can give unpredictable results when compared to what is in a production enviroment with IIS 5 (W2K) or II6 (W2003)... no the less nothing prevents you from playing around a bit...

Again, thanks for the immediate response. My website is hosted under Lunarpages and I wonder if they need to do anything on their side so that I can use ASP.NET AJAX. I'll give it a try.

One more thing. Those videos always showed creating a site using the Atlas template. Do I have to use the Atlast template or can I use other for AJAX to work? Do I have to switch over to Atlas template if I already have an existing site?

Your response is much appreciated.

Depending on how your hosting service handles things you may or may not run into issue do a search on GAC... otherwise - I just have to say - what part of deprecated did you not understand? Beta Ajax replaces Atlas - they are no longer even remotedly one and the same... Atlas is no longer supported - Microsoft.Ajax is the RTM to be version... the videos are outdated... but there are helpful docs if you click around on the ajax tab up there ... hate to be harsh - its not personal - but I took the time to lay it out for ypou... re-read the afore mentioned responses...

Okay, I got it. I really should not watch those videos anymore. Almost every clips start with the Atlas template. Anyway, I got it installed and I see ASP.NET AJAX-Enabled Web Site and ASP.NET AJAX CTP-Enabled Web Site. Do I have to choose one or the other? If I choose ASP.NET Web Site and not those two, will I still be able to use AJAX beta 1.0 and AJAX CTP. I saw the comparison chart of both of those and I like to have both features.

Thanks for being understanding... Ajax comes in three parts in terms of us devs.. the Core (Ajax).. the ctp (The Value Add stuff like update panel and things) and the toolkit... what you have should work - however I will say its whats in the toolkit that will make you to ajaxify everything.. again - take a few moments read the documentations - the ajaxtoolkit even comes with sample website that you rip whatever you want of off...you have everything at your fingertips to play around with this 'new' technology.. just have some patience..

And no - Atlas and Ajax are not interchangeable - they share the same namespaces in some parts - what the chart portrays is what is capable now - its all Beta and keep that in perspective - ajax beta version however will be adopted for RTM and not atlas...

Again, thank you so much for helping me out. I'm just so excited about this. I just installed the sample and going through all the samples and it is really nice. I will play with it and yes, I will try to read the documentation.

Fabulous! I hope that you get what you desire out of it... just realize there are tons of resources here and I by no mean want to discourage from posting anything (My own slogan - "There is no such thing a stupid question") just want to direct you to the right resources and get you comfortable with it - you will run into issues just do some searches prior to... its been a few weeks since the release of the new beta so there are alot of answers out here for you.. but you might as well run into a newly discovered issue and I of all people do NOT want to discourage you from reporting them...

Again just keep in mind everything is BETA - its not Atlas now.. so - yuhave to do a bit more diogging sometimes to make things work... but its all cool - we are al in the same camp... welcome to the ajax world...