Great article on how JavaScript has pretty much taken over as the language of the Web (and more).

It first discusses Shumway, a JavaScript-based Flash (SWF) renderer that runs as an XPI extension in Mozilla browsers such as Firefox. It is described as an 'experiment' and it is indeed a little shaky in places. It will never be able to run every bit of Flash code but it will do significant things like games and video, and it is very cool that it is even possible.

The article also discusses Fayde, a tool that compiles Silverlight to JavaScript - astonishingly, there actually are a few instances of Silverlight in use in the world. If you don't know what that is (why should you?) it is another of Microsoft's many erstwhile failed attempts to break open standards and break the web.

FInally, it mentions one of the most amazing uses of JavaScript I have ever seen - a PC emulator running Linux. It emulates a 486 so it is not super powerful but it really is Linux and it really does work! Well - in a browser sandbox it is not going to run your network (or even see it) and you are not going to get much of a file system, but it's an astonishing piece of work. You can find that at http://bellard.org/jslinux/