JQuery is an open source javascript library that makes it easier to developer cross browser animations, css changes and AJAX callbacks. We've been using JQuery for a while for custom programming projects and on our own web site. It's a great library.

Microsoft just announced that their ASP.NET team was working on improving the built-in asp.net ajax javascript library and ultimately decided that JQuery was better than building their own from scratch. This is a huge change for Microsoft since their normal operating procedure is to duplicate another technology, give it away for free or an extremely low price and then add one or two "ringer" features that improve the product but make it incompatible with the original. In this instance they have committed to not only including JQuery but also to not fork the code base and instead include the standard library.

I applaud Microsoft's decision and I think it can be directly attributed to Scott Guthrie's advancement in the company. He was the guy behind the original ASP.NET product, one of the biggest success stories for Microsoft in recent years. ScottGu has done more to keep Microsoft in the web 2.0 game than anyone else I know of. 

I'm also excited to mention that JQuery will be included in BV Commerce 5.4. We've been working on the service pack for a long time now and JQuery was always scheduled to be included. Microsoft's announce means that we bet on the right horse and will be working to remove the Anthem.net ajax code in the future.

If you're a BV Developer (or just an ASP.NET developer) you should take a look a JQuery as it will become more important to you in the future.