what are the newest technologies a web designer should know?

[Manuel Chacon]

like programming in flash, or new css styles, etc
??

[Neeraj yadav]

AJAX
Ajax isn’t a technology. It’s really several technologies, each flourishing in its own right, coming together in powerful new ways. Ajax incorporates:

* standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS;
* dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model;
* data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT;
* asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest;
* and JavaScript binding everything together.

The classic web application model works like this: Most user actions in the interface trigger an HTTP request back to a web server. The server does some processing — retrieving data, crunching numbers, talking to various legacy systems — and then returns an HTML page to the client. It’s a model adapted from the Web’s original use as a hypertext medium, but as fans of The Elements of User Experience know, what makes the Web good for hypertext doesn’t necessarily make it good for software applications.

Visit..for further information.
http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php


hope this helps
Cheers

[Steve D]

Ajax. XHTML.

[glynn.alexander]

the most popular and the most dynamic - also the easyiest to keep valid ( as far as i am concerned ) is php,

you should be designing using css and layers ( Floating Elements, absolute, relative )

lots of different ways, depends on what you prefer and what is most suitable to what you are doing

tip: never use flash to create a whole site, simply because it will destroy your website seo positioning, - these are just like film and cannot be read by search bots.