In a nutshell, Node is a Javascript framework for building network apps. Network apps are broader in scope than webapps. They don't need to run on HTTP, thus freeing you to write lower level tools. Node doesn’t necessarily have to be part of your core app, and in many cases, it makes for a good fit for writing some of the support functions for your webapp. I'll cover the basics of getting Node setup, some event driven programming, and miscellaneous Node goodies.