$ == jQuery to make jQuery work when other js frameworks are also in use you can make jQuery() work too - avoiding conflicts
the first set of parenthis are for passing params to the jquery object AFAIK When setting defaults for jquery plugins the parenthis are not required. I don't know if they are optional here or not - plugin defaults are variables used by plugins, which extend the jquery object (props & methods) - S 2009/5/3 kiusau <kiu...@mac.com> > .getBrowserInformation
