This was long overdue but I finally got around to it. REST in Place is using JSON instead of XML now. A lot of people seemed to have problems with XML, especially those using the Prototype version.
I also included a small testapp in the repository. It is not meant as a tool for TDD or regression tests, just a playground for further development and an example for people using the plugin.
I updated the README and the project page with new information. The README was also missing the CSRF part in the example which I believe caused confusion for some people.