q-xhr.js

var Q = require("q");

exports.read = function (path, timeout) {
    var response = Q.defer();
    var request = new XMLHttpRequest(); // ActiveX blah blah
    request.open("GET", path, true);
    request.onreadystatechange = function () {
        if (request.readyState === 4) {
            if (request.status === 200) {
                response.resolve(request.responseText);
            } else {
                response.reject("HTTP " + request.status + " for " + path);
            }   
        }
    };
    timeout && setTimeout(response.reject, timeout);
    request.send('');
    return response.promise;
};