[thelist] page width trend - 800 or 1024 or other?

[Erika]

Felix Miata wrote:
> On 2008/12/10 09:34 
> ranging from 15.4" laptops to 26" desktops. Widths, and text size, on modern
> pages should be set entirely without regard to px.
> http://fm.no-ip.com/SS/bbcSS.html

Felix,

I've been thinking about your position on this, trying to make your 
ideas work in designs, and have found it nearly impossible to achieve, 
at least as far as current aesthetics regarding web page display.

Liquid design of fonts, divs, objects... was (is) supposed to resolve 
issues of differing monitor sizes, resolutions... but with the range 
available today, in all but the simplest designs, it is too difficult to 
manage page elements on different browsers.  At least with fixed-width 
divs you can figure things will stay proportional.

So much of web design (and development) is about some kind of trade off, 
or choosing a "lesser evil."  The biggest problem comes, for me, with 
managing line length in liquid divs.  Secondarily, aesthetics, such as 
managing margins and where images are placed, are a challenge as well. 
Though things may change one day, currently people seem to still want to 
see a "controlled" and polished-looking design.

Usability-wise, I don't know how people surf the web with larger 
monitors.  Do they resize windows? (I'm talking about PC users.) In the 
past, they did not.

If you have screenshots of more complex sites that successfully 
implement what you consider to be *good* design practices (sizes not 
dependent on px), do you mind sharing those?

Thanks,

Erika