With so many different configurations internet users have their computers set up with, it can be difficult to decide how web sites should be configured so that it is viewable in as many configurations as possible. So in the last 6 months I have been logging the statistics from my web design site to achieve as accurate a result as possible to answer this question. The results are interesting. In my next few articles I will be analysing this data. Read the rest here - http://bamboographics.co.uk/articles/maximising-web-site-viewability-resolution/ Jordan Charters
I find interesting you found out those results. Most people have a 1280*800 px display nowadays... and it's even stranger when the results were taken from a design sites (designers usually work with bigger displays). But anyways...
I blame the technology. Not that it's bad to have a huge monitor, but I was shopping the other day and they had a massive 25" LCD computer monitor for around $250. So what I'm trying to say is that the technology is getting better and cheaper by the day and people are always in the need to upgrade their computers so they can run their programs. Most people now a days are at least set at 1024*768, or bigger, but you'll find the occasional 800*600.
Set up some tracking on your site. It will allow you to see the different resolutions of the people who are visiting your site. Very Helpful.