I can understand compatibility issues arising (not that is an
justifable excuse) but the issue that really bugs me is the amount of
bandwidth that some sites expect. In this country, we have a very real
problem in upgrading infrasturcture in the "last mile" to levels beyond
dialup speeds. This inertia to providing adequate bandwidth to the
majority of users will be with us for decades to come. The last numbers
I saw indicated that well over 60% of Web users still use dialup for
their connections and it is their only viable option. When I see web
sites (especially commercial websites supposely trying to reach
potential customers) implementing techniques that are bandwidth
intensive for the most trival reason, I just shake my head in disgust
and click to the next site. Simply put, all the resources and time they
spent trying to use the Internet as a marketing tool has been wasted.
If this is an indication of their overall customer efforts, these
companies are making it easy for others to gain their market share.

TMT