Have you ever created a new design for an existing website without changing XHTML templates?

I’m not talking about designs for css Zen Garden and its imitators or any other occasion where doing so was done to prove a point. What I mean is building a new design on existing XHTML template during normal course of action.

I haven’t and I don’t know anyone who did. It’s also hard to imagine being otherwise if designs are done without taking existing XHTML into account. There’s always an element missing for attaching a part of your design to, unless XHTML was somewhat loose to begin with.

I don’t think this is a problem. There are plenty of real benefits to table-less designs and few, if any deficiencies. However, I do believe that this benefit, touted by many including me, is contrived.

Or am I just wrong? What’s your experience?

Fry gave a talk about microformats last October and some people back then were doubtful about their usefulness. Yesterday I read a post by Ray Ozzie on the need for web clipboards and accompanying formats and my immediate thought was that microformats were perfect for this use.

Ray Ozzie talks about a need for easy interoperability and exchange of data between web sites and I believe most if not all of us who are working towards this goal agree that feeds (RSS or whatever) by themselves are not enough. Web clipboards seem to be a big step in right direction.

The post itself has since been updated with more information and a great demo how microformats could be used as a clipboard format for greater interoperability between different web services. You should check it out even if you don’t have doubts about the need for microformats.

I find it odd that these days I get more excited by stuff that’s coming out of Microsoft then out of Google.

Yesterday I gave my very first talk in English. Broken English, to be sure, but hopefully good enough to be understood. I’m grateful to everyone who came and I hope you didn’t feel like your time was wasted.

In any case, if you can spare a moment or two, I’d love to hear your honest thoughts about it.