Which screen resolution to design for?

In Jacob Nielsen’s latest Alertbox on Screen Resolution and Page Layout, he advises us to optimize for screens that are 1024 x 768 pixels, and to use a liquid layout that increases to the user’s window size. He notes that there are still about 17% of users who have a 800 x 600 display who are not to be ignored (that is, for whom it makes sense not to provide a frozen layout requiring more than 800 x 600 pixels).

Almost as a side note, Nielsen mentions how « big monitors are the easiest way to increase white-collar productivity… ». Might be a good idea to send the link above to the person who approves purchase orders… 😉