Probably a dumb comment, but it would seem that perhaps working toward universal access rather than "flashy and pretty" might be a good idea? I teach my (X/D)HTML students that one requirement is that their pages be "Best viewed in ANY browser". When they try something that only works in IE, or Navigator they are marked down for it. If it doesn't work in Opera, Safari, IE, Mozilla, and a non-graphical browser lke lynx, it is unusable as far as we are concerned.
Just my $.02.
tim