But you have to agree it is much easier to stay up-to-date if you work in
the field every day and actually practically implement new technologies. If
a company looks for new staff members they will think twice before employing
somebody who has got no practical experience in the field. For a good reason
- you might have read a book about it, but you don't know it until you have
done it. Teachers at University/Tafe/Highschool do not have the opportunity
to try out what they learn, yet they still have to stand infront of the
students confidently and teach them an ever-changing technology. That's
bloody hard!
Developers learn something in theory, try it out practically, and if it
doesn't work they will keep on trying as the go along until they understand
it. Maybe I am just a practical kind of person, but that's the way I see it.
I would believe that, if it weren't for the fact that there are so many web design companies / freelancers out there that are still selling non-standards based design. I think the problem is still that browsers allow mistakes and old code. The old, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
