I think the big difference, and what I think works well, is most sites I've seen do the stock photo thing as an accent (microphone girls anyone?) and it rarely

I think the big difference, and what I think works well, is most sites I've seen do the stock photo thing as an accent (microphone girls anyone?) and it rarely works well imo. What I liked about 37 signals version is putting someone approachable and friendly--someone from their target market in particular--front and center and blown up. Again, often used in print, but first I'd seen it done well on web. And that's good, sounds like no points for originality, photoshop doctoring, or ironing shirts, but at least I'm not a total scumbag design thief. I can sleep at night :-)