[kenbellows]

An important reason that table based layouts became obsolete in HTML is because the way table cells are rendered is not the same as how `div`s are rendered. It's shockingly difficult to get a table cell to keep a consistent size. This makes some sense if you're using it as a simple data container, but doesn't work at all if you're trying to use it as a generic content container the way we use `div`s

Also, if by "bizarrely named divs" you mean things like "section", "article", "header", "footer", etc., I have to disagree; I think these are a huge improvement in terms of readability and allowing a developer to communicate the intended purpose and structure of the code, and they offer significant advantages in accessibility as well. You ask me, the semantic web is a wonderful thing