[rorrr]

This is so wrong.

1) He didn't sharpen the small images.

2) He only displayed one type of image - very bright with no shadow detail.

This theory breaks completely if you actually compare apples to apples. Like these two, both 80KB generated from a high quality image:

http://i.imgur.com/E3gaB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/UrDEx.jpg

[barrkel]

Why would he sharpen the small images? The browser won't.

[rorrr]

Because then they will look sharper. You have to sharpen when you downsample images. Web design 101.

[001sky]

Yes, every size photo should have size-specific sharpening. Large or Small. Doesn't matter, if you are expecting people to look at it ~seriously.

[andybak]

Or you use an interpolation algorithm optimized for down-sizing.