domain names, web standards, etc

> 1. When advertising a domain name, why would I want to
>    include the 'www' portion? I know the significance of 'www',
>    but is it really necessary these days? I could see back in the days
>    when the company had even traffic amongst it's ftp server, etc;
>    but I fail to see why it is  needed. From a recognition standpoint,
>    I think http://mydomain.com is nicer than www.mydomain.com.
>    Just curious.

> 2. Web develpment. I have yet to see a popular, and what most
>    folks would consider "nice" site that meets w3c standards.
>    Plug any of them into http://validator.w3.org/ and watch
>    it throw up all over your screen. Is it possible to meet
>    and pass the validator, yet keep the marketing dept. happy?