Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am not sure, and nobody can be, but isn't the web an example? When the most common resolution was 800x600 the graphical interface patterns were really bleh.
IMO Web pages wider than 800px generally use the extra space for junk or whitespace.
Putting the junk in the extra space means it's not clogging up the content area (except on truly awful websites). It means they can include all the extra crap no one really wants, while still keeping the site usable.