Complexity causes 50% of product returns, from Computerworld

Half of all malfunctioning products returned to stores are in full working order, but customers can’t figure out how to operate the devices…

…the average consumer in the U.S. will struggle for 20 minutes to get a device working before giving up.

This is absolutely the clearest statement for why user testing is important that I’ve seen in a long time. I suppose also this is why Apple products are such big hits: simple interfaces. So how does this explain those of us who prefer Unix & other maniacally complicated systems? Absolute power corrupts absolutely, I suppose.