OSX's amazing resize! 1643
I seriously think that if they DO put a ton of resources into designing their interfaces...
Thank god I'm not using any applications written by yourself then. Commercial applications by definition are written for the buyers of the product. A sure path to failure is to ignore the needs and desires of your customer and buttume that most of them aren't smart enough to know what they want or how they'd like it to function.
It could make you an expert on driving cars, and enable you to realize the good and bad points about each particular model you drive. A person doesn't need to be an expert on C++ compiler technology to know if a GUI works well or not.
On a related note, it's never a good thing when a programmer gets so wrapped up in cutesy technical aspects that they end up ignoring what the user ultimately wants and needs. I develop web based business applications, and I watch oodles of people make that very bane mistake all the time.
I've written many applications that were one off special jobs intended only for my own personal use. Many times these are very technical oriented applications, such as having a windows app control or configure external hardware through a serial or USB port. The interface may be very straightforward and easy for me to understand (as I delved into the deep dark details), but that doesn't mean that it would be a good GUI for the average computer user.
We are talking about the largest software company in the history of mankind. Do you seriously think that they don't put a TON of resources into designing their interfaces? I shudder to think how overboard they go with committee's of experts...Vista is only 4 years late and counting.