There's an interesting discussion at Om Malik's site on the tendency of manufactures to make overly complex, feature laden devices that consumers never really use.

He cites a recent study which indicates that the public buys with features in mind, driving sales based on extra features and prompting manufacturers to build even more features. But, all that complexity becomes a source of frustration since most of those features never really get used.

“Simpler is better – despite popular wisdom and a marketplace ingrained in the creation of products that are ever smaller, faster and more feature laden,” said Roland Rust, “Our research showed that consumers will be initially attracted to the mobile phone that ‘does everything’ for example, but once they get it home they become frustrated,” Rust said. “Companies can actually make more money in the long run by making products that are simpler than what customers think they want. The smarter strategy is to design simple, dedicated devices like the iPod, that do one thing very well, to build long-term satisfaction and profitable customer relationships.”

One of the things I like about the Apple operating system is the lack of choices. And the ones you have are intelligently laid out. Unlike the recent versions of Windows in which it seems that configuration choices reach down to ridiculous levels and exist for no apparent reason.