Well, your post resonated... brought up things I hadn't thought about in a really long time.

I worked in usability and human factors at Dell, and it was pretty much a joke. I was also a technical writer, creating documentation and working on intranets. Everything was about keeping investors and shareholders happy, not keeping customers happy. We were told to bury the Tech Support 800-number so deep in the documentation that people were unlikely to find it. It was a huge shitshow...

And so, you end up with fragile Windoze boxes people can afford, or sturdy Apple boxes filled with so much proprietary hard and software they cost a small fortune and most people can't afford them. Take your pick!