Good blog post by Adam Knight, about the importance of first impressions and usability when it comes to software products:
The Worst Five Minutes
I remember from some years ago a "rule" that a new user should be able to get MySQL installed and up and running within 15 minutes. Whether this was and still is easy or not I shall not say... it depends. But it should still be in the back of the mind of any software engineer, that the product's first impression is important, and that usability must be taken seriously.
