[dragonsky67]

I wonder how much of this is also people wanting to see value for money?

By this I mean regardless of how much work has to go into getting the information on screen, if it's just an information screen that does not allow much further interaction then the experience is finished after the first look. If you have to dig a little to find the information you are after, then the experience is extended which along with the feeling of discovery results in more satisfaction.

It's a problem I encounter when developing tools system support. I try for the simplest UI, but when presenting the tool inevitably get people asking how it took so long to develop something so simple?