[adamhowell]

I always think of Google when I think of this.

A new webapp gets used by Google employees internally first, and you tweak it based on their feedback. But even with 10,000 potential employees QA'ng an app, you still get stinkers like Page Creator and Notebook.

Why? I think it's because no one can stop something from being released at that point. I'm guessing at Apple they either involve employees at an earlier point (judging by their secrecy w/ the iPhone I don't think this is true) or cancel more late-stage products, regardless of the lost time and money.

[nostrademons]

Googlers are also about the weirdest population you can get outside of religious cults. They tend to skew technical and often focus on details, which can distort your feedback when the average user just wants something that works and doesn't make them feel stupid.

[timcederman]

Steve will happily kill projects at any time if he doesn't agree with them.

[rdrimmie]

This is true, but stinkers like .mac and using the iTunes store for App developers still make it through in a place where the standards are much higher.