Many years ago, when I worked on a team maintaining a leading remote sensing package, the User's Group dictated what they wanted to see in it and they practically had veto power over any of our proposed changes. UG meetings were terrifying for us because we had to kiss their butt if we wanted to keep them as customers.

They always showed up in a foul mood and with a list of demands; they met amongst themselves and worked out a battle plan before they arrived at our lavishly catered meetings. Yes, WE picked up the tab for the UG meetings. We didn't announce what they were getting, they gave us the specs for it. There was little choice, our competition was very good and breathing down our necks.

Today, a lot of software we use is constantly being "enhanced", often unnecessarily for purely marketing reasons, and usually around the time we've finally learned how to use it effectively. Every "upgrade" causes our productivity to collapse as we track down all the bugs and painfully relearn how to do even the most routine jobs.

It's like the American car industry. Once the major players had driven out their smaller rivals, and reached an unspoken accommodation with their surviving competition, they all started to look and act remarkably alike, except for the cosmetic (marketing) aspects.