Worth the read. Good reinforcement on what's important when building a Web site.
"Usability and the utility, not the visual design, determine the success or failure of a web-site."
That depends what the site is for.
Have you got an example where design alone has created success?
No, but I have an example where usability and utility failed to create success due to aesthetics. I will have a blog post about it in the next couple of days.