A buddy of mine suggested I post to HN, so here goes. I'd love to hear your thoughts -- or other examples of new products that had/have a UX optimized for the first-timer...
For software, I was impressed with Ableton live. It would be a very daunting app to learn without built in tutorials and a module in the bottom left of the app that gives a great explanation of anything you roll over. Adobe sucks at this stuff, but they are the industry standard, so people slog through it. 3D modeling software could also benefit from some first timer love.