Randy's Axiom 173: VERY widely used techs are some of the worst, ill-conceived techs ever.

However, no one will admit this because:

. many people don't know them (the techs) well enough because they're so abstruse. Some people would argue this a necessary feature.

. many people only know them and so can't compare them to something else

. people that do understand them typically have financial or ego reasons to look the other way

. people that do understand them AND are rich and happy are afraid of all the other ppl in this list.

Generalization: any widely use tech must be extremely complex or extremely simple (eg TCP).