All this apparent unusability is fine because these are special products and whatever alternatives the users may have are even less attractive. During the Raw Iron stage, the development team is focused primarily on solving technical and delivery issues so they can get the product out the door to its eager new market. Training may be a significant source of revenue. The company may also find itself funneling a good chunk of revenues from the new product into beefing up technical support. This stage doesn't last long.
Competitors quickly see an opportunity to grab their share of the emerging market.
In the Checklist Battles stage, one or more competitors have entered the arena, each adding their own bells and whistles to the basic product. In this stage, functionality becomes the key differentiator. Advertisements and marketing materials contain checklists of features. Most genres in the computer industry are currently in stage 2. In stage 2, usability means having the right functions.