There are numerous incredibly talented people at Microsoft that I personally know and have the utmost respect for (e.g. Bill Buxton, Arnie Lund, etc.), but when it comes to the “ribbon”, I just don’t get it. For me, learnability is poor and I’m always hunting and searching for what I want to do. But because Microsoft designed it, many companies blindly copy them, choosing what they believe will become established convention over smart design.

Microsoft's ribbon in Word

See my (very popular) post at Dexo Design: Why Microsoft’s Ribbon Sucks!