I've only got a very small value of "few" to jump into this argument, but let me provide a (slightly hyperbolic) counterpoint: electrical engineers often are cr

I've only got a very small value of "few" to jump into this argument, but let me provide a (slightly hyperbolic) counterpoint: electrical engineers often are crap programmers. Don't get me wrong, some of the best programmers I've worked with graduated with an EE degree, but they were working as programmers. If you're not, than matters concerning programming require a context switch that often isn't fully made, resulting in a slightly messed up mindset that usually doesn't produce the most optimal results. This is similar to programmers doing UI/UX, which most of the time doesn't even result in a good UI for programmers, let alone mortal users. Not saying that this was the case here, though. When you've got some serious hardware constraints, it's easy enough to lowball your ambitions, even though theoretically something more generic could be made. Not every team has a Niklaus Wirth in it.