I'm not confusing features vs UI at all. The PBS UI is severely lacking; it's not intuitive, it's slow, and the overall layout is crap. No argument there.

My point is that taking away features and input controls under the guise of improving usability is not actually an improvement.

I'll agree that the UI can should be improved, but removing features to do so is not moving the ball forward. Still, even with an "improved" UI there would be the need for a manual, help, etc. Some guys still won't bother to learn it which will bring us back to a thread like this.