As time has gone by, more and more people are starting to use computers. Before, only technically-minded people that were willing to invest in a learning curve would buy and use computers, but now even toddlers are users. People need computers, but they have other work to do, other things to learn. They don't want to have to invest time in learning how to use a computer, and I believe that's what's driving the dumbing-down of user interfaces. I don't think this was initiated by developers, and in that sense, they are forced to comply to market forces.
I still hate developing GUI apps on Web technology. Most of the stuff I program would best be used on a CLI. It would be simpler to program and would provide much more productivity benefits to an experienced user. However, it's not really an option, when most users don't even know how to make a bookmark or have little notion of what files are, much less how to use a terminal.
There's a difference between making things easier to understand and turning them into a nigh-useless playschool-brand version of themselves. The original Macintosh is what the former looks like: coherent metaphors, expected behavior, simple design. Today's "apps" are what the latter looks like.
I still hate developing GUI apps on Web technology. Most of the stuff I program would best be used on a CLI. It would be simpler to program and would provide much more productivity benefits to an experienced user. However, it's not really an option, when most users don't even know how to make a bookmark or have little notion of what files are, much less how to use a terminal.