I'll be the first to jump in. When I learned to sew at the age of 12, there were no bells and whistles. Throughout my adult years when I sewed garments all I ever needed were straight stitch, zigzag and buttonholes. Then I discovered quilting.
I first purchased a Singer from Amazon and it was pretty simple. But from the start it never sewed just right, never seemed to fit. The 1/4" seam allowance wasn't 1/4" and it was a real chore to try to get it correct. I went through 5 walking feet. When I sewed faster than a crawl it tried to jump off my table. And then I ran into the problem of wanting to try a new technique and the machine couldn't do it. It was holding me back.
So I went on the recommendation of a friend and visited a Bernina dealer. I traded in the Singer and bought a mid-priced machine with the option of adding embroidery later. I never looked back. I used it hard for two years and traded up to a Bernina 880. It comes with an embroidery module, has all the bells and whistles. And it doesn't hold me back. I use an awful lot of the decorative stitches for my quilting, this has been a precursor to making a full blown crazy quilt. If there's a technique I want to try, I can do it. If I just want to try something out or see how combined stitches work, I can. I can even invent my own combinations. My skills have grown over the 5 years I've been quilting, and they still have a long way to go, but I honestly feel that there's nothing I can't do with this machine.
That being said, yes it is a complex machine. It's a computer with a needle. Things can and probably will break. It needs care and love. It gets cleaned often, I buy my needles in bulk so I'll rarely run out, have a good supply of oil. I've found the thread that I like the best and my machine likes the best and gives me less lint to clean. The only problems I've had are pilot error. It's taken and accepted my stupidity with grace and patience. I clean my home computers and electronics just as frequently, and keep the software up to date.
I suppose it all comes down to the simple fact that I am a geek. Many of my sentences begin with, "I wonder if...." I think it's just the way I'm wired. I enjoy technology and I'm the first one in my family to try something new. I like gadgets and have lots in my kitchen and scattered throughout my home. My professional like was involved in electronic testing, repair and research and development and building prototypes. I can just picture myself at the age of 80 demanding the latest iPhone and iPad and laptop. Heaved help my daughter.