The answer : it depends :) Most of the time I would say familiar is an important component of creating great software (see my post ??? <a href="http://anthonyfranco.wordpress.com/2009/02/14/the-8-criteria-for-usable-software/">http://anthonyfranco.wordpress.com/2009/02/14/the-8-criteria-for-usable-software/</a> ) .