I think that much of the fear/reluctance of tax preparation programs is misplaced. While I'm not terribly surprised that one software package omitted one fairly obscure wrinkle of the code, I think it's more likely that an individual (even a highly-trained accountant) would forget about, or never know about, a possible angle that'll help you.

For most people in most situations, a package like TurboTax will explore all possible ways to process your information in your best interests. Electronic memory is simply more capable of maintaining more complex information than the human brain.