No, I didn't miss that. I've long learned that comparing volume / footprint matters more for ITX vs ITX, but means little when an MATX / ATX case under the desk is out of the way and not taking up any usable desk space whilst a "space saving" case on the desk can end up looking absurd when it's as tall as the monitor. There was a guy at work who had a really tall small footprint case. Wasn't this one but looked something similar like a Silverstone FT03-Mini. The number of people who almost knocked it over with elbows, bags, etc, when walking past due to a higher centre of gravity, LOL. Ergonomics were poor too. If USB ports are on the front panel but right at the top of a tall case with little depth, then inserting a USB stick can also cause the case to tip backwards. And if the ports are directly on the top (as they are with this H1 case), then depending on desk / seat height and assuming the case is near the rear of a desk, you may actually have to stand up every time you want to plug something in...
ITX is at its best when it makes cases smaller in all 3 dimensions without sacrificing ergonomics. It's at its most stupid when it charges 4-6x more for an ergonomically crippled case purely on "looks" only for it to still end up a fire-hazard (and for the manufacturer to try and ignore it until it becomes too big to ignore...)
Well, this
is smaller in all three dimensions, it's just that it's rotated so that what would have been the depth is instead the height. Of course if you prefer a horizontal layout there are
tons of options there (that are often also much smaller than the H1) like the Dan A4, Ncase M1, Loque Ghost, etc., etc. I get your argument concerning size not mattering if it's out of the way, but it's a rather weird one - if you define a situation in which size doesn't matter, then obviously it doesn't. That hardly serves as an argument in cases where size
does matter. The example of your colleague is also rather silly... I mean, having a top-heavy, small footprint case in an exposed position in a heavily trafficked area is just PEBKAC, and in no way a fault of the case (nor is it a situation applicable to the majority of enthusiast-built PCs). You might as well complain that large ATX cases are problematic if you place them on the floor in a hallway and people stumble over them. But not everyone has room to put a huge mid-tower on the floor next to their desk, and not everyone wants the tons of dust a floor-standing case will inevitably suck in. I would also seriously struggle to find a monitor shorter than 38cm, though that might just be me. A cursory look at cheapo 24" monitors show all of those at 40cm or taller. As for whether that looks silly ... well, that's a matter of taste. I can agree with the point about ergonomics, but that only applies if you frequently plug things in and out of the front I/O. In which case I would personally rather get a hub and place it in a more accessible position, regardless of whether the connector was on the top of a desk-standing case or on the top of a floor-standing one - for the former I'd need to reach, while for the latter I'd need to roll my chair over to the side. Neither are optimal.
Of course, none of this actually backs up the statement I initially responded to. The H1 (and similar cases) saves far more than "an inch or two" unless you are in a situation where
only the height of the case matters, in which case ... well, don't get a vertical layout SFF case. That's rather obvious. There are plenty of horizontal options that save far more than an inch or two. And in the other dimensions, it's still much, much smaller. Riser cables aren't always necessary, and they definitely come with some drawbacks, but they're also necessary if you want a case with a layout that doesn't match the traditional ATX component orientations. And that's fine. It might not be a worthwhile tradeoff for you, but it is for many others. Either opinion is equally valid, and neither invalidates the other.
You're making this out as if SFF is generally useless, which ... well, sorry, but while that might be true for you, it definitely isn't generally true. And thankfully your opinions on that don't dictate case availability. Nor are the flaws of this riser cable inherently tied to it being SFF - risers are used for vertical GPU mounts i ATX cases too after all. The fault lies with NZXT's (or their supplier's) shoddy engineering. Obviously the potential for such a fault wouldn't have been there if there wasn't a riser, but ... so what? That's like arguing that we'd reduce the number of traffic accidents by banning all kinds of mechanical transportation.
. 
