It's not like using a stopwatch to time AEs in EQ1 was some difficult thing. One of my first complaints about EQ2 was that the /time command didn't give seconds so you couldn't use a macro for a timer like you could in EQ1.
ACT is an incredibly useful tool, there's no denying that. Aditu deserves endless praise for her all her work in creating it. But I think by far the most useful features of it are for data analysis in determining how mechanics work or the value of different spells and so on, not just for timing AEs or similar things. That's just a small side benefit.