I don't know, even a cursory glance at the Ubuntu homepage, complete with shiny screenshots (theoretically chosen to showcase the best design elements), shows there's still a ridiculous distance to go before it'd be anything I'd consider "well designed". Further investigation shows similar inconsistencies across nearly every screenshot of included applications.

Better by far, certainly. The Ubuntu crowd has made significant strides in the past few years. But just look at the "Ubuntu One Music Store" image and tell me you don't see glaring inconsistencies in padding, form outlines, and control styles. Then look at other applications and notice which buttons are shaded and when, and resizable edge styles, and why does the shade get that dark near the bottom without a font highlight to counter the harder-to-read lower contrast?

Ubuntu still looks like it belongs next to Windows 95 and Mac OS 7.

Are you comparing ubuntu running in vmware to native win7/osx? Then yes, you might come to this conclusion.

Try comparing native/native or virtualized/virtualized. The vmware and virtualbox drivers lack many functions that are used in native-running ubuntu or windows, for that matter.

I'm basing that one first hand experience, but as vetinari correctly guessed, I do run it in VMware. I have no way right now to test if, as he says, that makes a huge difference. But using a VM is how most people will test out operating systems and the best way to get first hand experience without a huge commitment.

Calling users trolls who don't know anything doesn't make me want to give you any credit. Vetinari made me consider that I might be missing out on the best the platform has to offer but you just made me want to uninstall it.