Have you used Gnome 3? Familiar and dated are not words I would use to describe it. The Gnome team is clearly focused on user experience and without rendering judgment as to whether or not they've succeeded (disclosure: I think they largely have), it's immediately obvious to new users of Gnome 3 (see Torvalds for the canonical case) that the product is not clinging tightly to familiar design patterns.
Have you used Gnome 3? Familiar and dated are not words I would use to describe it. The Gnome team is clearly focused on user experience and without rendering judgment as to whether or not they've succeeded (disclosure: I think they largely have), it's immediately obvious to new users of Gnome 3 (see Torvalds for the canonical case) that the product is not clinging tightly to familiar design patterns.