[TheOtherHobbes]

I think it was killed because fashion. A lot of modernist typography and design are flat and minimal, and textures-as-signifiers are considered a wild decorative extravagance.

IMO the glass highlights and reflections everywhere were beautiful.

The flat look is just meh in comparison. It does the job, but discoverability for buttons is poor, and it's just boring.

CPU certainly isn't an excuse today. Nor is "It's dated". IMO flat with gradients looked dated as soon as it appeared.