[27182818284]

>It's just that the default settings – only one panel (at the top), ugly blue theme & background image – are not very appealing and feel dated.

I used to run exclusively Linux distros, but then switched to OS X around 2008. Recently, I installed the Xubuntu Desktop and I felt that dated feeling you write about. My thought was, "Wow this hasn't changed" Even if it has changed, I couldn't tell at a glance. That's good in one way, but bad in a lot of others.

[gerbal]

I don't think the default Xubuntu theme has ever changed. Which is kind of a shame, but also kind of good. It's very consistent and makes some users who don't care about eye candy and hate change happy, but it scares off some newer users who have a strong association with old-looking meaning poor-functioning.

Given how many awesome XFCE themes there are out there, I'm surprised Xubuntu hasn't moved to something nicer looking.