For what it is worth it is actually a matter of taste. For me, the defaults of typical KDE desktops have been wonderful during KDE 3 and KDE 5 cycles. Ubuntu

For what it is worth it is actually a matter of taste. For me, the defaults of typical KDE desktops have been wonderful during KDE 3 and KDE 5 cycles. Ubuntu was the only Gnome centric distro that I used that was at times better. I can't but a finger on exactly what but dull and uninspired feels very close. Edit: as for Mac I used it for 3 years and while I support devs who want it I never got it. At least back when I used it there seemed to be an informal rule that any popular app had to have a gear icon (some had two) thrown into the user interface by a drunk dev. I'm actually serious here, this was my experience: I could never understand why some had the gear in the bottom left corner, others somewhere else. Windows used to be more boring and polished but now have 2 or 3 different control panels. Ironically I like Windows more than before though. Maybe because Windows is becoming less dull and I'm becoming more dull?