Ah, the time when GPUs got fast enough that desktop compositors all became 3D and GPU-accelerated, and every mainstream OS decided to have cool effects to show off what they could do.

Windows Vista and 7 running Windows Aero, with its transparency, shiny bits, and Flip 3D (Windows + Tab).

Mac OS X Snow Leopard running Aqua, with its rounded buttons and blue scroll bars that were 'lickable globs of Crest Berrylicious Toothpaste Gel'.

And then Apple took a road-roller and flattened every UI element they could starting from OS X Lion and iOS 7; Microsoft and Google soon followed suit.

I unironically miss the late 2000s-aesthetic and human design of operating systems and UIs. But I'll concede that Web has got a lot better.