Preference for Menu-Driven GUIs

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I know there are a lot of us working in the IT field, so this isn't so much directed at the people who only work from a shell/command prompt. But I'm wondering if I'm alone in preferring what might be called a "classic" GUI that's largely menu-driven with small(ish) icons?

The reason I ask is I strongly dislike the GUI presented in both Windows 8.x and Ubuntu Unity. In the case of the former, I've stuck with Windows 7 on my personal machines as it more or less follows the menu conventions established by Windows 95. I dislike the obtrusive tiles in Windows 8 - it's confusing and obnoxious for me to have to look through large objects to find what I'm looking for. The same thing holds true with the Ubuntu Unity interface. I don't want to have to remember program names - I want them logically organized in menus I can explore quickly and efficiently by category. When I use Linux, I now mostly use Xubuntu precisely because it's logical and basic. Basically I want the OS to be accessible when I need it, but out of my way when I don't.

Is this an autistic thing or possibly just a me thing?

I prefer folder and file lists, not icons. But, small icons are okay, too. I do this because I want to read the (almost) full titles of the folders and files, not truncated titles as a result of the huuuge icons.

I definitely prefer using the list view in file managers. As a photographer, I will occasionally (temporarily) switch to large icon view when sorting images for a specific purpose. But otherwise I find the list view (or even the details view), preferable for quickly making sense of the contents of a folder.

I've recently started using Kubuntu and find that quite good and the applications available for it cover most of my requirements. It has a decent GUI but being Linux there is also the command line available to do more complex stuff.

I definitely prefer the classic look. I don't know what the deal is with windows 8 or iOS even for that matter. I have a customized Windows 7 and Office 2002, so,yeah.

from what i've heard, even NT's think the win8 UI sux.

No argument there.

I've used Kubuntu in the past; it's not bad. I haven't looked at KDE in quite some time so I don't know where things stand in that world. Xubuntu is even more stripped down, although not as clunky as Lubuntu. It seems to achieve the right balance of smoothness while remaining clutter-free.

Of course, I wasn't looking to start a new thread about the best OS for Aspies, since I see there's already at least one there. I'm more focused on the elements of the GUI - regardless of what the underlying OS might be. I gather from the responses I'm not alone in my preference to reduced clutter.

I don't get these newer interfaces, either. And I don't think it's a case of me simply being a curmudgeon. I'm a geek, and I don't mind change for the better. But the flashy, splashy stuff doesn't seem like an improvement to me. Those elements are an impediment to usefulness.

I use Office 2013 at work because I have to; at home I run LibreOffice and love it. Sure, critics point out that LibreOffice/ OpenOffice look like MS Office 97. I agree. I just don't see that as a problem.

the windows 8 interface was designed for small mobile devices - smartphones and the like. on a tiny screen the huge buttons are just the right size for a fingertip to hit. then, microsoft being microsoft, they crammed it down everyone's throat.

and actually, windows 8 does also include the windows 7 UI, sort of..... there's a "desktop" button that takes you there.

True, but it's a bit of a hassle to make things work sorta like previous versions of Windows and it's still not the same. I know about Classic Shell and all that, but I don't relish having to "fix" the interface using 3rd party tools. The latest rumors about what may be called "Windows 9" suggest that Microsoft may be backpedaling and reintroducing a Start Menu that's a blend of the old style and newer tiles. I could probably handle that better.

For now, I've just "upgraded" a brand new Dell XPS 8700 with Windows 7. I pulled the OEM-provided drive entirely, and installed a 500GB SSD drive, with a secondary WD Black 2TB drive for data. It's super fast, and I'm content to stick with Windows 7 for now. I may consider upgrading to Windows 9 when it hits the market sometime next year. Hopefully they've learned something from their ham-fisted approach to cramming new and useless features on the desktop!