I chose what I was told was easiest which was Ubuntu and that has GNOME. A year later when I had enough of GNOME (which I still much preferred over Windows) I decided I was up to installing what I actually wanted and only because it came with an installer.

I think they are trying to exaggerate how very outdated some Windows UI elements look (primarily dialog boxes?). I doubt they would use a 95 theme on an OS that’s hard to theme and annoying to use.