Well, it is at least in part how many linux distros configure Grub, it can be set up to boot the last selected OS, which I think should be the default… I changed it on all of my dual boot systems, though I haven’t been using Windows all that much lately, so it hasn’t been all that big of a deal for me.
I just wish that Windows hadn’t changed the default update config to restart no matter which option is selected, since it makes that situation soooo much more annoying.



I remember Vista & 7 both had the Aero Glass themes, a new light blue theme that replaced the Luna themes from XP & the Classic theme. Sure a lot of color schemes & things like cool looking cursors went away, but you could easily copy most of them from older versions. Only limit I can think of is that the blue theme that replaced Luna (And is technically based off of it) sucks.
8 is the version that basically nuked customization with only the new flat theme replacing everything.
Also, fun fact, the blue theme from Vista & the classic themes both do technically exist in 8 & up, but they are hidden & seeing them usually means something is broken.
As for Linux theming, look at DEs other than GNOME, most are still pretty customizable