I like having everything visible in Gnome2, and not having to search for the precise name of what I am looking for. Sometimes I don't know it (e.g. to change the screen resolution, it can be under "Display", "Monitors, or "Screen resolution.") I guess it's the whole Windows 95 style of putting everything into a menu so you don't have to come out of whatever app you're in to find the option you want.
It's funny that most mobile phones now have what's basically the Windows 3.1 interface. The home screen is a bunch of icons for all their apps, and one of those apps is the Control Panel that lets them configure system settings. It works really well for small touchscreens, but with a large screen and a mouse, it's rather annoying (see: Windows 8).