Yeah- I hated that stupid Apple look.
Changed mine to Classic straight away.
Here's a good place to tweak XP till ya drop:
http://www.tweakxp.com/
The way one tunes XP can make a huge difference. By default there's too much crap running because it neeeds to work for anyone...even your Mom.
A few tweaks and you'll have a faster system on a noticeable level.