Haven’t posted in a while, so please treat me as a n008. 
I tried the alpha a few of months ago and didn’t like it, but going through it all again at beta, the new UI just clicks…
One of the best GUIs’ on any software system I’ve had the pleasure to use.
Well…
Next to Google perhaps… 
I will need more time with it, of course, but my early impressions on a refit of such a complex system are extremely favourable.
What does everyone else?
Ah yeah … And the UI changed soooo much since alpha status. Not ;).
Glad to hear you like it :).
I think 2.49 has better gui, but 2.5 is good too. Thanks to God and Ton.
I prefer the 2.5 interface over 2.49 everything makes much more sense now, much more organized - I often had trouble finding stuff in 2.49, but now everything is grouped by type, and no sub-tabs 
not to mention all the new stuff that’s been added!
2.53 is the only version I use now…that is, until the next Blender Foundation release or until I get a newer build on GraphicAll
Big THANKS to the devs, they really pulled it off
And what on earth does 2.49 GUI better then 2.5? You suprise me, Endi.
Blender 2.49 GUI is TERRIBLE in comparison.
Blender 2.5 kept stuff from the GUI that are good and kicked out everything that was bad, and it ended up all more or less good. Still has a lot of stuff missing though.
Now, same should happen to some other UI parts and blender will become kick ass.
After getting Blender 2.53, i never want to look back at 2.49, it looks like stone age to me.
So right now I’m kind of making myself wait. Like, I encountered my ‘can’t find an image to bake to’ bug problem and i don’t want to work on that project until this bug is solved, because i don’t feel like using anything else but blender, and i don’t want to look back to 2.49 either.
My imagination has often been hampered by the difficulty in finding the right settings in 2.49!
With 2.5x, no need to learn the manual by heart since everything is intuitive and uncluttered … A powerful, pleasant and friendly application, and moreover …for free!
The dream!
Bevel, screw, and spin are still extremely cumbersome and annoying to use. These being basic modeling tools, I’m amazed they have put their normal implementation back. Especially Bevel.
That has nothing to do with the GUI.
do you use Blender for something? 
All 2.49 modeling functionality can be put back and positioned in their proper places in the menus and panels thanks to the fact the Python API in 2.5 makes 2.49’s look like crud.
There really should be an addon suite with the missing functionality in modeling tools included in the next beta release, this should be fine if Bmesh isn’t far off and would be trivial to remove when we get Bmesh.
Endi, i can understand that people who used Blender since its beginnings can eventually stand the GUI that went to the one of 2.49’s… But gee! For any other, the ancient GUI is one of the most rebarbativ et disgusting ones i’ve ever seen… Enough to repulse many users in spite of all of the app’s potential…
Since the Alpha, i doubled my use of Blender and i never had to turn back to 2.49.
What’s the ETA on bmesh?
so you say: I never write 2.49 is better gui to me?
everybody can write 2.5 is better and endi dont?
Glad you could speak on behalf of us others. :yes:
The only 3d app with a good GUI was MAYA before it was taken over. All others suck. Everyone knows that.
*Intentionally overgeneralized
You make no sense sometimes, you know that? 
Anyway, I like the 2.5 GUI. 2.49 was really terrible now that I look back.
Though that’s just my opinion
I think 2.49 has better gui, but 2.5 is good too.
i agree with you with the 2.49 is easier to reach everything with fewer clicks
or i didn’t use 2.5 too much yet.
2.5 user interface is more pleasant and more logical but slower for the workflow
2.5 user interface is not enough compact: you have to scroll and scroll, open/close the panels very often
and I think it is a big problem. In the 2.49, you can have all the properties on the screen.
I hope some developper(s) will hear about such a problem
I learned the interface of 2.49 so well that I never had difficulty finding anything. however, I just need time to learn the new interface as well. until then, I still prefer 2.49. (it is more familiar to me)
2.5 user interface is not enough compact: you have to scroll and scroll, open/close the panels very often
yes you have to dig for the buttons sometimes 
.
Probably largely a matter of preference, but for me, after working with 2.5 on Sintel for 9 months, trying to go back to 2.49 is (as Soenke put it) like going back to the stone age. (So yes, Endi, I use blender for something ;-)). The new GUI is so much nicer IMO. It’s easier on the eyes, it’s better organized, and modifying values and sliders actually updates things in real time which makes adjusting parameters so much faster. It just generally allows me to be much more productive, and focus on the work rather than on Blender.
But there are downsides: 2.5’s new GUI is a bit more resource hungry (which doesn’t matter much on newer systems, but is really unfortunate on older systems) and it takes up more screen space (not such a issue on higher resolution screens, but problematic on lower-res laptop screens for example). So yeah, it has its downsides. But IMO the improvements far outweigh the drawbacks.