I hadn't updated GIMP in a long while and just found out they made a few changes last October that might help the teeming hordes who complain the interface is too weird.
First, the GIMP no longer starts with just a toolbox (a jarring first sight for new users). Now it also opens an empty image window and a basic utilities dock.
Second, the menubar has been removed from the toolbox and added to the image window's menu. There is now only one menubar.
Third, all docks are subordinate to the image window. This is the biggie -- no more dock buttons on the taskbar. A single button raises and hides everything.
The default setup looks much like ordinary GIMP:
With some customization, it can be made similar to a Photoshop layout:
And glory hallelujah, ONE button to rule them all:
Of course, it's not a complete changeover. But it's a decent halfway measure for those who can't bear using the original UI and those who can't part with it. The image window isn't a container, so docks don't move/reflow if you resize it. And opening more than one image spawns floating windows, instead of tabbed/docked inside the first. But it beats the heck out of using hacks like the buggy GIMP Deweirdifyer.
Currently, it's said to work correctly only in Windows and Gnome.
http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-introduction-whats-new.html