People are beginning to find brushed metal really grating...

I'm actually part of that group of folks now. :-) Actually, i've planned on changing the entire UI to use the polished metal look instead, but due to last minute issues, that did not make this current release. I'm thinking of basing my changes using the samples on Matt Gemmell's page at http://mattgemmell.com/source/

Apple really should make this polished metal look available in Interface Builder.