I have been building a framework for the past year or so which its primary goal is beautiful visual integration with windows (hence you see the windows style control panel links). Most everything looks very nice throughout the application.
I have to say that personally, I don't think the technology per-se matters as much as how much time you spend on design and quality as well as taking your time. I'm not a strong believer in fancy graphics or outrageously colorful applications required to make a nice software piece. While the posted images may contradict what I just said, most of my other software does not have far so much imagery.
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