I've read and reread more articles like this in the past few years than I care to count. It seems to be the most popular cause amongst amateur design-critics, and also has the added benefit of generating provocative article titles.
I don't think this sensibility is going to go away whilst it still has the power to make applications more appealing to mere mortals. The fact that the article uses a picture of the most inoffensive and relevant metaphor to date, the reel-to-reel tape player in the Podcast app, I believe reflects badly on the motivations of the article's author.
They design it like this so that those less comfortable with tech are not intimidated by it (which is ultimately where the big money market is right now).
I had to give my mum literally zero instruction in how to use iCal on her iPad,she uses outlook at work and still forgets how to do somethings. When I showed her iCal in lion she said "it looks just like my iPad one - I'll be fine".
When showing the older generation round Apple stuff I find there is a strong correlation between how "life like" the app looks and how easy they find it to get up and running.
"And [the Microsoft UI uses] not just any typography, but specifically the typography of Swiss rail travel, which uses the Helvetica face."
Come on, Helvetica is the most widely used font in the world. To suggest that it conjures up images of Swiss rail travel is a bit of a stretch. It's also the type face that's used in the NYC subway system.
At the end of the day, this is measured by whether or not the UX triggers an emotional connection. Maybe the reel-tape thing is a fascinating UI metaphor to a child BECAUSE he only saw it in old movies.
[0] http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4d9499e3cadcbb88674...