Hmmmm. I'll agree that D&D "feels" different to me than it did back in the 1E days. Thinking back, it seemed better back then, somehow - but I'm fairly sure that, just like my memories of Star Wars, nostalgia is clouding my vision.
I certainly think it's easier to play now, and far more accessible. I kinda miss the smell, the feel, even the layout and typesetting of the old books. But, again, I'm sure that's nostalgia talking.
I find it hard to get excited about new books these days. I remember a time when a new AD&D rulebook was a major event for me; now it's not. I think that's partly due to my "growing up" a little - once the rules were the most important thing to me, whereas now they're just a means to and end, a mechanism by which I and my friends can participate in a story. I used to want more and more ever-complicated rules; now I want simple rules. I used to calculate encumbrance to the nth degree, come up with long, deeply complicated ways of adjudicating things - now I feel that it's more important to have a fast moving game where the rules don't get in the way.
Looking at it that way, 3E is certainly more suited to me now than 1E is; and I strongly suspect that I would have disliked 3E 15 years ago, had it existed.