Look at the picture of a Whopper on the menu board.

Then order one, and look at what you get.

They don't look anything alike.

I'd pay good money for what that picture represents. If they had a picture up there of what they actually served, I doubt anyone would order it.

I.E. only complies with standards seemingly by random chance.

This would seem to be untrue of IE9. It has gaps, but not random ones, and what is there complies with standards pretty well.

Virtually every console has been backwards compatable when initially released. And for good sound economic reasons: It takes up to a year, even more, to build a big software library for a new platform... and it won't even do THAT if people don't buy it, and people won't buy it if there are only half a dozen decent games for it.

They can (and do) jettison the backwards compatibility during a refresh at some point in the lifecycle, but it would be almost insane if they didn't take advantage of the huge library of games already out there as a hook to get people to buy the new generation (or upgrade to it).

Even worse, imagine if they came out with an XBox that couldn't run any games but new games written specifically for it (launching with, say, six games total, which wouldn't be an unrealistic number)... and the competition (PS4) launced with full backwards compatibility. They'd completely lose that competition.

With Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 coming out, they'll probably want to brand the new XBox in a similar fasion. I can't see them really calling it the 'XBox 8', but I can see them doing something like knocking the 8 on its side and calling it the "XBox-Infinity"...

The next XBox will have an optical disc drive that can read DVDs if only for backwards compatability with the huge library of XBox 360 games.

Define "most people who have weighed in on it"... because I doubt you have any data to back up that statement.

And define "overly difficult to use". What exactly is difficult? Being a jarring or unexpected visual is not "difficult to use". You tap the windows key and type to find things. You tap the windows key and click on an app to start it. You scroll left and right. I'm still trying to fathom what you find "difficult" in any of this.

It's DIFFERENT. And yes, if you try to do things the exact same way on a system that is different, you're going to be frustrated and angry. But that's not a problem with the system, necessarily.

But all the functionality is there, and the vast majority of it is available to you in the same, or fewer, keystrokes and/or clicks. A FEW things are not optimized, and a very FEW things aren't present or require a different strategy with this pre-release, non-final UI. There are also several things you can do now that you couldn't do before.

Any time anything changes, there is always this HUGE outcry. Usually it settles down once people wrap their heads around the changes and realise they're not nearly as horrible as they initially thought they were. If only people were more constructive in their feedback, rather than just "THIS SUCKS I'M NOT USING IT"... everything would be better.

Your interpretation and comprehension is wrong, an dno matter how much you try and insist otherwise, it will remain wrong. You willfully (purposefully?) twisted what was said to fullfil your preconceived prejudices, and continue to do so, over and over. Your grasp of the English language is bizarrely shallow. Strange that everyone else 'got' it, except you. And even when corrrected, you keep insisting your original misinterpretation of the statement (and continuing with subsequent statements) is the only one that can, should, or ever apply.

You're. Just. Not. Getting. It.

So just let it go.

If you don't want a Windows Live Account (again, you've given zero justification for such a rigid insistence), then you won't get this feature. And you'll be no worse off than before.

If you want this feature, then get a Windows live ID, and stop bitching and whining and moaning over nothing.

I think you have a grossly different (and twisted) definition of the word 'unusable'.

You're also judging the current developer preview as if it were the end release. It was made clear the UI isn't complete.

It's perfectly usable. It's not as efficient and it's more annoying, but that doesn't make it "unusable". So no, I don't think you know what the hell you're talking about.

You can use ANY email address.

I used to use a gmail address as my windows live ID.

I switched to a @live.com address so I'd also have integrated hotmail email and contacts, but that's not required by any stretch of the imagination.

You can use a local ISP email address too (POP3).

So short answer: Yes, you can use your google email to log in. You just specify that as your Windows Live ID when you sign up.

You love just beating to death how you completely misinterpreted the original statement, don't you? You want to make sure everyone is absolutely aware of just how much you're not getting it, don't you?

Please stop.

If that were ALL there were, you MIGHT have a point (but only barely). Taken in aggregate with all the changes and additions though, I don't see how you can possibly support your notion that Windows 8 is nothing more than a "service pack". Kernel enhnacements, boot enhancements, file system enhancements, UI enhancements, plus the whole Metro/WinRT/Touch stuff, roaming profiles, cloud storage and access integration, and on and on... certainly sounds like a major version update to me.

It's an optional feature.

And since a live id is just an email address... not sure why you wouldn't want one. But hey, if you choose not to have one, no problem. You'll just give up the feature that allows you to store your profile in the cloud and log in with the same ID on multiple PCs.... and you're no worse off than you are now.

But seriously, it's not like it's difficult to sign up for one. Or costly. Or... anything. But if you want Microsofts consumer "Cloud" services, just sign up. Takes a few seconds.

If you don't want Amazon.com's cloud services, don't sign up for those either. Or Apple's. Or Google's.

I'm not sure what your issue is.

I don't think you understand the roaming profiles and single sign-on features.

Log in with your windows live ID, and you pull your stuff from the cloud. So you can log on to your parent's machine and have all YOUR stuff there. Or bring it with you on a USB Key. Basically it de-couples your experience from the specific hardware. And some level of this stuff was available previously, but it usually required a Domain Controller and IT Department to set up. This is for consumers, made easy and made central ... not just something you can sorta kinda do if you're motivated enough.

Well, there's also the whole "Roaming profiles" thing throug the cloud, the "Windows Live ID" sign-on that enables it, the ability to keep your profile on a USB Key... allowing your Windows experience to be independent of the actual physical hardware you log into... That's big.

The inclusion of Hyper-V is also interesting, as is Native support for ISOs and VHDs. The ability to reset/reinstall windows with a click, without losing your data... "refresh". Improved shadow-copy and backup/restore.

There's lots of stuff in there that, taken together, makes for a good Windows 8 improvement, irrespective of the additional tablet and Metro functionality.