I've used Google Reader for so long I don't even think I remember how to use individual websites. We used to use....they were called bookmarks weren't they?

I find Metro to be awful on the a traditional desktop. Never use it. But I don't miss the start menu that much as I found that I had stopped using it anyway.

In windows 7 I pinned my most used apps to the taskbar. The only time I used the start menu was by pressing the win key and starting to type to perform a search. It works the same way in Windows 8. If I had any complaints it would be that being a metro app the search takes up the full screen.

I get the idea of apps that make win8 boot straight to desktop. But it seems a bit of overkill for something that can be accomplished by pressing win+d?

5) Getting a perfect pause picture. That was the big "whoa" moment for me when I moved from VHS. Silly I know, but I still remember it.

I don't think you can use that excuse any more. In the early days of netbooks Linux had a head start. For whatever reasons the majority of people preferred windows. I remember reading that retailers were reporting a high return rate on the linux versions, can't remember where I read that though.

I also bought Fences Pro. Despite the website saying you require impulse, the confirmation email they sent contained a direct download link for the program as well as a link for Impulse. The config screen for Fences allows you to both manually check for updates as well as set it to automatically check. I have not had to install Impulse to download, use or update this program. I think in this case they must have realised forcing the use of Impulse for a simple util was overkill.