I think you're probably being obtuse on purpose, but just in case: It uses the Internet for managing your content licenses and pulling down content you have a license for but do not have a local copy. It's also got a store for said licenses, which requires Internet access to function.

It is. Alcohol isn't what makes it beer. ... not that you don't have a good point besides :)

So you mean the only times that my GPS is active, when I'm navigating somewhere, doesn't actually need my position?

Right, I think somebody has been watching too much TV...

Gee, maybe you should use a cross-platform one! Let's have a list of some possibilities off the top of my head: Java, Python, Perl, Ruby. That's a decent sized list for a non-programmer to be able to pull out of his rear, and the first two are pretty damn powerful and there's no reason the environment to support them can't be present on these systems. That you can force the 'web' to do it doesn't mean you should and is not an excuse for their leaving embedded systems poorly equipped.

I guess you get to either pay-up, or go cold-turkey and join the Libreoffice club.

Oh look, MS is shooting themselves in the foot again.

You should probably read your own signature, the answer to your question is right there.

Fuck branding.

I used to file the branding off my belongings. I've only, 20 years later, managed to ignore them instead.

Really? It can? I'd be very interested in your step-by-step process to make Windows 8 work the exact same way as Windows 7 (the exact same way - not "kind of sorta looks the same")

Can I still hit WIN+R to get a run dialog? That's kind of important to me, as 95% of the time I know what I want and don't want to search for it.

Note the "IMO" that you used there. I don't agree with your opinion, I find the alphabetically sorted list to be the preferable option.

I don't search for files or folders (OK - only rarely), I know where I put things.

The other changes I welcome - especially the ability to disable those annoying hot corners.

For some of us, security is more important than usability. doom (14564) seems to be one of these people, as am I. From your comments, you don't seem to be one.

Get off my lawn. There's a difference between a document and an application, and I damn well would prefer that difference to remain.

That's why they call the Eternal September eternal...

Stop panicking, someone reported that NoScript functions in the beta.