I know a lot of people in this mode... myself included. The reason is that Windows 8 enables/encourages some advances in hardware design, and new form-factors. There is a LOT of new (and sometimes innovative) hardware coming down the pike this fall and winter. Look at the "Tai-Chi" device, or even Microsoft Surface... similar to an iPad in form-factor, but with a complete OS so you don't need to have a "real PC" to sync it with (though that's slowly becoming less and less true of iOS devices). Flippable screens, laptop-tablet convertables, and vastly smaller devices that match the capabilties of current laptops and even desktop towers.

And whether it's realistic or not, there's a lot of "Don't want to buy now for fear of missing out on the cool new stuff right around the corner" feeling.

I think another limiting factor is how much of the "PC" sales space is actually on laptops, which use Intel Integrated Graphics. If you DO want to make a PC version of your game, AND you want a big-enough potential market, you have to run on these lower resolutions, lower power systems. The "Gamer PC" market just isn't big enough any more (compared to consoles, or the PC space as a whole) to warrent the investment, especially in these leaner economic times.

I know a bunch of people that bought MacBooks or MacBook Airs, and upgraded to Windows 7 on them, and use that as their native system.

This is why tablet sales are exploding. Most people don't NEED any more than to browse the web or watch a video or read an eBook or play a simple little game.

Beyond iOS and Android devices, new ARM and Intel Windows devices are coming on line. Lots of new hardware and form-factors (spurred by both Android and forth-coming touch-friendly Windows 8) are coming this fall and through next winter. I imagine a lot of people are "holding off" to see what the next generation will provide... far more touch, in far lighter/slimmer form-factors, with full USB3/Thunderbolt support, and probably even more stuff like NFC and the like.

Now just seems like a really bad time to buy new systems.

And "Desktop" systems seem to be receeding back into the niches that need them... business, developers, gamers, power-users. Casual users will basically abandon them (and already largely have) for laptops, tablets, and portables.

Well sure. Sit someone down in front of XP with NO history with Windows and they'd experience the same thing. Or same with OS X.

The GA version of Windows 8 will include a quick training video, giving people the basics they need to know, how to find things, where things are, etc. It's like when MS introduced the "Ribbon" interface. Those plopped down in front of it with zero instruction HATED it. When I sat down some people and explained the basic philosophy, hows, and whys... they liked it.

Yes, there will be retraining necessary. But I don't think it's going to be "Huge". I think a lot of people who just sit down at Windows 8 and try to use it like it was Windows 7, though, under-estimate the importance of training and are just going to needlessly frustrate themselves.

There's a rather nice consistency across the board to where most things are and how they function. Still some annoying quirks, as always (it IS Windows, after all), but it's not bad, and it's not bad design.

I would assume so, though there's no way for me to tell since there's no ARM hardware loaded with WinRT for me to test it out on.

But there is a nearly full desktop on ARM WinRT devices (minus Windows Media Player)... you just can't install NEW Desktop apps. So what "comes with" is all the desktop action you'll ever get... Microsoft Office Home & Student, Windows Explorer, Control Panel, etc.

Oh B.S.

Windows 7 is much better than XP in just about every single way imaginable. It's easily the best version of windows, and in now way a "step down" from XP.

Why do you think it's difficult to find your programs and settings without the Start Menu? I'm genuinely curious, because I find no real difference.

The Start Screen is just a full-screen Start Menu. The only thing it's lacking is the "recent documents" section.

Pin the apps you use most often to the task bar or the Start Screen. On the start-screen you can just start typing to find pretty much anything (sometimes in fewer clicks than Win7). Or right-click and hit the "All Apps" menu to see everything.

And why do you think accessing the shutdown menu is so hard? It's no more difficult than before. I honestly have no idea why you or anyone else complains about this. It's JUST as easy as before. It's simply in a new location, a more logical location (under global power settings). Besides, on most Win8 devices, they'll have a hard power button just like an iPad or phone... which is generally even more convenient.

Seriously: what's so hard about "swipe in from the right, settings, power, shutdown", or "mouse to either right-hand corner, settings, power, shutdown"?

It's the most ridiculous complaint I've ever seen.

And most everything else you need from a Start Menu is easily available from hitting the lower-left corner, and right-clicking. Including shutdown.

Are you using the Release Preview?

Because you don't need to use the slider bar if you have a mouse with a scroll-wheel (the wheel scrolls), or if you have a track-pad (two-finger scrolling works).

Additionally, the final product will have full track-pad support that will work like touch-screen, allowing all the same gestures.

Can you be specific? Because I've yet to hear someone say that, and then back it up with an actual example that is anywhere near as bad as they claim.

"Shutdown" is frequently cited as an example. Yet by my count, it's the same number of clicks (Either right-hand corner, Settings (one click), Power (one click)). It's not much different from Start (one click), Shutdown(one click). And it's no more hidden under "power settings" than it was hidden under "start" (which makes no sense at all).

Log-off is Start-Screen, click your profil, select log-off. Again, it's really easy and it's rather intuitive as long as you're not thinking only of the way Win7 did it (which again, not that intuitive to go to START to log off... but to go to your profile to log-off? Makes a bit more sense).

Want to get to the classic control panel? Lower-left corner, right-click, control panel. Fast and easy.

The only thing that is annoying to me is the start-screen search... if you're searching for a control panel applet, there's an obnoxious and annoying extra step: after hitting the windows key and typing "Update", you have to mouse over to Settings and click on it, in order to see the results. Ridiculous. But beyond that one aspect, I'm at a loss to how it slows people down so much, or why they think anything takes 400% more clicks than before...

It actually takes a mind-set change. If you try to use Win8 like it's Win7, you'll just end up constantly fighting it and getting frustrated and annoyed.

Which isn't to say it's not annoying in some respects, it's just that I think too many people aren't giving it a chance or taking the time to learn the new paradigms involved...

Yes, it's annoying to have to relearn muscle-memory. But there's so much that people bitch about that is just nonsensical to me, and proves they haven't tried to learn anything about it. Again, true, much of this isn't immediately "discoverable", but so what? You learn a few basics and that's no different from any other OS... we've just forgotten that we had to learn the basics so long ago.

About the only thing that still irritates me after a month of using it is the Start Screen search defaulting to only "Apps" in the results. So if you type "Update" to get to windows update, you have to additionally click on "Settings" to to see the result and then go there. Seriously, this is just stupid design... it should default to showing the results for the first category that actually HAS results. That would aleviate almost all the remaining irritation I have. Too bad I don't think they're going to do that.

I agree with you, re: Vista.

Don't really agree with you, re: Win8. I use Win7 at work, and I have Win8 running the Release Preview at home on my laptop, and I'm constantly annoyed at minor things that don't exist in Win7 now...

Native USB3 support, Native ISO/VHD support in Windows Explorer, native SkyDrive integration in Explorer, MUCH faster boot-up/shut-down/sleep/resume times, MUCH faster file copies and moves with a better UI, Drive Spaces, Microsoft ID logins with settings roaming, improved network usage monitoring, multi-monitor taskbar support, improved memory usage, and lots of litte things, like new keyboard short-cuts, context menu options, etc.

The whole "Metro" thing is so not a big deal... I'm constantly wondering why everyone is screaming like a stuck pig over it. It takes a while to get used to, sure, but once you get used to the new way of doing things, it hardly gets in your way nearly as much as everyone insists it does (I think they're just "doing it wrong").

That said, I can't see MOST businesses wanting to move to Windows 8 any time soon. Hell, most should just concentrate on getting off XP and onto Win7. Windows 8 is about the consumer space anyway... and is focused on new hardware with touch capabilities (like tablets and touch-laptops and conertables).

The "hot corners" are mouse only, so your comment about them on touch interfaces is misplaced. You get the same actions on a touch-device by "swiping in from the edge". The Hot Corners are basically a kludge to enable usage by people on mouse/keyboard devices without touch.

And the search may be hidden, but it doesn't take long to learn that "swipe in from the right" does a context senstitive search from wherever you are (it's the same for printing in whatever app you're in). Basically, swiping in from the right is the old "File" menu of sorts... the main menu you use to do common things, like print or search or share. For the mouse, it's either right-hand hot-corner that brings up the same charms menu. It takes a little bit to wrap your mind around this new paradigm, but it is consistent and "makes sense" after a while.

And if you are searching from within the app, the app's results show by default, not "Apps". Again, it's true to the context in which you invoke it. If you invoke search from the Start Screen, of course it defaults to apps, since the Start Screen is all about listing and launching apps.

And task switching is smooth too, on a touch device... just swipe in from the left. And the ability to dock an app in a side-bar is also useful and unique.

All I can say to that is ... Amen.

And I wish more people would take your rant to heart. Thank you for venting.

And yet you're completely wrong.