So, in June the marketing guy says to me "you should go to the Microsoft dev conference this year", and mind you this is one week after I've finally cut over to Linux as my primary OS.

Well. as I sit here reading Slashdot on my free Samsung win8 tablet, I have to say I'm impressed. This thing may not be an iPad but it sure is better than the android tab I brought with me!

Ever transfer files from one computer to another with a crossover cable? It's really nice to do it wirelessly- hence ad hoc mode.

For the layman's overview of ad hoc mode check out this overview if you want the nitty gritty read the standard itself

It is a real mode. And would be quite usefull if chipset manufacturers bothered to implement it correctly and test interoperability.