Bought a laptop for my kid which came with win 8 as only option, hence I had 10+ hours to play around with it. Horrible, also usable... Anyway, even without frustrating user interface, win8 just looks fugly! Who in their clear mind would like to use anything like this. It has zero appeal.

"am not sure If I am interested in doing something related to my research interests" ---- this is a warning sign!!!! You should not do it! You need to have passion and luck to succeed after you defend. It doesn't look like you have the first component. Also how are your writing, communication and marketing skills? - these are becoming more important than research when you plan to stay in academy. PhD in biol. sci., while fun to study, is a horrible choice career and life-style wise. I have one... Good luck anyway!

I don't care what they plan to build into their games, they are on downward spiral. They false advertise and fail to honor the deals. EA customer support is horrible, and attitude towards customers degrading. Good luck EA, good luck!

my comments was regarding how one starts the applications - I love the ability to click anywhere on a desktop and open a cascading menue. that is fast. used to e16 (10+ years) and it does everything I need. yes, but XFCE and awesome would be my first choise alternatives. my Englsih sucks, sorry.

i do care, i use e16 daily. minimal plain desktop, can start any app with a single mouse click anywhere on desktop. faster than anything else (start button or metro). will give e17 another (4th or 5th?) try now.

So true. I needed a win 7 copy for my kid who is a student. Win 7 is no longer available at MS's student store.

change is welcome if it adds something, is beneficial. metro doesn't add but takes. sure my grandma and two year old will be doing fine with 8. it is great if you are handicaped, or if you have a learning disability, but some people need to work using pcs. epic fall for MS. not crying, i gave away my win 7 licence and moved to mint.

maybe think of nvidia vs amd? prety good to have a choice -> competition

Thumbs up for remembring Loki! Valve has more ressources,although it is a grand task. I applaude to both for their efforts.

"A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money" /Dickerson?

ME* is a third person puppeteering, ideal for consoles. this one is fps and lots of fun (i think).

i thought the grunge (Pixies/Nirvana/etc.) was the 'last one' as it was quite innovative (me thinks), but this was also some 20+ years back

till the Metro comes out.

But any signs of water?

It will be available as an app from MS for $1/month. No word yet from MS if it is going to be functional.