... for old dogs like me who prefer to just stick to keeping my fingers on the keyboard and mouse, instead of all over a screen, Windows 8 is by most accounts a downgrade.

I'm in Hong Kong right now, and I've been looking for a new laptop, but because of W8 I've only been looking at 5-6 month old laptops because some stores don't offer the option for a downgrade from W8 to Windows 7.

Which is extremely annoying, as you can imagine.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's avoiding W8 and looking for a computer with Windows 7 still as the OS.

I loved XP. I loved Vista. I love my Windows 7 on my desktop, but if this is the way Microsoft has decided to go with W8, then I won't be sticking with them.

I don't mind 'change', but it does have to be an IMPROVEMENT, which IMHO, for me. Windows 8 isn't.

Will W8 find it's way into many livingrooms? Sure. It will be on phones, on tablets, and obviously on the pc's and laptops people buy where it's pre-installed. And I'm sure many will just adjust and maybe even love it.

But just as many people, possibly more, will be completely turned off by the new direction they've been forced into, and hopefully they will be looking for alternatives, either by just sticking to Windows 7, or going to the competition.

"I mean I could understand having Metro in addition to the Desktop for those who have touch interfaces but trying to force it on us is just stupid. "

And that is the crux of the whole Windows 7 vs Windows 8 issue. Windows 8, as far as the surface (not the product) is concerned, is still just Windows 7 with a REQUIRED touch-heavy interface. Sure one can argue that by changing some settings here and there and doing some hacking here and there you can make Windows 8 more 7-ish, but it is still not the same. When you strip away the superficial there is ZERO reason to go from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and even then you should only remotely consider Windows 8 if and ONLY if you have a touchscreen to take full advantage of the 80% that makes Windows 8 different from Windows 7 (as far as what is directly usable -- background changes like security changes aren't considered in this argument). If you are stuck with a keyboard and mouse stick to Windows 7 no matter what; Metro is a bear to begin to use without a touchscreen.

I don't hate W8 anymore, it's sometimes nice to have the option to use "apps". But you are right, there are choices made by Microsoft that make no sense. Just the fact that you have to go into "charm bar", then "settings" just to find the power down button is ridiculous. I can find dozen of weird chosen like this one.

But as I've said above, with some tweaks, W8 just look like W7 and it's fine for me.

After an hour I was well versed in Windows 8. Hell, after 30 minutes I knew how to do everything in the operating system that I needed to do.

And to use Facebook on windows 8 all you do is download the app and install. Its that simple.

Some of you sound like you are P.R. guys for other companies.

windows 8 is a leap into a snake pit.

it's built mainly for tablets. why would a pc need a lock screen? slide to unlock, really?!! is screensavers stone age?

and there are ways to change the GUI without confusing the fook out of everyone. jump to linux 12.10/12.04 <unity gui> and play around with it for 5 mins and you wont get lost. im not saying unity is the best GUI, many linux fans complaining about that too but im just saying you dont need this tablet OS on a pc and use a mouse and keyboard to get around, you look like a tool using it.