Win8 does have a neat narrator-function, which can read out loud in what windows or what command the cursor has been pointed to at any given time, that's bound to be usefull for people with eye problems.

But in all honesty I don't see that many companies adopting Windows 8. The Metro UI, while neat and full of pretty interesting ideas, is not very professional feeling choise. It makes the whole thing feel like a entertainment station.

True enough, if the companies would be willing to invest some time and money, they could inxample provide their intranet functionalities on the Metro UI, but again, it's not going to happen very soon.

That's been there in an incarnation or another since Windows XP. Another less known feature is speech to text, which is absolutely amazing in Windows 7 after a period of learning (the computer learning your way of speaking that is.)

Diablo 2 doesn't seem to like Windows 8. I get black screens running it 'normally', and slowdowns in windowed mode. I guess I'll have to virtualize XP or 7 for it.

Starcraft 2 works perfectly, though.

I hate it. No need to upgrade from my beloved win7 pro :)

Windows key + Q and click on the application you want to start. Don't know if this has been mentioned here before.

Yeah, I know. Who the f**k is such a stupid human engineer to hide the things you can reasonably expect users to want to use all the time behind a G*****n keychord?

Worst human engineering decision since the one-button mouse. Unless it's intentional, in which case it's more likely malicious anticompetition.

Wait, what? :D Dunno if you were bashing it, but personally, I love it. :p

EDIT: I already edited that screen to suit my needs, so I guess that's why I love it.

You can rearrange stuff by editing ProgramData - Microsoft - Windows - Start Menu folder, and AppData - Roaming - Windows - Start Menu to suit your taste.

Mate. Most people have and use desktops (there's helluva lot more of them out there too).I doubt touch screens will become standard either (unless it becomes more affordable and the technology allows it to be adaptable with most software - somehow i don't think it will be that popular with PC gaming).

Uh, I beg to differ. Laptops are most common in the USA. The ability to shift from table top to table top or sit on the couch apparently trumps all.

I can't say I understand it, but most of the non-computer people in my life seem really enamored with the technology (I doubt they are exceptional). "Is this computer really fast? Does it have a lot of memory? Does it have a touch screen?" Perhaps it seems more friendly, or they feel the UI is more discoverable if they can put their hands on it? I suspect it's because of these people that we have a desktop GUI metaphor in the first place.

Vendors always need a new feature to push. In this I think they will find a receptive consumer. Price is of course essential. However, If every laptop has a touchscreen built in they will be become much cheaper. Keyboards used to cost well over $100 USD but no longer.

I don't think PC gaming is relevant. I doubt 5% of PC owners are core gamers. Such a minority does not get a huge amount of consideration in future UI developments. Casual gamers won't care or may even benefit from a flood of smart phone ports.

Surely you must see touch input is a big deal? I'm not suggesting mouse keyboard are going anywhere or that there won't be any growing pains along the way.

Everything about this screams tablet OS. Maybe with Windows 9 they'll have learned from the vast array of mistakes they've made here. But I don't believe they'll have them sorted out in this release. Not even several service packs from now.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

That quote is pure bullshit considering that you still have the option to use regular software which can't be turned off by Microsoft. When that won't be the case anymore you'll be able to come forth and say that; until then I'm happy that the average Joe won't contribute to the global botnet anymore, and that tech Dave can still do everything he could on Windows 7.

Why can't it be turned off? For technical or legal reasons?

Technical reasons; the kill switch is only implemented on apps available on the Windows Store, not the rest.

So how is this going to stop the creation and proliferation of botnets when the Windows App Store likely to only account for less than a percentage of software that is installed on people's computers?

Furthermore, if the kill switch is in the program itself, then what is it about Windows 8 that accommodates these kill switches when, for instance, Windows 7 does not? Why is this a Windows 8 thing and not an App Store thing?