I'm starting to think that MS may simply keep Win 7 as a long term offering which will supply the more serious and business users, while Win 8 will be available as an optional OS offering for the consumer .
I think that may be the best bet for MS....
I think that is the ONLY way they are going to keep everybody happy.
It seems clear that Win 8 is designed for the casual and nontechnical user and that even using start on Win 8 to get the traditional desktop will be somewhat of a hassle.
Thoughts.
I say MS should keep them BOTH offered side by side.
It makes sense to me since Win 7 has only been out for over two years and has lots of useful life left in it.
It's called Downgrade rights and it is nothing new. So you idea is what micsoft has been doing since 2006. Nothing new here to talk about.... so... yea...
2 x Corsair Dominator 2GB DDR3 @1866 (Old DDR3 1600 Sticks, plan to upgrade)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI 4850 (I know it's old, plan to upgrade, taking donations)
Sound Card
Realtek ALC889
Monitor(s) Displays
Sony Bravia KDL-32EX500
Screen Resolution
1980x1080P
Hard Drives
1 x Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F60GBGT-BK Windows
2 x Western Digital Caviar Black Sata III 750GB (Raid 0)Programs
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black Sata III 1TB - Media
2 x Western Digital Caviar Black Sata II 640GB (Raid 0) Mac OS X
4 x GELID Solutions FN-TX12-15 120mm Case Fan with Superior Temperature Control
1 x Corsair 140mm Case Fan
1 x SilverStone FP55B Aluminum front panel 5.25" to a 3.5" bay converter
1 x Ultra Card Reader
1 x Sony Blu-ray Burner BD-5300S-0B
1 x 2GB Internaly Installed Flash Drive For Mac OS X Boot
1 x Internal USB 3.0 Header to 2 USB 3.0 Female Adaptor
1 x ATI TV Wonder™ Digital Cable Tuner
So do you think that Win 8 is going to keep that awkward start set up?
If they changed it so the user can make the default choice selection to the traditional desktop (and other functions) like Win 7 I would have no problem with it. But almost making it difficult to get to the desktop is a deal breaker for me, and you know it is going to be the same for a large number of other potential users as well.
It's just to early. The ver. of Windows 8 that is out is just for developers to get there feet wet. We will not know what they will do until the Bata comes out. Mostlikey they are forcing the new UI so developers get forced to use in and to work with it for new programs. Just wait until the beta to start worrying.
2 x Corsair Dominator 2GB DDR3 @1866 (Old DDR3 1600 Sticks, plan to upgrade)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI 4850 (I know it's old, plan to upgrade, taking donations)
Sound Card
Realtek ALC889
Monitor(s) Displays
Sony Bravia KDL-32EX500
Screen Resolution
1980x1080P
Hard Drives
1 x Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F60GBGT-BK Windows
2 x Western Digital Caviar Black Sata III 750GB (Raid 0)Programs
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black Sata III 1TB - Media
2 x Western Digital Caviar Black Sata II 640GB (Raid 0) Mac OS X
4 x GELID Solutions FN-TX12-15 120mm Case Fan with Superior Temperature Control
1 x Corsair 140mm Case Fan
1 x SilverStone FP55B Aluminum front panel 5.25" to a 3.5" bay converter
1 x Ultra Card Reader
1 x Sony Blu-ray Burner BD-5300S-0B
1 x 2GB Internaly Installed Flash Drive For Mac OS X Boot
1 x Internal USB 3.0 Header to 2 USB 3.0 Female Adaptor
1 x ATI TV Wonder™ Digital Cable Tuner
Of course is going to stay, no matter what happens it'll be the UI for mobile devices. That doesn't mean it'll be the default UI for desktops/notebooks, at this point we can't tell for sure. Personally, I don't want any of it on my desktop, but for now it's just wait and see.