That said, Metro dashboard aside, it's a nice OS. If you stay in the desktop mode it's really just a faster and more stable version of windows 7. I've been using it as my primary OS for the last few months. The lack of a start menu will confuse people at first, but the keyboard driven execution of programs should be a welcomed change for many power users. There will certainly be a backlash from users, much like there was from Vista. Down the road though, I can see Windows 9 learning a ton from 8. That's where I see the true value of Windows 8.

Disclaimer: I work for Microsoft.

I'm hoping for a lot more customization. I don't understand why that's being taken out of every modern operating system. The biggest thing I dislike about Windows Phone is that I can't change the tiles to be non-insane colored. I just want them to be white, dammit! I'm hoping that level of customization is present in Win 8, but I have a sinking feeling that it will not be.

Take the current start menu-- what are the usability problems? -- nested folders, stuff like uninstallers squatting there, small mouse target. The new start screen tackles all these issues, whist still keeping the keyboard/search support (what most here have been doing since vista no doubt). Why should the start area not fill the screen? Similarly, there is no point in a little windows logo/button bottom left.

That's not to say that Microsoft will fail, or that Metro will be worse than the Windows 7 GUI. It's certainly going to be more interesting than the average OS launch, but my gut feeling is that the reaction to this will match the reaction to the Office ribbon.

They didn't replace OS X with iOS, they each exist as expressions of a different type of computing, for different purposes.

Microsoft are attempting to provide one system as a single expression of both types of paradigm, and this is why the jury is out on Windows 8.

It's a bet they may have gotten wrong from a technical debt standpoint.

Now what does Apple do? They've bet on single-user tablets, Intel laptops (with better-than-average but still not great) battery life, separate tablet and desktop ecosystems, and tablets that have only basic productivity apps. How do they bridge this gap and pay this debt?

I think Windows 8 is a very nice platform, and though it has some quirks, I think if people try it they will love it. I'm a Microsoft employee, though, so I'm probably biased.

I suspect that Microsoft has mountains of statistical data to support the statement "Metro is a better user interface."

Anecdotally, I'd agree.

How that translates into the market is of course another story. And if history is a guide, it will translate slowly just like every other operating system Microsoft has released since...well forever. In four years when Windows 9 rolls out, we'll still be hearing about people running XP (confession: my oldest laptop runs 2000 when I fire it up).

It's not a big deal for Microsoft because they don't really make money by breaking old hardware via an OS push on a three year cycle like Apple does. Their big money comes from stable relationships with enterprise with manufacturers and their business model supports supporting legacy systems.

BTW, there's no way to top Clippy.

I will ditch my android tablet for a Windows 8 tablet in a heartbeat, if my windows media content works on it and if it's reasonably priced.

Why will this be such a flop? Are you maybe exaggerating? If it is because of the fundamental changes you mention? Which ones in particular and how are they not proven to be better?

I'm not defending Windows8 at all. Like I said, I'm no Microsoft fan myself but even I can give them credit for some of the things they're doing in Windows8. I think it'd be far more constructive to give us some specifics so that we can have a real discussion rather than throwing out generalizations that'll turn this into another religious debate.

99.9999% of applications for Windows are not going to look like Metro apps including flagship products like MS Office. So Metro is going to get in the way most of the time.

I'm not sure what desktop users should really appreciate about Windows 8.

This makes me laugh. It was not long ago, not long ago at all, everybody was complaining about how old-fashioned and unresponsive Microsoft was being.

I have primarily been a Mac user for the last couple of years (whenever I have a choice about it), but I'd love to see MS start making its self more relevant again. I feel the consumers (i.e. my) interestes are best served when progress from the tech giants are spurred on by their competition. Not when a single platform has the majority of mind share in terms of perceived innovation.

Apps.