Is there something really wrong with that? I won't spend $10 to go see a movie with bad reviews. Why would I want to spend $40 and quite a bit of time and effort on an OS that most people think is bad?

Basing your movie opinions on random youtube videos would be equally foolish. The reviews of professional critics are somewhat different.

Ok. I wasn't sure if the original complaint was because they were random youtube videos or simply reviews. Several professionals have criticized Windows 8 harshly: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/windows-8-disappointing-usab...

Ugh, that review leaves plenty of room for FUD. This excerpt for example.

    One of the worst aspects of Windows 8 for power users is that the product's very
    name has become a misnomer. "Windows" no longer supports multiple windows on the
    screen. Win8 does have an option to temporarily show a second area in a small part
    of the screen, but none of our test users were able to make this work. Also, the
    main UI restricts users to a single window, so the product ought to be renamed
    " Microsoft Window ."

They make it sound as though I can't have multiple windows open even in desktop mode. Furthermore, the option to show a metro app side-by-side is neither temporary nor difficult. In my multi-monitor Windows 8 setup I leave the Mail app open most of the day.

I did a Windows 8 Beta Test and Windows 8 Developer test and had Windows 8 Enterprise RTM for a 90 day demo. It didn't seem to want to run half the software that worked with Windows 7, and the Windows Store didn't seem to have a lot of apps worth the purchase price. I've tried Windows 8 and I have family and friends who bought a Windows 8 Machine and now regret it.

I think the youtube videos are based on that.

Windows 8 is the New Coke of Windows operating systems, worse than Windows Vista and Windows ME combined.

>It didn't seem to want to run half the software that worked with Windows 7

What do you mean?

Anyone else had problems running Windows 7 apps on Windows 8? I thought it was supposed to be almost completely backwards compatible?

I upgraded to Windows 8 pro about a month ago, despite my concerns that some of my more eclectic software & hardware might not make the jump (given prior experience with major Windows revisions).

Specifically, I'm running an M-Audio ProjectMix I/O multichannel soundcard/mixing desk through a PCI-e Firewire card, for which I record multitrack audio and produce video. I'm running two monitors and a 1080p HDTV off a single ATI Eyefinity card. I've also got a pile of more common software - an old version of Photoshop, some webdev crap I test with for building out my hobby sites.

The installation couldn't possibly have gone smoother. I downloaded the upgrade, which ran and had me on Win8 Pro in about a half hour, probably less. I remember it going very quickly. I was upgrading from Win7 home.

Nope. I've had no problem running anything that worked on Windows 7. Even older apps which need Windows XP compatibility mode work fine.

My hands-on experience with Win8 confirmed what the videos showed: the OS is seriously flawed in the usability dept.