All the smart guys left

[psxphill]

It's not just different. It's bad design. Removing the start menu and replacing it with a touch interface is just plain stupid.

The metro start screen doesn't replace the start menu, all of the functionality that is currently part of the start menu is seperated out & you can use Windows 8 without ever using the start screen.
 
I don't think the start menu is that important, I spend very little time using it each day. So getting used to Windows 8 isn't going to be a huge leap for me. I lent my Windows 8 netbook to a teenage relative when they visited for the weekend and they never said a word.
 
I love some of the other ui improvements.

[psxphill]

I'm sorry, I really don't mean to be rude, but if you've actually looked into the Start screen and you honestly think it's an improvement in anything but a touchscreen scenario (and, I suspect, even then,) you're an idiot.

I like how you started the sentence apologising about how you don't mean to be rude but by the end of the sentence you are just being rude.
 
Vista wasn't as bad as everyone made out, but it will be interesting to see whether the hate campagin against 8 will have the same impact. I remember XP being unpopular & even the start menu being ridiculed when 95 came out.