It's very obvious there are enough folks on either side of the fence liking where they are.  There also seems some, which I think I fall into that category of, folks whom neither hate nor love it we just sort of look at it and are not really sure what to make of it.  Most of us don't use or even have mobile devices that use the touch/swipe screen style of input.  Or if we do that type of controlling our desktops just doesn't work for us.  Yes I understand you don't have to use it on the desktop.

I know we are probably in an age group that is very distant to a lot of folks, but we are using computers to get done in a day what we need to.  Speaking for myself, I'm no longer easily impressed or fall down in a state of excitement with each new offering or advancement that comes along.

I did get a new computer a few months back with Windows 7 64 bit installed on it and like most folks took advantage of the very inexpensive upgrade offer, it made sense.  I did not install the upgrade becuase it didn't make sense at that moment.  I happen to like using ObjectDesktop and it's assorted programs on my desktop and wanted to wait for the updated version from Stardock, which by the way also made sense. 

I'm not sure what the future updates to Windows 8, and there will updates, will change or offer if anything or in what things may be coming with Windows 9.  Personally I think a small adjustment that will allow desktop users not to have the exact same version of OS that is meant for tablets and mobile devices would be appreciated by the overall community of computer users.

Okay, I will duck now so you can fire away........

and I will not even try to.

Oh sure we do, we just don't think that everyone needs to hear them......see, there is an opinion right there.   

Being objective doesn´t mean having no opinion. With all due respect, petrossa, this sounds a bit pointless to me. Being objective gets sometimes harder then just fire an opinion away. Given that you can dislike something but you see some good benefits in it, so you can critisize but you do not forget to pick up some good points about such a matter. That is the objectivity. And trust me about this. It is mostly the lack of objectivity that is the root cause of everything.

I really do not want to argue about this. I am just trying to explain how (imho) it is with being objective. 

You will find on this site most people will follow Microsoft no matter what even if Microsoft was bankrupt and falling apart.

lol @ Wiz!!!

This is so so true 

These two statements are so true, and why so often it's up to people like us [early adopters] to demonstrate the new stuff and show people that it doesn't hurt to change:..... "Despite what Steve Jobs said, God is NOT going to strike you down dead if you switch from Apple."  Like you with your Surface, I've had several queries about my Nokia Lumia 820 W8 phone, and the general response so far is that people will change if they can see the alternatives up close and working before their eyes.  I've gotten comments like: "OMG, that has GOT to be my NEXT phone... it's fantastic.", or words to that effect.  And when I tell them that I can sync it with my Windows 8 PC at home, it like: WOW, Microsoft has come a long way... I'm gonna have to look more into this when I get home."

At present, we have some 'Surface' ads here on TV, but they more show that they're available and what they look like, rather than what they are capable of.  So yeah, MS could do a better job of marketing its products here in Oz.  Mind you, Apple's ads here aren't much better, depending more on aesthetics and reputation to sell rather than product specifics and abilities... not that I take any real notice of advertising anyway.

Oddski Boddski or Lord Brony, whatever you want to call yourself, please remove that pony stuff from this page ASAP.  Until now, this had been a mostly thoughtful thread with reasoned discussion, then you go ruin it with that.... ugh, words to describe it fail me.  In any event, it doesn't belong here.  You have your pony thread to play silly buggers to your heart's desire, and most Stardock users would prefer you kept  it there, okay?

My personal experience:

I was using windows 7 on my home computer and was happy with it. When i upgraded this fall(new mobo and all that goes with it) i decided to give win 8 a try, for no other reason than getting some hands-on experience, since at work i am taking care of some 90 or so computers and sooner or later i'll have to deal with win 8 on them anyway.

On my home machine, I installed win 8 on a separate SSD, leaving the original system drive with win 7 intact, so i can now choose which drive to boot from and switch at will.

The first impression was not so good, it took me over an hour just to get my bearings(discovering where all the familiar things like control panel and desktop went). However after i customized the metro 'desktop'(which means i basically threw out everything and the starting w8 screen has only three tiles: 'my computer', email client and a browser) i came to like the new OS. The main thing: it's blazing fast compared to the w7. Press the power button, and the comp shuts down before i can count to three. And the w7 is on an SSD as well, mind you, still it doesn't come close to w8.

So now i'm using the new OS. The only thing that irked me originally - the inability to go directly to desktop skipping the metro interface - turned out to be a non-issue, since in w7, the first thing i usually did was to either fire up email or the browser(which involved clicking the respective icon), and in w8, i'm doing the same, just the icon is the metro tile(clicking firefox tile in metro automatically starts the desktop then starts the browser in it, and closing the browser you stay on desktop).

All in all, after the initial shock, the experience is positive. It's faster, and i'm discovering some nice perks like the new task manager etc. Very few negatives as long as i stay on the familiar desktop(minor stuff like clicking on network icon in tray pulls up a huge metro-style side panel that unneccessarily takes up screen real estate etc.)

@petrossa.  While MS is obviously heading in a new direction with Windows, I somehow find to hard to believe that the regular desktop will go away entirely.  Companies like Adobe, Corel, Nero and others will need the full power of a regular desktop because applets simply don't have the ability to contain entire program suites, CS6, etc... and people will still want to engage in content creation, not just to absorb it.  Besides, these companies would not want to give up sales or control of their products.  While Microsoft is a powerful company with a lot of influence, it is highly doubtful that it would take on the combined weight of its partners in a battle for control over these elements... and a court would likely rule in favour of the partners because the implementation of an OS with a UI that allows the installation of programs only via the MS Store would be considered a denial of free trade. 

There is always a way that those software companies can devise that will allow the software to run yet let MS get rid of the desktop. Think about it. If MS can change Windows than those companies can change as well.