I just bought the Alienware x51 with Win 8.

I have to say, Win 8 was confusing and pissed me off.

at first.

but now, I really like it.  Switching from the tablet screen and the desktop is extremely easy.

Missing the start bar?  put your mouse in the top right or bottom right of the screen.  Bam, there you go.  problem solved.  Everything is consolidated where it makes sense to be.

I look at the different desktops as having their strengths and weaknesses.  If I need to do file management, installations, etc… the old desktop is better.

If I want to quickly get to entertainment or personal things like videos/games/music/anything internet related, the Apps desktop is superior.

It took me all of an hour to become familiar with it to the point of confidently and quickly navigating anywhere on the OS.

I am what some would call “computer illiterate” and I have a healthy mistrust of technology.  If I can do it, so can you.