I got an early beta copy of Win-8 to try out. It installed OK but there was that desktop of tiles instead of a Start button. I still recall Win-311 and the way it had icons scattered on the desktop to launch individual programs so it wasn’t that hard to figure out that you click on a tile to launch an app.
As much as the tiles distracted from a smooth computing experience the applications themselves were really confusing. The first thing was the lack of menus - we’ve grown accustomed to the file menus for choosing tasks within each app. Most of the new apps don’t even have the X up on the corner to close them. You can hit the Windows key on your keyboard but does that really close the app or does it merely collapse it to the desktop?
Then I noticed that most of the apps didn’t work. Fiddling with them caused me to realize that they wouldn’t work until you provided them with a valid Microsoft email account (like Hotmail or Live). Since I was only evaluating I didn’t want to commit my personal stuff to it (knowing that MW was moving to more cloud-based computing). I created a dummy account and gained some functionality.
It was then that I went on the web to find out what recourse I had to the lack of a start button. I can toggle the Classic Shell button on or off and still navigate now that I am familiar with the layout of Win-8 but I still prefer it and I’m definitely more comfortable with it.
LOL!