I actually disagree with the author (at the link addy - Not Scott), and this article is written with clearly discernible bias.
I would not go back to W7..I know this as I recently had cause to re-install an "image" of my W7 installation...well I could not wait to get back to W8.1 , honestly!!
And I don't have a touchscreen. Just a normal desktop PC. These "doomsayers" and "vexatious litigants" on the W8 OS are a dime a dozen and IMO anything they say should be taken with a pinch of salt. That's enough cliches LOL!!
The only real mistake was RT, which IS being phased out. Microsoft have determined (imo only) that trying to maintain three separate OS's (Desktop, RT, Phone) is a bit silly, and I agree. Which is why they are in the process of developing a unified OS, with variations only in some aspects depending on the target hardware.
Now, I am
NOT a Microsoft fanboy, in fact if I could afford it I would go to Apple (too much invested in software and software instruments and programs to afford re-buying it all) but I do like to acknowledge a good product. Once you get used to it, (and it
DOES take getting used to it) it is slick, easy to use and a more robust system than W7.
One needs to look behind articles like these as there are often ulterior motives at play (financial rewards, for eg), or some personal issues. Maybe the writer got "knocked" for information, or was not given access to staff and resources ...or maybe he just didn't get a free copy at release...who knows, all I am saying is to exercise caution when reading articles like these. Although I am a little surprised at SG's promulgation of the story.