As a long-time IT consultant I can tell you, if you ever have to really do something complex, you'd understand why XP and 7 were FAR superior to Vista and 8.  I did a project for Intel and got to go into one of their secret rooms where they were testing each motherboard with various OS'.  As I walked in there was a tech in the back swearing up a blue storm about Vista.  Turns out that's the ONLY room in the whole complex of campuses that they run Vista, and only because they have to.  Pretty funny actually.  Windows 8 was rushed - which always causes problems - but I've heard decent things about 8.1.

I just had my first 8.1 experience yesterday - I bought a fairly inexpensive laptop so I could do some MS Office work while on an upcoming trip.  IMO, Windows 8 has set efficient business PC interaction back 10 years.  You can't have multiple windows of arbitrary size open and positioned where you want on the desktop?  Really?  This is progress?
 
Fortunately, I'll only be using the laptop to do serious work on a very occasional basis.  But this is one camper who is definitely none too happy.

>You can't have multiple windows of arbitrary size open and positioned where you want on the desktop?
 
Scratch that comment.  I was mistaken, based on information in a Microsoft Windows 8.1 how-to video.  Old Windows applications work as always: full-screen or partial screen.  After a little time with it, 8.1 is still annoying but not quite as useless as originally perceived.  But the lack-of-start-menu "feature" is something I'm quite sure I'll never find to be of value.

dmbaer
  But the lack-of-start-menu "feature" is something I'm quite sure I'll never find to be of value.

In what way is there no start menu ? It's still there, just in a different format, which you can alter to your own preference.

dmbaer
>You can't have multiple windows of arbitrary size open and positioned where you want on the desktop?
 
Scratch that comment.  I was mistaken, based on information in a Microsoft Windows 8.1 how-to video.  Old Windows applications work as always: full-screen or partial screen.  After a little time with it, 8.1 is still annoying but not quite as useless as originally perceived.  But the lack-of-start-menu "feature" is something I'm quite sure I'll never find to be of value.

You'll find that most annoyances you experience in Windows 8 can quickly be resolved by reading or watching a tutorial. Oh and Windows 8 very much does have a start menu - just press the Windows key. There you are presented with either the Metro tile menu, or if you click the down arrow, a list-based menu which can be sorted by date installed, name, category etc. There is an option to make this list style menu the default. It's basically the traditional start menu but with bells on. I don't miss the old start menu at all. 

 
Well, apparently enough people missed it so that Microsoft felt compelled to bring it back.  Check this out:
 
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191360-exploring-the-new-windows-10-start-menu-hands-on-video
 
Now I've got a new complaint.  I just discovered that 8.1 won't play DVD video.  I have to track down a player app if I want to use my laptop for that purpose (I mean, who would ever want to watch a DVD movies on their laptop while traveling?).  OK, it's supposedly just another app to install, but if my laptop had Windows 7 on it, I wouldn't need to bother with this at all.

dmbaerWell, apparently enough people missed it so that Microsoft felt compelled to bring it back.  Check this out:
 
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191360-exploring-the-new-windows-10-start-menu-hands-on-video
 
Now I've got a new complaint.  I just discovered that 8.1 won't play DVD video.  I have to track down a player app if I want to use my laptop for that purpose (I mean, who would ever want to watch a DVD movies on their laptop while traveling?).  OK, it's supposedly just another app to install, but if my laptop had Windows 7 on it, I wouldn't need to bother with this at all.

Yes, all the people who never used Windows 8 or used it for approximately 5 minutes and whined/****ed about it constantly without giving it a chance are the ones who brought the start menu back. However, as much as I like the mobile interface in 8.1 because I find I can access and launch my apps about 50% quicker than I could on the old start menu, I believe the new hybrid menu is the best of both worlds. You can add a ton of tiles to it for quickly launching apps while having the flexibility of the folder trees with the old start menu. It's win/win in my books.
 
As for the DVD issue, Media Center can be added to Windows 8, but it comes with a cost and will only play DVDs, not BluRay. You can thank Sony for the obscene licensing cost for the ability to play those disks natively.

I watch DVD's with VLC now. Better than WMP anyway. 

Indeed. I only got WMP because it was free for a time. I've used it a total of -0- times. I use Media Player Classic for DVDs.

sharke
I watch DVD's with VLC now. Better than WMP anyway. 

Yep, after some trial and error (a fare amount of error, I must say), I came across VLC.  Works like a charm - great freeware.