I'd still be using 98se if it had better hardware support/fewer limitations, just sayin'.  Lean and mean...

If I could have 98SE with 64 bit support, etc., without all of the 'bloatware' that has crept in since 98se, I'd be a happy camper.  This trend of increasing the OS footprint just because larger memory configurations are available is just silly.

But then I'm a pretty basic user, that generally turns a LOT of stuff off using msconfig.  Other than antivirus, etc. of course.

Oh, and tablet interfaces belong on tablets, not on PCs...

/rant off

Using Vista currently.  Will pretty much HAVE to go with 8.1 when I replace my 'desktop replacement' laptop in the summer.  My other laptop is XP, but is a fair bit slower so I don't use it much these days.  The hybrid drive in my Vista laptop helps performance significantly.

Give that man a cigar....

Exactly right ! I think people forget about the energy that is released in the form of heat from high performance computers. It takes a lot of cooling power and you just can't squeeze that into a tablet , or a laptop, for that matter. Also of course , high performance computers are an absolute must in this new age of cutting edge design and developement. The desktop PC is not going anywhere , and from what I have been seeing , the design technology for the latest and greatest desktop PC's continues to get better and more advanced. Oh , and let's not forget about those wonderfully large desktop monitors ,everybody loves those !

Only when they make one with a 27" monitor, 30" would even be better

Using a Laptop for Gaming yeah things changed unless the small display size these things became beasts sure they don’t run SLI or triple SLI…but who needs to run triple SLI these days anyway?
But they do can kick butt take the Asus G750JX-T4167H for example more than enough power under the hood to play everything that will be released in 2014 on ULTRA And the biggest Bonus it has already Windows8 installed - that’s perfect for Gamers. 

Ok sorry, a while back (half a year or so, maybe one year at the most) I read articles about yearlong declines in PC sales, from e.g. HP. And I've read that many people who used to buy a PC just for browsing or playing simple games, nowadays buy tablets for that. Or they use their smartphone. It made sense at the time but I could be wrong, journalists tend to exaggerate.

Meanwhile MS switched the popup mouse over Start button to a solid one in 8.1 (i don’t know why) It was still at the same spot as in win7
How could folks not find it?

There are multiple solutions to get that highly praised and honoured start menu back, even free solutions!
That way nobody using 8 would never ever have to use or look at the New one again.
ALL there is left, to use it fully, is Modernmix or similar and BAM everything is happening on the desktop.
(Could be also done by making shortcuts) And for the price back in the days that would be a very cheap very much improved Windows7 you got.
(Even for office compusers)
But some still hate. That’s just ignorant.
Most let themselves blind by the interface and overlook the possibility’s windows8 has to offer. And to my knowledge that’s wrong.

I would bet money on it that if MS would integrate the old Start menu back in an upcoming point release and leaves the NEW one for people -like me who like it, folks would still complain and stomp their feet until it is then forcefully removed.

Don’t get me wrong, if people don’t like it because they don’t have the old start menu and they have windows7 why would they even complain. Or not just grab many of the free solutions or the "promo"
Start8 The superior Startmenu solution , brings back the old Startmenu, it lets you change your Startbutton and use skins!!! GET IT NOW!!!
and calm down.

If I would hate windows8 I would just stick with windows7 and stop the silly bash of a perfectly fine OS, that I know is in some cases superior over its predecessor.
I would not try to make a fool out of myself and hate on it because I’m not willing to install a free solution to my problem (the interface).
I know we are on Wincustomize and customization plays a factor, I do refer to general users with this text, folks that run windows in Aero or in classic, these guys do not spend hours inspecting the start menu, for wrong margin settings or bad cropping like some of us here do and did, after the point of opening it, they will launch the executable and their mission is done. OK and they shutdown.
I seriously hope that some bury the hatchet and stop the complains.
I need to learn to shorten my texts
  

Skinners are not 'just' interested in changing graphics....we have always been heavily invested into the concept of modding the actual GUI functionality too.  Windowblinds [for example] does/can do a heck of a lot more than paint pretty pictures on GUI elements....if that's all you think it does you're selling the proggy short.

BECAUSE skinners are closely involved with the OS GUI they will rile at ANY absurdity/stupidity that MS imposes on the User.

Alternate Shells exist because even the 'normal' GUI isn't necessarily ideal.

Amongst this bunch here on WC you'll also find a very high percentage of people who DON'T use the file managing component of Explorer.exe.   They'll choose a 3rd party alternative....because again they are seen as an 'enhancement'.

Sure we can all sit here and ONLY shake our heads at MS for ruining 8 with a mobile-phone GUI...and stick with 7...

...or we can correctly call MS 'fucking idiots...get it right' and provide a voice of expert competence that demonstrates exactly why 8's market share is so plainly pathetic.

There is still a huge difference between laptops and desktops.  I like my desktop because it can work for games, I can use it for my writing projects or for working on images, and my screen is sitting at a nice comfortable height for any of those.

Don't get me wrong, I love my netbook too, but that is mostly for web surfing, reading and writing when I'm away from home.  And yeah, if I could have afforded it I would have gone for a model with a bit more power, but I couldn't so I didn't.

Oh, yes, the 'devs' know best.

All people wanted 'designed' was a horse.....what the 'devs' gave them was a camel. [just a horse designed by a committee].

You can always 'try' to like a camel as a horse....got the right number of legs...and you can ride it... but no amount of 'liking' will make it a horse.

And 'good thing"?  In whose mind was/is forced standardization between totally dissimilar hardware seen as a 'good thing'?

Packaging economists at MS?

Yes, maybe MS thought...."now is the time we can release this Metro GUI....at a time when people might just blame other causes for poor adoption rates....so we don't have to 'fess up and admit we got it wrong..."

So I'm a cynic....sue me....

Linux keeps trying at least.  1.73% and hanging on...

Linux does much better on the servers though. 31.8 'Officially', with the Unix-like OSes accounting for 66.8% of the Server Market Share.

Go Linux go!

Not to worry. The way things are headed, phones and tablets will be that large by years end. Just what I've always wanted, a phone with a display larger than my television.

I have been running Win 8/8.1 since the 1st public beta and have never looked back.  Purchased my 1st retail copy for 40 bucks, but have since paid full retail price for another copy for my 2nd rig... being it impressed me that much.

And yeah, Win 8 better utilises resources than previous Windows editions.  With my UEFI mobo and fast start enabled, I have a usable desktop in about 6-8 seconds after pressing the on button.  In fact, everything is so much faster/efficient under Win 8/8.1.

As for the desktop PC going away any time soon... bullsh!t.  Portable devices [phones, tablets, phablets] are just that... portable and incapable of processing the kinds of high-end tasks a desktop PC can.  While useful for the low-end tasks they were designed for, and I don't give a stuff what the iCrowd or so-called industry experts say, portable devices will likely never possess the power required to complete serious video production or editing, etc.

Long live the desktop PC.... and my next build will be a doozy. Ive been using AMD's for my last few builds, but my next is an Intel... a liquid cooled i7 4770K on a Gigabyte GA-Z87X UD5H mobo with 32Gb of Kingston 2400mhz DDR3 RAM.. and Win 8.1 on a 512Gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD.  I got a large chunck of the cost saved already and will start building in late Feb early March.

And this is the beasty of a tower it'll be going in....