Having diddled around with Windows 8 for work, the interface is not as bad for a keyboard-oriented user as the author makes it out to be.
Examples:
Win + R still brings up Run. From there, all of our familiar .msc adn .cpl are avalable. Run "control" brings up the control panel. Keyboard shortcuts using the Win key haven't changed.
Start menu search functionality is available with the same keypresses as in Windows 7 and Vista. Only the appearance is different. Win key + the first letters of the program brings up a menu on the right side of the screen showing matching programs. Enter key opens, or use up and down arrows to select. A keyboard-oriented user will need to make no changes to their practice.
Shutdown is not complicated at all. Alt-F4 brings up a shutdown/restart/etc. dialog.
I'm an experienced Windows user, the type of person the author believes will have problems, and I had zero difficulty doing what I wanted with Windows 8. For a mouse- or touchpad-oriented user, some difficulty is foreseeable, but for anyone who knows their way around keyboard commands, it's easy.
Examples:
Win + R still brings up Run. From there, all of our familiar .msc adn .cpl are avalable. Run "control" brings up the control panel. Keyboard shortcuts using the Win key haven't changed.
Start menu search functionality is available with the same keypresses as in Windows 7 and Vista. Only the appearance is different. Win key + the first letters of the program brings up a menu on the right side of the screen showing matching programs. Enter key opens, or use up and down arrows to select. A keyboard-oriented user will need to make no changes to their practice.
Shutdown is not complicated at all. Alt-F4 brings up a shutdown/restart/etc. dialog.
I'm an experienced Windows user, the type of person the author believes will have problems, and I had zero difficulty doing what I wanted with Windows 8. For a mouse- or touchpad-oriented user, some difficulty is foreseeable, but for anyone who knows their way around keyboard commands, it's easy.