One of the first things I did when I installed Windows 8 was to turn it into Windows 8.7. To do this I installed Start8 from Stardock. It's $5. So my total cost now for Windows8 is AUD$53.44. In Australia you can get it for $48.72 from Officeworks (cheapest price I've seen).
If you remove the 'Metro' styling from Windows 8, the desktop is very very good. It is better than Windows 7.
With Start8 running, Windows8 boots straight to my desktop (no stopping off at Metro along the way), and I have a start menu, and it's just like Windows7, but better. One of the things that windows8 has that windows7 doesn't, is a built-in disk image mounter. File copy is much more sensible, and provides realtime graphical output of throughput, etc. The Task Manager has been beefed up and now shows heatmaps of running software, and their history. You can edit startup programs, and see their impact on startup times. The Metro interface is copping a bagging at the moment, but if things to turn around, all I need to do is hit the right windows key, and my system will bang over to 'classic' Windows 8 tiles.
These are just a few things that I like about it, and make it a good upgrade from Windows 7.
Some might say that it should've never been like that, but that's just plain silly. There are always examples as to why we have to install extra software to make a system work the way we want it to. For example, many iPhone users would be a little lost without having installed iTunes on a Mac or PC at sometime in the past - MacOSX might roll with it now, but it didn't always. Some people might see that differently, but I dont.
So for me, a little $5 prog makes the difference. There are free alternatives too. I'm now using the most modern Microsoft Desktop in the world. Windows 8 is a Jekyll and Hyde beast, and I think that I've tamed Edward Hyde. Or taken Windows 8's technicolor coat off. :)
