[Rockin Robbins]

The problem with W8 is that the entire idea of the operating system formerly known as Metro (sorry! stolen name! fixing........please wait) is to lower the capabilities of your sophisticated computer to the abilities of a 5" screen cell phone. How do you sell an operating system on the basis of lowering the capabilities of a Ferrari to that of a Yugo? Microsoft will NEVER be able to sell that.

I downloaded the new preview of W8.1 and see that they stole enough ideas from Linux, Ubuntu to be exact, to make the nameless operating system kind of kludge along. You can actually have more than one app on screen at a time now......sort of.......within strict limits. But it is not enough to satisfy a power user of Windows, OSX or Linux.

Ubuntu has a better idea. Instead of crippling a computer to the level of a cell phone, why not enhance the properties of the high end multiprocessor cell phones to the level of a computer? The same software runs with two shells: the full-fledged desktop shell when you cell phone is docked to your monitor, disk drives, mouse and keyboard and whever else you'd like to attach to it. When you undock it all software works through the cell phone shell: same software but two different looks depending on screen size and touch capabilities. AND everything lives on the cell phone that follows you along all day. Where you are, your computer is.

The tragedy is that underneath its despicable shell, W8 is a leaner, meaner, more capable machine than W7 was. There's a lot to like if you can kill that lousy interface! But nobody will ever experience it because they aren't buying.

My W8.1 Preview edition? Safely imprisoned in a virtual machine, from which it will never escape. Ubuntu or other Linux distro is my escape plan if necessary. I own a copy of W7, which may have to serve me for at least 5 years until Microsoft either comes to its senses or is replaced by a company that values its customers. But even W7 will have to wait until XP becomes unsafe.