>It points out the good and bad, but is a fair review.

I find that article biased in favor of Microsoft, but beside that I recognize the danger inherent in Microsoft's "modern/metro" app-centered design. Users lose control over anonymity in the software they have installed.

I, a developer, cannot, for example, create a Metro application and hand it to you, Craig, to install on your version of Win8 unless you have a high-end version of the operating system and want to go through a rather complex manual process. But if you're a regular Win8 user ... you can't even do it. In such a case, that software I wrote has to be uploaded to Microsoft's app store, and then you can install it.

Win8 isn't about a new UI. It's about control over your computing experience.

The same is true of .NET and Azure. It's not about great developer resources or a comprehensive platform. It's about control over your computing experience, software, data, who accesses your content and from where.

Anything post-Win7 Microsoft is to be avoided at all costs by anyone who respects anonymity. And I would advise everyone to go back to Windows 2000, or Windows 2003 Server, or Windows XP and remain there running those versions of Windows from inside virtual machines running on Linux. If anyone needs help setting these up ... please ask. I'll be more than happy to guide you.