hi , currently using the full release version (rtm) and microsoft has locked in the Metro user interface, though there is a great little program called classic shell (free) that gives you back the start button and conventional interface ,it also allows booting right to the desktop ,bypassing Metro altogether along with the ability to shut off the "hot corners" in the metro ui. testing I have done so far runnig the windows 8 pro along side a windows 7 pro (no updates) show little or no performance gains other than slightly faster start times. Metro is still running in the backround though ,and i see no reason to pay to upgrade from windows 7 on a laptop . I guess a small touchscreen mobile pc is what this interface is best at ,I find it counterproductive for a desktop . in my oppinion ,the hackers found so many ways to illegally hack the windows 7 activation processes ,that microsoft has been determined this will not happen again ,and completely changed all activation methods adding lextra layers and protocols to circumvent the smae thing happening. as a result they came up with windows 8 , with the core of windows 7 heavily intergrated with the newr Metro interface . apart from the Metro IU ,I see this new release as no better than a windows 7 with a different look and tighter security . to the point of being invasive . I already have it , hackers have already worked out at least 2 ways to activate , so where now for microsoft ??? Windows 7 is a good OS ,apart from the teenage population who are into this kind of interface and app hungry systems ,I dont see it taking off as windows 7 did .and at the end of the day ,windows 8 does nothing of any note that windows 7 cannot do (excluding Metro and Apps)and from the forums where Windows 8 has been tested to death already ,it appears that most users dont want Metro and what goes with it .

its an msdn (of wich I am a Paying member) copy ,(not that its anyones business but mine and that of microsoft) classic shell does the job and there was a new release yesterday to support windows 8 ,previous versions did not, although ,they worked after a fashion . and while we are on the subject of legality ,its not illegal to download the full rtm version and install and use it from a leaked source or from microsoft as a trial ,that goes for anyone ,it only becomes illegal if its activated illegally. I did the same with Win 7 and I allways will I dont intend to buy blindly ,I allways trial My OSs and if nessesary will use a leaked copy (not a hacked one) to achieve what I want ,if I like it I can purchase a key as I did with win 7 ,and activate the leaked copy . "perfectly legal"

with respect "forum edotor" I had downloaded and used an early rtm leaked copy of windows 7,in trial mode a month before it was officially released ,I decided to buy windows 7 ,and called microsoft UK and asked about a key ,I was told that it was "no problem" and directed to a website where I could purchase a full licience key ,I also opted for a hard copy to be sent out to me , I asked could I use the downloaded RTM I was curently using and was told "yes" as long as it was the genuine microsoft software and had not been previousely activated or tampered with . I installed the retail key and I am still using it . I was given a download link and recieved the hard copy a few weeks later,but make no mistake, I told them the downloaded windows 7 I was using was not directly from microsoft . and they (or at least the assistant I spoke to) had no problem with that ,I recieved the usual warnings about viruses etc ,and the importance of using only genuine microsoft softwares . I allways check any ISO I download including hashes etc . if it was not the genuine article I would not have used it . I realize that the microsoft EULA,s can often be vague and "down to interpretation" but I think even Microsoft staff themselves give different versions depending on the individual . As far as i was concerned I had done the right thing by involving microsoft ,and from the reply I got ,I do not see any problem either . the "leaked" copy i used was identicla in every way to a full version I installed for a friend some months later ,and apart from me admitting where I got it I could just as easily say it was indeed from microsoft .