I have tested the Win key multiple times now in the scenario you described to see if I could find one in which it did not work. I have yet to find one. Every single time I'm not already on the Start screen, it takes me to the Start screen, where I then begin typing and get search results. Seems pretty darn consistent…

Are there any left?!

And even less who would bother to upgrade will wait that long to do so. The longer they wait after its release, the more likely they are to be waiting for a new computer anyway. The bulk of the sales will come at the beginning, and then the price increase makes up for the trickling sales that come later.

Apple actually makes their systems obsolete faster than Windows does, and the way they tend to push new features that benefit from or require new hardware pushes users to buy their new systems sooner. But also, when much of their hardware is 50% profit, they can much more easily let that profit ride to absorb the…

Psssh, that's ridiculous. Let's stick with the REALISTIC list here.

Yes, but virtually none of their target users ever come to Windows via a retail package Full version anyway. The vast majority of their customers upgrade or buy a new computer with it pre-installed. And mostly the latter.

And I'm pretty confident they're doing it for the tangible benefits of doing so, and not purely novelty. We shall see.

And now you're responding to... things I didn't say. What on earth is going on here? What does that have to do with anything I just wrote?

Huh? Your first solution works in Metro as well as it did in 7. WinKey and begin typing produces the same result, just with a different visual. And no, Windows 7's search HAS been slower than Windows 8's in my experience so far. It's NOT 100% instant, so it's definitely possible for it to be faster.

Right. Shipping and publication to DVD totally account for $160 in price difference.

For a limited time, which is part of the point of the article.

What's your complaint about the new search area? I find it no slower than 7. In fact, I find it faster, consistently.

First off, OSX is never that expensive because it's made by a hardware company who uses it to promote their hardware sales. Microsoft is a software company who uses their OS to promote the sales of... itself, because that's what they make their money on.

Which is part of why the RTM copy is freely available for 90 days now. Reviews can hit early, and consumers can test it early.

I love it. But I have yet to hear back from it regarding my proposal.

The Cybiko. I barely recall ever using it, it never connected properly to my computer to download updates, and none of its other features were ever useful. No clue what I was thinking when I bought it.

Right, and I'm saying those considerations are incredibly minor and obvious enough that I find them far more likely to be non-issues than issues. Those aren't my worries in this.

Well, that looks like a mock-up to me, anyway. I would hope they do better with the interface.

Again, point being: you don't have to load it down with applications. You can, and should, avoid most apps on a camera. Just install the relevant ones.

Exactly where my brain went that suddenly made me excited about this. And Google+, as well, for the same reasons.