I haven't seen much solid information, but with the "public release" of a beta version of Windows 8 others may have comments, so this can be a place for them. (If no one has anything useful to add, a clone may move this to BS where I considered posting it.)

Preliminary reports on the preliminary released versions of preliminary Windows 8 indicate that it is likely to be almost impossible to use with a mouse and keyboard. According to Microsoft you just "wave your hands at it" and "everything happens."

Having seen some illustrations of the "new start menu" (which incidentally has no functional "start button"} I'll get directly to the point and quote from a recent commentary (with which I agree fully):

"Calling [the Win 8 startup menu] "ugly" isn't fair. It's not ugly. It's what happens when Ugly and Stupid get drunk and make a baby inside Fukushima's minimum safety perimeter."

I've seen it. It is just as he describes it.

Microsoft has obviously decided to be "idiot friendly" and has progressed more and more toward systems that only an idiot could use (for whatever idiots do). It is my considered opinion that they are of the opinion that only idiots should use their products, and while I haven't found an adequate replacement for my current setup (still marginally useful since it's somewhat obsolescent) I promise to do my best to oblige them.

I'll try to pass on anything helpful that I happen to find.

John