Why I bought Microsoft Windows 8

Yes... This is no typo.  My laptop made its way across the blue, memory dump beyond so I decided to take the opportunity to build a new desktop.  The plan was pretty simple... Grab some acceptable parts, throw together a rig that will give me some good upgrading options as demands on hardware increase, and install a copy of windows 7.  One little caveat, however... OEM licenses don't transfer between computers!!!!!!!!!!!  So I have to actually pay for an operating system.

Enter a unique license option for those who purchase an OEM copy of Windows 8.  If you choose the Personal Use License, you CAN transfer the license to other computers, so long as it is removed from the original computer.  It can also be transferred to the second owner of a machine with the license on it a long as you forfeit all copies of the windows 8 media that came in the package and that were made (along with the product key, proof of purchase, and perhaps sometheing else I can't remember). I'd read up on the license and on windows 8 before making any hasty decisions, however.  There is more to it than what I have said, but those are the basics.

This means if the rig just completely dies or a meteor falls on it, I can still make use of my $100 purchase.  The price point was the other factor for me.  A full fledged copy of Windows 7 would run me $179 on newegg.com.  Thats a tad too rich for my blood.

The nail in the coffin that almost made me begrudgingly place Windows 7 in my checkout cart was the lack of a start button in Windows 8's desktop environment.  Thankfully there is a wonderful, simple solution.  And it doesn't involve regedit, which no longer works as a solution since the beta anyway, or at least that's my understanding. The solution to this is Classic Shell.  It is s brilliant little open source project that re-adds the functionality of the start button.  It can be found at classicshell.sourceforge.net,  and it doubles as a way to help deal with the worthless metro environment (well... At least it is for me as of right now).