I know I'm responding to this message really late. I have a Windows 8 
netbook. It's not my primary computer mostly because I haven't gotten 
around to transferring all my files to it, but based on my experience so 
far, it's really not so different from Windows 7.

when you log in, you're on a screen with tiles. If you've ever used a 
touch-screen smart phone, like Android or iPhone, the interface is 
similar. You arrow up, down, left, or right to move to the various 
tiles. some are icons to launch programs, like on the traditional 
Windows desktop. Others are widgets, mini apps that give you specific 
information like the current weather or some headlines. This screen is 
what people talk about when they describe the new interface, and it's 
where you're most likely to use the new shortcuts.

If, however, you're using a physical keyboard and press the Start 
button, you go to the desktop we all know and love, and the experience 
is pretty much the same as the experience in earlier versions of Windows.

I've mostly been using it with Narrator because I want to know what's 
doable. Narrator has come a long way. It's still not a screen reader 
replacement, but it's close enough that it could be in a relatively 
short time. I'm curious to know whether 8.1 will include improvements to 
Narrator. So far, I haven't found any information about that. Does 
anyone know anything about that?


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