Most people (including me) don't like the tiled Win8x interface, finding it irritating and clumsy on a desktop.
If MS persist in making it obligatory for Win8 AND want to get folks off XP then why not offer a cheap upgrade to the appropriate version of Win7?
Or is that too simple (and unlucrative)?
Mac
PS: Classic Shell -
Classic Shell - Start menu and other Windows enhancements - is free and solves many of Win8's interface problems but most Win8 grumblers seem to dumb to find it.