I downloaded it over a month ago because I could get if for free through DreamSpark. I wasn't happy with Win 7 Pro x32 because PAE didn't do anything, and I wanted to UEFI boot. Windows 8 Pro x64 fixed all that, I now have boot times in under 10 seconds. After installing some software, boot time increased.
Windows 8 doesn't include any video codecs, Media Center costs an additional $10, and a lot of their support sites say, "use third party software for that" when they could have easily done it right the first time. I use my computer heavily for media-related tasks.
IE10 requires compatibility mode to be turned on to see Satelliteguys correctly and allow the 'enter' key to work. The site still doesn't look right.
I'm wondering how well explorer.exe and related programs out of 7 will work within 8 - the goal would be to have the kernel of Windows 8, but the UI of Windows 7 without "third party software". It worked with screen savers in the past.
It doesn't have backup options either.
Exiting the Start screen is the first thing I do. It's no longer called Metro because of a copyright infringement.