Windows 8 mouse and keyboard meet Metro [video review]

I conducted my initial Windows 8 Consumer Preview tips, tricks and review on an Acer Iconia Tab w500. It's time to experience the OS with a mouse and keyboard. So get ready. This is going to be a very bumpy ride. Right?

It's surprisingly easy to navigate around the desktop and then to the Metro Start Screen. As you'll see in the video, it's also possible to mix the desktop and Metro Start Menu. I can safely say that the new Metro UI and elements within the desktop are very easy to use with a traditional mouse-and-keyboard setup.

(Note: I refer to the desktop as the Metro Desktop, because there is a lot of Metro UI elements within the desktop. It's no longer the traditional desktop.)

However, I uncovered some major flaws with touch in Windows 8. Some of them kill the experience to the point, I switched my tablet back to Windows 7.

The one major flaw I found: On a tablet, you are unable to bring up the bottom left Start Screen Preview. This leads to not being able to touch, hold and bring up the right-click menu that holds all the quick access to most power-user tools. I was unable to drag the desktop down by dragging from the top. And getting the Atl-tab Manager on a tablet via the right side can be a bit tricky.

Also, working within the Start Screen and advanced options, such as right clicking -- in this case swiping -- objects is not as quick as using a mouse to do most things. I believe, instead of swiping an object down to bring up the right click menu. Why not just touch and hold to bring up the right click menu? After all that is how right clicking in the desktop is done, why not keep it consistent?

Travis Boyko has work with computers since he was 3 years old. While other children played with toys, he learned DOS commands. He has used every Windows version, as well as Linux, OS/2, OS X, Unix and Windows Server. His software collection goes back to the 1980s and includes original boxes of Windows 1.0, Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0, Lotus 1-2-3 and Windows 7 Signature Edition 32-bit and 64-bit full versions.