No, but they are burying it
It doesn't make sense to try to unite desktop and tablet applications in one release cycle. The best you can end up with is a hodge-podge of tablet users forced to use certain desktop-style apps in classic mode while desktop users (by default) have to go through a giant, inefficient touch UI with a mouse.
The two have to exist in separate, parallel devices until tablets and their apps can do everything we do on a PC -- which I'm just not sure is all that realistic. But it's definitely foolish to think you can drop users into a new UI with no transition. YES, it can be disabled. CAN be. But it's still the default, meaning one thing that'll have to be fixed before it's usable. Though if it wasn't the default, it would be as effective as Windows Media Center for replacing the DVR.
