I'm a power user and very adept at learning new technologies. I'm also a staunch keyboard user, finding that many of the mouse commands are inefficient compared to the keyboard as it is. It sounds like W8 has made mouse usage much more cumbersome and non-intuitive. It's bad enough how M$ lets other companies do the innovations and then steals their thunder, but now they are forcing regular computer users to go through a painful re-education to support a relatively new and still evolving technology. With a more cumbersome interface. Really?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution here and I doubt there will be one any time soon. The fundamental physicality of each type of device alone *requires* different interface designs , as does how each type of device is used. Smaller devices and touchpad technology innovation will create enhancements to the desktop and laptop markets, but it should be in addition to and an option and not in place of, at least at this point.