I too have found Win8 to be a bit of a mess when it comes to trying to provide the one compatible OS for both mobile and desktop computers. The emphasis seems to be more towards the mobile with the awful Metro UI which is a real pain on a desktop. I have heard and read that the desktop is on its way out and this is the reason Microsoft have made thier new OS more for the pads and smartphones but speaking from the real world, the desktop computer is and I think always will be the major component of most industries.

I may be OCD in my own dislike of a touch screen is having to clean it every 15 minutes from the finger marks that I get on my smartphone and pad even though I keep my hands as clean as possible and the thought of doing this on my 32 inch desktop screen is quite disturbing so there is no way I would use this. As Charlie pointed out the actual effort of reaching across the desk to touch the screen is not the most comfortable way to work either so the entire process is not the greatest selling point for Win8 anyway.

My own prediction is that Win8 will be as popular as Vista and only because the few new purchases due to the current slow market will have it pre-loaded but I agree that Win7 is the replacement XP and will be the most popular OS for quite a few years to come.

I commented to Microsoft about this soon after the first pre-release version but they didn't listen and are still sticking with Metro which will be the major factor of its unpopularity.