Well...
Good question. No, I don't have evidence to support it, except my own experience. I am not an MVP or anything like it. Nor am I another MS hater: if MS do things I like, I'll praise and embrace it; if I don't like it, I'll criticise it.
I'm sure there are things you like and dislike about your car, but if you complain about them, do people deny your right to do that, on the grounds that you are not an expert on automotive engineering? If they do, I don't see why - it's your right - you've paid for it.
I am effectively a user of operating systems (I'm a DBA, BTW). I don't use them for fun - it's my job, and if I need to invest time in learning a new system, then it had better be a *much* better system - because it has cost my employer money, and they will want a return. As far as I can see, the interface of W8 is utterly awful because it is going to get in the way of me getting on with my job - so it will be a lose-lose. (And incidentally, the same is true of the dreadful ribbon of Office 2007+).
So no, I don't know all the details about what is under the hood, and I don't want to. All I know is that in this operating system, I am not part of the constituency it is aimed at, in that I deplore tablets, touch-screen and all that. I need a stable system that will support all the software I need to run, and which I can use productively - and that is why I am going to hold onto XP for as long as it remains possible.
