"...lets all go back to the days of DOS if you all prefer typing so much, and do away with GUI altogether." I totally agree with you.Windows 8 is a disaster on the desktop without a "touch screen" because it means learning a new way of interacting with the computer.
Windows/PCs over the years has become very popular to the point where you could call them information appliances. The Internet was the last component to make that reality complete. Why is it like an appliance? Because people without training were able to buy a machine and begin using it almost immediately just by clicking on icons and buttons which were all visible. Many of them do not know 1 keyboard shortcut, but they get tasks done.
In terms of file organization and general housekeeping of a computer they may fail miserably (files accumulate on the machine and there are a lot of empty "new folder" folders all over the place), but they are able to get stuff done.
With Windows 8 its a whole new ball game the interface is no longer intuitive. It is no longer look, click and go.
It just seems to me that Microsoft is trying to force a tablet/phone interface on everybody even if the hardware is not suitable.