I'm in full agreement
with everything you said. It is awfully silly to drag your mouse at a precise small area in the corner to switch apps.
It makes no sense why a company would even think of attempting to merge three platforms into one and, on top of that, to categorically change what was a basic routine to something alien.
Windows 8 should have been completely separate from tablets and phones. But, they follow stock prices, and that's indicating that people are using these silly gadgets (I'm not a big fan of tablets and smartphones to be used the way computers are) by a ridiculous amount.
(Personally, I'd rather stick to my machine that's powerful enough to run NASA mission launches by comparison to a tablet/smartphone).
My only take on this is, as a programmer (and a geek), that it offers opportunities for people like me to create (and sell!) programs to bring back that ease of use. If creating a way to automatically include a Start button and/or a Shutdown button and it sells even for a dollar, it's a gold mine.
It allows other companies to step in and develop programs that will break the average user away from traditional closed software (namely MS products) and maybe even hopefully change some pricing in software at the same time.
At least, that's what I'm personally hoping! lol
