I know it's silly, but I feel so lost without it.

For Touchscreen Users

Although there are a number of existing Windows 7 touch devices and many are fully supported, we do recognize the touch experience of Windows 8 places a greater demand on a high quality experience than could have been foreseen when manufacturers were developing hardware for Windows 7. Our data is showing that a vast majority of Windows 7 touchscreens will perform well for Windows 8. This means that touch drivers continue to load, and you’ll be able to perform basic touch interactions with a reasonable degree of success. The following systems are a few that we have been using widely in our internal testing and self-hosting, although of course, this is not a specific endorsement of these PCs:

HP Elitebook 2760p convertible (Note: This PC is 1280x800 and so does not support snap.)
ASUS EP121 tablet (Note: his PC is 1280x800 and so does not support snap.)
Dell Inspiron Duo convertible
Lenovo x220t convertible
3M M2256PW 22” display (Note: The raised bezel can make it harder to swipe along the edges)
Samsung Series 7 slate (Note: This PC has two models, one was provided to attendees at //build/ and the other is a commercial release; the latter has slightly different peripherals and firmware.)

If they keep going in the direction I saw from one of the preview builds, I will be avoiding Win8 like the plague.

I'm on a PC without a touch screen. I don't need or WANT a touch screen interface. Of course, take this with a grain or three of salt as I'm someone who's downloaded programs to get the Win7 start bar back to its XP version.

If it meets these requirements:

1 GHz or faster processor
1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Metro apps have an added requirement of minimum 1024x768 resolution.

{snip}

Seems Microsoft licensed Apple's design patents back in 2010; we wont need to worry about Surface bans: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/13/micr ... n-patents/

Why Apple Won’t Sue Microsoft Over Surface

The latest revelation from the never-ending Apple vs. Samsung patent spat: Apple offered to license the contentious patents to Samsung and they declined, but Microsoft was offered the same deal—and took it.

There are, however, a few caveats to the cross-licensing deal between Apple and Microsoft. First, there's an agreement between the two companies that neither will make what is described as a "clone product." The deal apparently lays out some specific rules dictating exactly what a "clone product" is. Second, there are some things that Apple isn't willing to share, described by Apple's director of patent licensing and strategy Boris Teksler as "untouchables." What they are exactly is anyone's guess, but it seems likely the were UI related.

Presumably, because of the cross-licensing deal between Apple and Microsoft, the Surface should be able to launch without running into the same kind of problems Samsung is up against, especially since the Windows 8 interface is so radically different from iOS. Of course, if Samsung manages to win, they didn't need that offered deal anyway.

Good, that'll rip the legs out from under any trade-dress arguments with Samsung. How can you be a distinctive Apple design when Apple permits Microsoft to use "rectangle with rounded corners" in their devices, too?

Because Microsoft understands how the patent system works and is paying Apple to license the design, where Samsung isn't. Let's not turn this into a debate about the patent system, though. We all know it's shitty, but MS is playing by the current rules.

I'm right there with her on this