I actually like Windows 8 more than any other version. I'll never use it full time (Linux user, right now SUSE with Gnome Shell) for reasons that have nothing to do with its design, but I really like the Metro interface.
Most of the naysayers are simply unwilling to accept change, the same naysayers that whine about modern Linux DEs.
Instead of relying in random comments, It would be great to see in an actual poll, how many people hate the new Windows 8 UI. In my personal opinion, the new UI is mostly fantastic. Perhaps I find it so, because I have strong visual memory, and usually adapt to new UIs in minutes. If it were available for Linux, I would consider it for my day to day use.
It is unfortunate, how it seems that so many people resist to UI advances. Even more so, on a place like HN. This kind of stubborn rejection seems pulled from something like a geeksquad forum. Another example is Ubuntu, which has collected massive hate, on considerable less groundbreaking UI changes.
Yup. Never understood the Ubuntu Unity hate either. While I prefer Gnome Shell, Unity is still an improvement on Gnome 2, and has some very interesting features of its own (like lenses and the HUD).
Most of the naysayers are simply unwilling to accept change, the same naysayers that whine about modern Linux DEs.