"Nevertheless what have MS reslly done with Win 8 - replace the start menu.. thats it really, god I am sick of the Windows start menu."

Can't tell if that's a criticism for not doing enough or just a really weak justification for wanting Win8.

"As M46 pointed out epic fails from the OEM's cannot even get touch screen laptops out to market... perhaps they didn't know Win 8 was coming."

If the later what you think then that's arguably MS's epic fail too.

"Then again how many times have we seen OEMS both h/ware and s/ware take ages to take advantage of new technologies.."

More often than they get forced, by obsolescence, into selling systems hinging on an OS that uderdelivers what promised earlier by MS. It's hard to sell turnkey experience deliveruing hardware with a new OS when the OS isn't optimized nor driver freindly to the point that MS's own managment is b*tching about it internally.
B