You've probably heard a lot about the loss of the Start button in Windows 8. While it isn't completely lost - you can still get to it via a convoluted path - its disappearance is merely a sign of the rethinking that went into the operating system's creation. Window 8's designers made certain assumptions while building the new system: Users will interact with the operating system predominantly through a touch interface. Users will do their computing on mobile devices, and may in fact use several different devices for the same purposes. They may even want to get work done on devices they do n...