For example, in the Consumer Preview the Productivity section had five productivity apps. In the Release Preview, there are now a dozen. The same holds true for other categories.

As mentioned before, what still hasn't changed in this version of Windows 8 is the sense that Metro tablet interface and the more traditional Desktop interface are two separate operating systems, co-existing somewhat uneasily. Integration between the two is still minimal. The Desktop is still missing the Start Menu -- in fact, that Microsoft has gone through code in this version of Windows 8 and deleted anything that might allow someone to hack the Desktop to bring back the Start menu. And there's still no way to boot directly into the Desktop, so even if you plan to spend most of your time there, you'll have to first go there via Metro.

It's not only the Start menu that's missing. Since the Consumer Preview was released, Microsoft announced that even bigger changes were in store for the Desktop, notably introduced in Windows Vista, and then refined in . Microsoft has said that although Aero was aesthetically suited for the time it was developed, it now looks "dated and cheesy."