Critics have slammed Microsoft for its implementation of desktop mode, citing three major complaints:

The first criticism is valid. It's ludicrous that Microsoft doesn't include a toggle that lets you boot straight into the desktop.

The second complaint speaks to an even greater annoyance: During my time with the W700, I was frequently chagrined by the extra effort required to launch desktop applications. Sure, a introduces a Windows 7-style Start button, and you can set up keyboard shortcuts to launch apps. But that kind of end-run shouldn't be necessary.

As for the third gripe, using mouse control to access the Start screen from the desktop wasn't a problem for me. I simply glided my mouse to the lower-left corner of the screen to invoke the main Windows 8 interface. Easy. Simple. It works.