[citation][nom]sykozis[/nom]MS "forcing" Metro on us....is no different from the Win8 haters trying to force their opinions on everyone else. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with Win8. Some of us actually remember the transition from the older (much more efficient) Progman UI (Win3.x) to the Explorer UI introduced with Win95.[/citation]
Like you can compare transition from Progman to Explorer with the transition of Desktop to Failed Smartphone UI. Progman -> Explorer was a refinement of the existing UI, Desktop -> Metro is a step sideways, like putting bicycle handlebars in a car instead of a steering wheel.
The reason Metro will fail is that Microsoft doesn't get it - mobile devices are not in any way like PCs, consumers don't want them to be like PCs and of course they don't want PCs to be anything like mobile devices. They didn't learn that lesson with Tablet PC, so they're making Surface.
Besides, Metro is not about making a better UI. Microsoft is pushing Metro because they want tight control over their platform (hello walled garden) and they want that 30% cut from app sales. To pull that off, they have to slice the existing Windows software ecosystem in two incompatible halves, and then kill the desktop ASAP. In return, we'll get the lowest common denominator - an inferior UI that's there because it sort of works on phones and inferior software that will be made with limitations of mobile devices in mind, so it won't be using a fraction of capabilities of today's PC.
I'm guessing many people and businesses will keep running Windows 7 for years. In the meantime, Nokia will die, Surface will fail, Ballmer will go away, and Microsoft will hopefully get its act together.