Unless Microsoft were to some how try to legally force us not to do something to Windows, there's no real technical way for them to prevent us from doing what we'd like.  We know the system internals of Windows as well as anyone at Microsoft at this point.

I find that encouraging, Brad.

Oooh that sounds a lot more promising.  With all this talk of MS implementing blocks to disable 3rd party apps which replace the start button and bypass Metro at boot, the outlook for Win 8 has been rather negative and depressing.  I sincerely hope that you and Stardock are able to develop the required apps, unencumbered by MS directives and/or bullying.

Thanks for that!

Nah, no offence taken, I just realised that 'minimalist' does have some negative connotations, and explained/sold it a bit more.  What I really meant was a 'smart' interface that by default, just shows you what you need to survive today.  I would even just go for a feature like this on Fences 2 that rotates in certain shortcuts on a certain weekday.

Well the guys at Omnimo might just be the right people to speak with... they did ask for ideas/suggestions, so maybe you could present the basis of what you envision to them and see where it takes you. Alternatively, there may be folks here on the Stardock forums [most likely Wincustomize] who might be interested in developing on such an idea.  I don't know if something could be developed in DesktopX or ObjectDock, but I can't see there'd be any harm in asking here on the WC forums.  People here are all about making things look good while being practical, so there's a good chance somebody would look into it for you.

All the best with it.

I don't know why anyone would miss the start menu. It's been unusable since XP anyway.

Heh, I rarely use the start menu for anything.  All my app shortcuts and such are in ObjectDock and Fences, or even the taskbar.

Start Menu isn't a huge deal thanks to the task bar and jump lists. "Bins" doesn't hurt either.

Yeah but bear in mind that for some of us this stuff is new.  I only started using W7 last year, and only on my desktop PC this year, so I'm still doing things like a Windows XP caveman.

I thought DesktopX had gone the way of the Dodo...

That's one opinion, but I and others find it useful in Win 7... and would prefer to have the option in Win 8.

We all have our own ways of doing things, and for me, when I have several windows open over the top of one another, often times the start menu is a way of quickly getting to that something else I might need.... and no, I do not like a whole bunch of stuff pinned to and cluttering the task bar.

Sure there are other methods, but each to his own.

My biggest shock ever was when i unsuspectingly installed the latest version of Start8 and was confronted with a metro menu of squares forcing me to scroll like a maniac to find what i was looking for. 

I'm not against change,  i am not stuck on having things staying as they where. I am open to trying out different paths. But Metro is by far the worst ever interface i ever had to work with and that's saying something having started out computing on a 2 5.25 CPM Wordprocessor. It is like having your desktop cluttered with icons but limited to only a few due to them being large ugly squares in the most horrid colour scheme ever invented.

Perhaps if you use only 5 applications regularly and that's it, it could be workable, but still butt ugly. What a nightmare. And for a tablet...This is how my tablet looks now

  and i should change that for this ? 

Heaven forbid you did.  Changing from what you have to butt ugly "don't call it Metro anymore" would be a crime in the first degree or a complete mental breakdown.  Either way, a cell [padded or otherwise] would be in order.

That graph showing predicted sales in 2013 was great, as it shows an increase in desktop sales.  That means that the intelligence in the market is increasing!  Methinks all these small, expensive gadgets are breaking.  I've already seen some new Iphones with broken screens (lol) and even sadder, a new Ipad that was totally broken.  All I know is that my desktop is at home, safe, downloading some steam games and skyrim mods.

There is hope!

Now with the Win 8 info i've been reading, i'm already deciding to purchase my new computer now so as to avoid it ever going onto my harddrive.

Now, an Iphone that allows me to access my computer remotely via hotspots so that I can manage simple functions, like installing games remotely and such would be nice.  Yet, I wouldn't be willing to sacrifice an iota of security, so it would have to have some amazing security.

probably not going to happen.