I should be more thorough with my thoughts, I tried Windows 8 once at a friend's house and while I don't think Metro looks bad, it's certainly jarring to maneuver through it in conjunction with the old windows explorer. It makes Windows 8 feel like two totally different OSes on top of each other. I was baffled for a moment when I couldn't find how to turn off the computer (perform weird motion on right side of screen and then go to settings? How was I supposed to figure that out?). Maybe Metro would make more sense if I had used a windows phone or tablet before, but I just haven't. Also, the whole Metro UI is not build for a mouse, several motions or menu selections require moving from corner to corner on the screen and it just feels like too much work just to select something or open the side bars.
And about the programs, I didn't realize how compatible Win8 is to Win7. I assumed wrong after having experienced the new stuff in Win8. I looked around a bit you're right, pretty much everything is supported.
Anyway, guess who decided to make the jump when he had to format his drive?