Fact:
Yes, the under the hood improvements in windows 8 are significant. Security and Boot times are just the beginning, it's also markedly more stable and uses less power than previous releases. All versions of 8 both core and pro get bitlocker now. Features such as Hyper-V in the pro and enterprise versions allow you to run operating systems within windows without having to run third party software.
As far as functionality goes, classic shell does an amazing job restoring the Windows 7 style start menu if that's what you're ultimately emotionally attached to.
MYTH: The windows 8 interface is the worst thing since the plague.
REALITY: Windows 8.1 + Classic shell is quite good, it brings back the windows 7 start menu and a few other features removed in 8.
![enter image description here](../../I/static/images/2a4d9e35b063c51937db3b4725418ddf4faffa9e6a98f06c371f01e97eae8826.png)
Classic shell does a pretty good job sitting on top of Win8.1 and makes the transition to 8.1 much easier. Half the whining about Windows 8 was over the lack of the start button which is now back in windows 8.1. You can even uninstall the "modern" apps if you really like.
Another feature to check out is the boot to desktop option added in 8.1, it solves a lot of your problems. Again, if you really are too stuck in the past to bother to learn a better way to do things, just uninstall the modern apps.
![enter image description here](../../I/static/images/e6bfa00225be8ce2aba98a850c495302785c0b4daa5b6803f08e4d6339850dc1.png)
3Microsoft offers free Windows 8.1 virtual machines. Download it and install classic shell. We can't make this decision for you. Try it and make the decision for yourself. – Ramhound – 2014-01-30T18:09:31.383
2All Classic Shell features are listed on the website. The best way to understand what differences will exist is to try my suggestion. – Ramhound – 2014-01-30T18:21:25.277
You should try unmodified Windows 8.1 first, maybe you will like that "unconventional" interface. If you won't be happy with it after some testing, you can apply Classic Shell and see if it suits your needs. All that can be done with a virtual machine as Ramhound suggested, this way your current OS will stay untouched. (By the way, I don't think that Win8 interface is unconventional. It's just different than what you're used to.) – gronostaj – 2014-01-30T19:59:53.287
Classic Shell is amazing, check it out if you're really adamant about not learning a new interface. If you're really against the modern apps, use powershell to uninstall all of them with one command. – MDT Guy – 2014-01-30T23:10:27.353