Almost a year ago, I replaced a fairly temperamental lap-top running XP with a new one running Windows 8. It took about a week of carpet-chewing and hair-pulling before I adjusted and now I wouldn't change back if you paid me a banker's bonus. At the same time I got it, I also bought a copy of 'Windows 8 for Dummies' which proved invaluable as I battled my way through the first few days with the new system. Once I'd learned how to customise the Start screen and the desktop to suit my taste and usage, the PC felt like it was working for me rather than the other way round! I'm a writer, researcher and photographer and my lap-top is my daily tool so it has to be reliable and very usable.
I think the mistake Microsoft made with Win.8 was in not offering two start-up options - one for the finger-pokery touch-screen users and one for mousers and clickers. Windows 8.1 is now available for download which claims to address some of the dislikes many users expressed. I shall reserve judgement on that until I've installed it and used it for a while.
My experience of Win.7 is quite limited as I have the 'basic' version on my netbook which is my spare computer and the one which goes travelling with me and tends not to get used for much serious work. If you're happy with Windows 7, that's fine but I would encourage anyone else just getting acquainted with Win.8 to ignore some of the press coverage and persevere. In a month or two, you'll wonder what the fuss was about - honestly!