We understand that the hot corner functionality, for access to the Charms and Start Screen, will remain intact if the boot to desktop option is enabled. References to a “CanSuppressStartScreen” option in early builds of the Windows 8.1 registry were recently discovered by members of the My Digital Life forum, but a UI to enable the feature doesn’t appear to be present.
It is a step in the right direction, but not far enough. I like some things about the Metro UI, but I also think that, overall, the insistence on it being the only “true” UI for Windows 8 has hurt Microsoft and Windows 8 immensely. There is a lot to like about Windows 8 (if you use Windows), but the UI seems to have scared people off.