My son configured it for me so I don't have the touch screen and after startup I can click on one of the start page tiles to get to where it's very similar to the other Widows systems I've used. I was very reluctant to use Internet Explorer again but tried it because it's so integrated into the machine (Toshiba Satellite) and it works much better than it did on my previous machines. As with all systems there are things to not like but there are a lot of positives here and I'm very satisfied with the experience after 1 1/2 months working with it. Perhaps my lack of tech savvy has worked out to be a plus in this situation, that and having a kid who knows what I like and set it up that way. I'm just saying it can be done in a way that is not completely foreign to those who've used other MS systems and I can't knock it based on my personal experience.