For a moment I thought Windows 8 doesn't suck. But it does.

The long, winding, stumbling, painful, gut-wrenching process of coming to terms with Windows 8 has reached another milestone. Well, 'milestone' actually gives an exaggerated impression of progress. It is more of a footstone really.
Things started promisingly today when I read an article on ZDnet rubbishing Microsoft's plan to resurrect the Start button. It points out that you can do everything on the Home screen in W8 that you could do with the Start button. I realised I needed to get to grips with customising the home screen so it brings the tasks I need to do to the fore.
To my surprise it is really easy to do this. You just right-click, bring up 'All Apps' and pin the apps you use all the time to the start screen. Then you drag'n'drop the ones you use most to the left hand side of the screen so they are always visible - the lesser used one you can leave on the right so they are available with a swipe of the mouse (or finger, if you are one of the three people in the UK using a Surface). The ones you really don't want you can unpin buy right-clicking and pressing 'unpin'. Simple.
I even discovered the 'computer' tile. I had despaired of ever being able to format thumb drives in under 56 clicks, but now there it is, on the screen, even closer than it would be with the Start button.
So far, so good.
Then I tried to optimise one or two of the built-in applications, starting with the Calendar.
Calendar in Win8 is really clean and modern, a graphic artist's wet dream. Very good, I thought. But it only shows one of my calendars - how do I add the others? Without all the calendars visible you can't see potential conflicts between work, rowing and rowing coaching. I don't have a social life so that is not a problem.
Well, you can't. Just can't be done. Why not? It is a BASIC NEED and a COMPLETE BALLBREAKER.
So back to Google for all my calendar needs.
I tried to take a screenshot of the Win8 calendar to illustrate this but you can't do that either. Because you can't open apps in a separate window (at least, there is no obvious way of doing it and I can't spend all day trying to find out how).
I think it is the abandonment of the multi-window metaphor that is the fundamental problem with Windows 8. It's called Windows but it isn't. And that means that a major factor in the usability of the system has been ditched in the mad rush to go tablet.
Microsoft is run by COMPLETE FUCKING TOOLS.