Here’s what we’ve put together in 24 hours:

So if Microsoft doesn’t restore the Windows 8 desktop to being able to work without jumping back and forth between it and Metro, we’ll do it.

Obviously we can improve on this but we’ll see how much Microsoft fixes things up before we invest too much time on this. Comment here if you think you’d be interested in something like this.  As the Windows 8 beta evolves, we can start to look at what sorts of usability things need to be addressed and put together something more comprehensive.

Update: GO HERE to get it: https://www.stardock.com/products/start8/