[pragmatic]

I think you can gauge the success of future OS by the enthusiasts (early adopter) reaction.

Windows XP and Windows 7 had lots of love pre-release. The Windows 8 reception is mixed (as was that for Vista).

Some people are going to love it. I am using it on two machines (a dekstop and an HTPC).

Here's they point though. I _won't_ be installing it on the computers of family/friends (I'm the family tech support).

Watching my wife use it (and the issues with slow user switching, multiple versions of browsers, etc) means its just not worth it. I don't need the extra support calls.

Windows 7 is just fine, especially for legacy hardware (those without touch screens and tablets).

[bitdiffusion]

I'm not sure early adopters are the easiest people to please... thinking of "antennagate" from iphone4 and now "scuffgate" from iphone5 I would say early adopters (who I suppose are generally experts - or at least technology-orientated) are more likely to pick up and report on things that

a) get viewership (i.e. complaining) and b) are so subtle the eventual mainstream user wouldn't even notice without it being pointed out to them.

I don't have any hard science to back my claim either way ;-)