None of the informed sources I've seen indicate that quality/sales performance of Windows 8/RT was related to Sinofsksy's departure.
I dunno.... I'm not sure windowsRT has a place in the marketplace.
I think the biggest problem with RT isn't what people are talking about, it's rather that Intel has put massive resources into R&D and now has Atom chips that are competitive with ARM from a performance/battery life standpoint.
This certainly wasn't the case several years ago when MS started the work for Windows on ARM, but now as a manufacturer, you can put an Atom chip in the same form factor as an ARM chip and get similar performance, but running Windows 8 instead of Windows RT.
As a consumer, the price of Atom vs ARM SoCs is similar enough to be insignificant in the final product - so the primary difference between the two is that RT devices will ship with Office included in the price, and Windows 8 devices will have the ability to run x86 desktop software.
The only benefit I see to windows RT is that it has the same look and feel of win8, which sure as hell isn't a selling point in my books.
Well, it has a few real benefits over other tablets, off the top of my head:
Excellent integration with MS online services (xbox music, skydrive).
Includes MS Office.
Massive device compatibility advantage. You can plug a Windows tablet into a USB hub with all your regular peripherals attached and hook up a monitor to use with the desktop for Office/IE, or you can remote desktop to a full PC on the tablet's external monitor.
Windows key: Switch between Modern Desktop Start screen and the last accessed application
If that's how it works, then no, it's not the same as the win7 function and I'm not interested, and thus complaining about the lack of start key is valid and not misinformation.
I'm only interested in having a M$ supplied (not third party) start key function or no win8 at all.
That's essentially the same thing as Win7, just instead of the start menu in the corner, the start screen covers the entire screen.