It's funny to see two threads on the front page contrasting 'continuing the Windows 8 vision' with 'Microsoft u-turn'. I doubt many outside of Redmond are going to conform to the former viewpoint.
On the other hand "returning a single visual affordance" is a hell of a cry from a u-turn.
Nobody ever writes a press release announcing that they screwed up and are reversing themselves. Press releases are always about success, even when they're about failures.