"I'm not dismissing their experience (if any)"
Does that mean if someone doesn't like Win8, they don't have any experience? Or they're not serious? Sounds like an insulting dig at people you don't agree with.
"My point is that there is no discontinuity between lots of people loving Windows 8 on touch-based 2-in-1s and tablets and lots of people hating it -- or, more often, hating the idea of it -- on non-touch machines."
??? Not sure what you're trying to say here.
"Windows 7 Pro is still available from Microsoft as a current product"
Good news if you don't want Win8 on your laptop/desktop. I guess you'll have peace when Windows 10 comes out, and you don't have to hear any negative comments about Windows 8.