I don't understand how bringing users to the Metro interface is not offering all the functionality of the previous start button. The old start menu was a list of shortcuts. The Metro interface is a list of shortcuts. It might look different, but where is the loss of functionality?
Edit: real-world example: I'm on a web page with a list of prices and want to do a quick sum. On 7, I'd hit win-key, type 'calc' and then enter the prices, all the while keeping my eyes on the numbers I want to add so I don't lose track of them. On 8, it will flash my entire screen full of icons. I lose view of the numbers and therefore may lose track of the numbers I want to add up.
If your anecdote is true in the spirit of the original complaint, then Windows 7 doesn't offer all the functionality of Windows XP. I recently got upgraded at work from Windows XP to Windows 7. I've been so used to hitting the windows key, pressing R to open the run menu, then typing 'calc'. Now when I do that, I get distracted when a window pops up searching for something names 'rcalc'. In 7 I don't need to hit 'R', which breaks my workflow and I guess that is a loss of functionality.
Then I'd go back to the desktop and straight away remember what it was I was thinking of. Very strange.
Fortunately, most of the time I just wanted another command prompt or explorer window, so I've just got into the habit of middle-clicking one of my existing ones. (This is still slower than the way I used to operate the now-vanished "classic" start menu with the keyboard, so for all the general improvements I'm still feeling like the latest versions of Windows have been something of a backwards step.)