Windows 8 is a pain in the ass and just trendy crap.
Don't say that!
Windows 8 and 8.1 are great continuations of Windows 7! If you don't like Metro UI, just download little program called "StartIsBack" or remove registry key and have standard Windows 7, but much faster!
I don't like offtop, so:
I have Win 8 now and everything works - from Bitcoin/Litecoin client, Electrum to mining on P2Pool and cgminer. 0 problems
That's the problem with Windows 8. It's a pretty good OS but it shouldn't force you to use Metro. It's just complicated and unproductive for PC. It might be good for tablets but not for PC.